Every major social media is censoring anti-israel or pro-Palestine content. This may be a good opportunity to convince Arabs to move over to lemmy, where only we control the content moderation.

For the record, the lemmy won’t be Palestine only. I just think it’ll be the reason people will move over.

The reason I ask for others to help me is:

  • help advertise to other Arabs to bring them over
  • someone to register the stuff in their name. Unfortunately, I am an immigrant in a country and have been interrogated by them before (on bogus grounds). While what I’m doing is not illegal, they have their eyes on me and I am paranoid they’ll give me trouble again regardless. I can take care of the technology side of the hosting and the initial costs (hopefully donations cover the rest). Since it will be on your name, moderation and the like will be your decision, but I will just want to make sure initially that we are on a similar page.
  • misaloun@reddthat.comOPEnglish
    202·
    1 year ago

    I think you misunderstand my intentions. An Arabic lemmy instance is not aimed at isolation. People will be able to ineract with us without issue, and we will interact with them (federation will be open). The only purpose is to have a space where we are free of corporate censorship, and a space where you (whether an Arab or not) will find many other arabs, rather than most of the internet that is English-speaking, and most of the remainder speaking a west european language.

    If anything, this would de-isolate Arabs. The primary Arabic speaking spaces on the internet are networks of friends on Facebook, isolated from the rest of the world. At least this way you can find us, and see that we are normal human beings (as unfortunately some racists in the western world are surprised to find that out) and you can talk with us.

    The small existing Arab spaces that are accessible to the outside world is cringy, unserious, terminally online memers that ruin our image and do not represent us. Probably many of them are 4chan-ers

    • just another dev@lemmy.my-box.devEnglish
      66·
      1 year ago

      I still think that would effectively imply isolation (at least, moreso than not doing it). What you’re describing to me still has a lot of characteristics of an echo chamber. And by spending time on that instance, in those communities, you’ll be spending less time on “generic” instances and communities. In doing so, those instances will, in turn, also become less diverse and more echo-ey.

      Again, I understand your reasoning (except for the corporate censorship, there is none on Lemmy AFAIK), but I do think it’s a step in the wrong direction.

        • Camus (il, lui)English
          41·
          1 year ago

          Small correction, it’s https://jlai.lu/.

          Also, where did you find the invite to that Discord? It doesn’t seem to be related to the instance

          • elouboub@kbin.social
            1·
            1 year ago

            Also, where did you find the invite to that Discord? It doesn’t seem to be related to the instance

            Did you respond to the right person?

            • Camus (il, lui)English
              1·
              1 year ago

              Yes, I was asking about the link in your message for jlailu.

              The Discord you linked doesn’t seem related to the instance

        • just another dev@lemmy.my-box.devEnglish
          41·
          1 year ago

          No, it’s because the proposal for this new instance stems from the Israel/Palestine conflict - it’s literally the opening sentence. Whether they’re pro one or the other is irrelevant to me.

          • misaloun@reddthat.comOPEnglish
            8·
            1 year ago

            It’s not. I think you misread what I said, and I already explained to you that it isn’t. It’s to have an Internet space for Arabs. My mention of the Palestinian cause is using it to motivate people to move over to Lemmy, in light of the censorship against Arabs.

            This is not meant to be an anti Israel lemmy. It is an Arab lemmy.

            • just another dev@lemmy.my-box.devEnglish
              23·
              1 year ago

              If it’s an Ukrainian anti-Russia server, yes. And for that matter, I’d also be against a Russian anti-Ukrainia lemmy server. Are you starting to see the pattern?

              • elouboub@kbin.social
                2·
                1 year ago

                Then I think you’re misinterpreting OP’s post. They don’t want to create a “pro Palestinian server”, they want an Arabic server. They mention Palestine because of the timeframe: more active Arabic speakers –> possibly more active Arabic lemmy users. Hence my question about Ukraine.

      • misaloun@reddthat.comOPEnglish
        41·
        1 year ago

        I don’t think it is harmful to give people the option to spaces primarily speaking about local matters and concerns, and primarily occupied by local people. It does not take away the other spaces.

        We are already in an age where it is almost impossible to undo globalization, and nothing I do will prevent those who frequent mixed and international spaces (or more accurately Western dominated spaces) from doing this. It is only giving them a place that didn’t exist before for content they couldn’t post or read elsewhere.

        Most of the world already has this. I don’t think Arabs having it will be harmful.