The number of followers of German scientific institutions in the #Fediverse surpassed the 160k mark last weekend, see
https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/?liste=institute-de

Yes, it's true: we shouldn't get caught up in this nonsensical discussion about #reach of #socialmedia.
On the other hand, it’s a great success for initiatives such as #Unis4Mastodon, #Byebyeelon, #WissXit, #SaveSocial, @helloQuitX, @leavex and others that more than 150 research institutions in Germany are contributing to the expansion of the Fediverse.

To our friends in the #USA, we say that we are alarmed at how the new #USpolicy is attacking #science. We are trying to build decentralized and independent #socialnetworks to make our research institutions and democracy resilient to attacks from #autocrats and #hostilitytoscience.
And we think this transformation should happen in other countries, too, to strengthen #democracy.

Please, share this picture widely - also on other platforms.

Also „The University of Oulu leaves X“

https://www.oulu.fi/en/news/university-oulu-leaves-x-focuses-other-social-media-platforms

The #University of #Oulu will discontinue university-level communications in the X. … Some Finnish universities, many public administration organizations, associations, and #companies have made the decision to abandon the channel.
"X's reach has dropped considerably. The platform's nature has become unpredictable and an instrument of a certain kind of policy. As a university, we want to participate in a #democratic and constructive debate that includes appreciating #science and #research. Now #X does not seem to offer such a platform," says Marja Jokinen, Director of Communications at the University of Oulu.

Bravo, UniOulu. Great decision!
#eXit #Unis4Mastodon

(1/2) Dear supporters,

yesterday our petition for #Unis4Mastodon ended with more than 2,070 signatures.
Yesterday alone, another 114 signatures were collected
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
This shows how pressing the issue of using truly #socialmedia is for many people.

We have managed to get a number of #universities to shut down their X-accounts. And we know that many are considering taking this step as well.
Furthermore, #SciComm is no longer conceivable without the #Fediverse, as the steadily growing number of followers on #Mastodon channels shows.
https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/?liste=hochschulen-de

In 2 days our appeal to #universities and the #HRK for an #eXit and #Unis4Mastodon will close.

Everyday, X demonstrates how unsuitable it is for #SciComm. And finally, the eXit wave has reached the universities, as our logo image shows, which is getting increasingly bigger. Most of them are also active on #Mastodon, see https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/

So, sign up quickly that other universities will follow (everyone from Germany and abroad may participate)
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

Happy New Year 2025!
And good luck to the #Fediverse.

In 4 days our petition to the #universities and the #HRK for the eXit and #Unis4Mastodon will end.
So, please, sign quickly:
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

For inspiration, here is a picture of the logos of #research institutes in Europe that have already made the #eXit. Great, and congratulations!
(forgot anyone? → feel free to let us know).
Some of them have already set up #Mastodon channels, see the amazing list by @scammo
https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/?liste=institute-de

The #OpenScience community at #Maastricht #University has been active on Mastodon since May last year; see also
https://openscience-maastricht.nl

In our appeal
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon (please, sign, if not done yet),
we call on universities to #eXit and become active on #Mastodon.
We are currently seeing that some are indeed leaving X, but are going to #Bluesky. We do not consider this to be a sustainable solution, as we expect Bluesky to develop in a similar way to Xitter. Our experiences clearly show that true social media only exist if they are operated under the control of the users, like the services in the #Fediverse.
Nevertheless, we want to address and convince people who have not yet taken this step. The OSCM has recently set up a good approach to this by bridging its Mastodon channel to Bluesky:
https://bewegung.social/@oscmaastricht@social.edu.nl/113680679738281497

Dear @oscmaastricht, that looks interesting. Can you give those interested here in the Fediverse a detailed technical guide on how to build this bridge? Thank you. #unis4mastodon

European Universities started …
.. leaving X

#Universities in #Amsterdam, #Vienna, #Berlin, #Karlsruhe, #Aachen and other cities in Europe have left microblogging service X during the last week(s).

They justify this step with the systematic lack of moderation on the platform, which has resulted in a flood of hate speech, disinformation and cyberbullying.

Some of them have already started to run channels on Mastodon: @univienna, @tuberlin, @KIT_Karlsruhe, @UniOldenburg @unibremen, @freieuniversitaet, @UniUlm , @HTW_Berlin, @uni_paderborn.

X is not a suitable medium for communication in #research and #education. Help get the other #universities to follow suit and sign the petition
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
#unis4mastodon #eXit

Some people who want to leave #X wonder if #BlueSky is an alternative.
In our petition, we advocate using the decentralized #Mastodon. We do not consider BlueSky to be a sustainable alternative because it is another commercial service that spies on user data to generate customized #advertising with it.

The BlueSky Terms of Service https://bsky.social/about/support/tos
and Privacy Policy comprise 7100+ words . Nobody reads this; this is not an “informed consent” as required by #GDPR. We see the #universities here as having a duty of care towards their students and employees, whom they must protect from such data collection. Mastodon and the other #Fediverse services are much more suitable for university communication.
BlueSky is just another data leech.

That's why you should sign the petition for #Unis4Mastodon :
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

A: @unijena now has more than 1000 followers on #Mastodon?
B: Yes, that's a great achievement.
A: Oh, you know, she has over 6500 on #X. 1000 is nothing compared to that.
B: Yes, it's almost the same.
A: Why is that? On X it's over 6 times more.
B: No, you're doing the math wrong.
A: Huh?
B: Yes. You mustn't think that if there are 6500 followers on the X page that they will see all the #UniJena posts.
A: Why not?
B: X controls its playout algorithmically and only flushes them into the timelines here and there. The posts are actually just the gap fillers that are shown between the ads.
A: Oh, dear.
B: Exactly. Experts report* that at X, only 15-20% of #followers get to see the posts of an account they follow.
A: Then Mastodon is almost on a par with X.
B: In fact: the #reach of @unijena on Mastodon and X is comparable. Because Mastodon shows every post of the account you follow in the timeline.

#Unis4Mastodon
*https://www.viennawriter.net/blog/social-media-principles-the-myth-of-reach-en/
https://openpetition.de/unis4mastodon

The #FreeUniversity of #Berlin, one of the best-known #universities of #Germany has decided to close its account on #X:
"In light of developments on the social media platform X, Freie Universität Berlin has decided to shut down this channel."
https://www.fu-berlin.de/informationen-fuer/beschaeftigte/aktuelles/news/240424-ausstieg-x/index.html

In its justification, it commits itself to the principles of the #Fediverse and #OpenScience:
"Freie Universität Berlin has been present on Mastodon since December 2022. #Mastodon is part of the decentralized Fediverse network. Compared to large commercial social networks, Mastodon relies on chronological feeds and reduces the algorithmic sorting of posts. This ensures that information is always openly available and reduces the likelihood of so-called filter bubbles forming."

Bravo, @freieuniversitaet ! A good decision!

#Unis4Mastodon #AlleInsFediverse