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pistolero

@p@fsebugoutzone.org remote

NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN

@taoeffect ran the IFTAS thread ( https://fsebugoutzone.org/objects/ad4d151b-a6a1-4694-94dd-f4e60461e7f7 ) through a clanker and the clanker suggested that a lot of the information was unverified by hedging all to hell.

So, let's dig up the citations: it turns out that IFTAS is big business! $1,408,877.86, in fact. Not bad for a side-hustle that isn't even your day job, right?

Bringing up the head, the Social Web Foundation, of which @evan is the head ( https://socialwebfoundation.org/team/ ), doesn't list their EIN on their website. But their donation page ( https://socialwebfoundation.org/donate/ ) says:

> The Social Web Foundation is a fiscally-sponsored project of Exchange Point Institute, a US 501(c)3 non-profit.

The Exchange Points Institute's EIN is 87-1028685. Their Form 990-N on IRS site says they have "Gross receipts not greater than: $50,000" for 2023; ProPublica says ( https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/871028685 ) that they got $527,410 in 2024, per their 990. Pretty fuckin' heavy! $120k of that was from the Ford Foundation⁰. Congrats, @evan ! If you like, you can also read Mallory Knodel's "Announcing the launch of Social Web Foundation" in the Association for Progressive Communications blog. The bold part from that blog post: "To fight inequality, participate in democracy, build an equitable society and economy, we can’t rely on a few corporate-owned, profit-driven spaces. The Social Web Foundation is our best chance to establish the conditions in which the new social media operates with zero harm." In the following paragraph, Eugen "John Mastodon" Gargamel-Rochko, is quoted as being proud to back the Social Web Foundation and their work.

Total (gross¹): $527,410

Next up, IFTAS itself, $384,375 in 2023, and then another $7,733 in 2024, but they spent $302,567 that year, per https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/932011167/202433169349303828/full . The ridiculously circuitous pathway for the money includes the National Endowment for Democracy (

) and the Open Society Foundation (Soros)². If you rolled your eyes when I said that the glowies were funding IFTAS, I invite you to come dislocate your jaw trying to fit my goddamn dick in your mouth. Looks like plenty of cash for just 40 hours a week, @jaz . Way to hustle!

Total (gross): $919,518

Two of the bigger instances in the "Fediverse Governance" glowop are social.coop and hachyderm.io. There were nine more³, I didn't check, presumably they're worth less money.

The budget for social.coop is, per https://opencollective.com/socialcoop#category-BUDGET ) £71,952.29 ($97,373.03), of which they have so far spent £42,306.86 ($57,253.87).

Total (gross): $1,016,891.03

hachyderm.io is a little more convoluted: they're owned, per their about page, by the Nivenly Foundation, EIN 92-2345439 (which you've gotta dig out of the IRS because they do not list that on their website). They've pulled in $17,697.88 and haven't touched any of it yet. Way to show some self-restraint, @nova !

Total (gross): $1,034,588.91

Now, this one's trickier! For an undisclosed sum, NewsMast purchased indieweb.social ( https://www.timothychambers.net/2025/03/27/the-next-stage-for-indiewebsocial.html ). They claim to have done no trading any of the years they've filed, but they bought indieweb.social in March 2025. They filed as dormant for 2025 and then borrowed £276,575 ($374,288.95 at time of writing), which is currently about . So, unless they've made any big purchases other than that, it looks like they've paid a quarter-million pounds sterling sixabong quidbob for indieweb.social. As noted in the prervious post, NewsMast paid Tim Chambers for this site and Tim Chambers is the...the Executive Director, per the NewsMast site ( https://about.iftas.org/2024/07/12/tim-chambers-joins-the-iftas-advisory-board/ ). Now, *that's* how you flip a $10 domain and like a few hundred in hosting costs, @tchambers !

Total (gross, including speculative valuation of indieweb.social): $1,408,877.86

So, you know, cram that in whoever's pipe next time @graf spends a handful of bennies on Crunchbits/Frantech boxes.

⁰ "CORE SUPPORT FOR THE SOCIAL WEB FOUNDATION TO INCREASE THE REACH AND SUSTAINABILITY OF OPEN SOURCE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS" was worth $70k to the Ford Foundation and "CORE SUPPORT TO SURVEY AND INTERVIEW GLOBAL INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE MEMBERS OF THE INFRARED NETWORK THAT PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES TO MULTINATIONAL CORPORATE TECH PLATFORMS TO DEVELOP A LONG TERM AND SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE NETWORK" was worth $50k. So, that fediverse governance survey, that was a $50k survey! No big deal, though, the Ford Foundation (EIN 13-1684331) sneezes that on the hour; they control about $17.5B.

¹ I mean that I am totaling the amount of money they receive, but also: I am vomit.

Replies

Replying to @p@fsebugoutzone.org

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

oh my god i have had such a shit day i saw you tag me and i was like please god not something else broken i cant take anything else right now

i will gladly throw thousands at crunchbits for anything for anybody it supports one of my best friends. it keeps us alive. he wants to see fediverse grow. but large numbers make me very angry because i am tonight spinning down btrfly because not only has it not ever turned a profit but for almost 2 years i couldn't even modify the source code because GLEASONATOR couldnt take being called a nigger and got me beaned from gitlab. so i couldnt sell new instances but on pleroma. so it just slowly ..well, died. until the hardware also died today.

moving customers will take some time, prices may increase. but eric and his staff are willing to take them on in various data centers. something a lot of people wouldn't be. a lot of people stand behind frantech. I wont anymore since it's been sold it's gone to shit. but I will stand behind eric and curtis (incognet). if anybody needs a home let me know and I can get you set up. I do not collect a commission on anything full stop.

Replying to @graf@poa.st

pistolero

@p@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@graf @evan @taoeffect @nova @tchambers @jaz

> i will gladly throw thousands at crunchbits

He's an awesome dude. Ask if he's hiring, ha.

> large numbers make me very angry because i am tonight spinning down btrfly

How many people on fedi pull down 300k in one year on their side-hustle, you know? Then get to go make a speech about how they're making the world a better place?

> until the hardware also died today.

Goddamn, I'm sorry to hear it.

Replying to @graf@poa.st

EdBoatConnoisseur

@EdBoatConnoisseur@poa.st remote

why is gleasonigger so gay?

Replying to @p@fsebugoutzone.org

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

>He's an awesome dude.
he's one of a handful of people I will call my best friend, like I said that's a pretty heavy user tag. I don't trust easily anymore. Especially not like I used to in early 2020s.

>Ask if he's hiring, ha.
they were acquired by another company early last year (dont worry there was the "poast talk") afaik they still operate as their own subsidiary. will ask but I dont think you wanna be a ticket jockey. I was going to do it for a bit in 2023/2024 but timing fell thru. just for some extra income for poast or whatever

>How many people on fedi pull down 300k in one year on their side-hustle, you know? Then get to go make a speech about how they're making the world a better place?
if somebody gives poast 300k I will continue distributing it to the people who make us able to function (after bills are covered for the year, of course). that short user organized fundraiser we had funded us enough to bring on a FULL part time occasional database engineer who literally DOES IT AS A LIVING. for the first time ever it wont just be us having to figure shit out. Maybe something will get fixed???? I sent funds to various FE developers we rely on with more on the way tomorrow. I have some earmarked for you we have to discuss maybe after the weekend if my plans pan out. that's what I do when people give us money. not make speeches about making the world a better place. and I know you'd be in the same place brother

Replying to @p@fsebugoutzone.org

Bill

@w0rm@dsmc.space remote

@p @evan @taoeffect @tchambers @jaz @graf

rip btrfly

Replying to @w0rm@dsmc.space

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

every single active customer is getting their own hardware, it will live on in spirit brother. but it cost me almost double what it brought in every single month. for years. and I couldnt ask for more from people. it was meant to be cheap. but the hardware just gave up. drives are still fine tho. I will make sure every customer is happier than a pig in shit <3

Replying to @graf@poa.st

Bill

@w0rm@dsmc.space remote

@graf @evan @taoeffect @p @tchambers @jaz

Fuck Alex

Replying to @EdBoatConnoisseur@poa.st

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

I dunno why people keep trusting him after the track record unless they just dont know tbh

Replying to @graf@poa.st

AsukaNeko

@AsukaNeko@poa.st remote

Lately it has come to my attention that pigs are not the happiest mammals in shit. Pigs are happy enough but I never seen pigs make a goddamn festival out of shit.

Replying to @w0rm@dsmc.space

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

I wouldn't put a single thought into him brother. not worth it. I will take care of everyone and we will take care of our own. Pete knows I am a firm believer in that philosophy. if I can help somebody I know deserves it, I will even if my personal feelings and opinions don't align with theirs and even if I catch shit for it like donating to vriska last night.

Replying to @graf@poa.st

pistolero

@p@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@graf @EdBoatConnoisseur @evan @taoeffect @nova @tchambers @jaz

> I dunno why people keep trusting him after the track record unless they just dont know tbh

This is why you never trust a guy that came out of nowhere by himself, right, like, people that are exploitative hop from place to place because once the cat is out of the bag, they can't keep it up.

Replying to @graf@poa.st

Bill

@w0rm@dsmc.space remote

@graf @evan @taoeffect @p @tchambers @jaz

Very well said.

Replying to @AsukaNeko@poa.st

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

well, I will put my customers in their pens where they can happily break the instance and I get emails at 3am because somehow they wiped the entire VM. Extra backups.

Replying to @p@fsebugoutzone.org

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

but I came out of nowhere with like 10k of my closest friends overnight and you've not only met my mom but also my ex and dozens of my closest friends. we are not all cut from the same cloth, but I get the sentiment. You know the word I will use to describe him and I think you and I are likeminded in that sense

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

now thats a fuckin name i havent heard in forever holy shit

Replying to @w0rm@dsmc.space

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

I will be busy tomorrow night and the following night I have prior engagements with another fedi friend for a concert but do you have time on Monday or Tuesday to chat on voice? I dont want to do mumble, its weird to me, any other platform you use?

Replying to @w0rm@dsmc.space

👁

@mpg@dsmc.space remote

@w0rm @p @evan @graf @jaz @taoeffect @tchambers Not to offend but btrf.ly always sounded like one of those shady link shortening services which bombard you with virus ads before letting you download your Minecraft mods as a kid.

Replying to @mpg@dsmc.space

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

the idea was a shortened "social btrfly", flagship instance was btrfly.social. pasture came up with it. I liked it, I feel sad, like a family member was lost or something but not to that extreme. maybe a family pet. it was a fun project. Everything on it's own will be much easier to handle with something like ansible. ah well

Replying to @graf@poa.st

pistolero

@p@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@graf @lolitechengineer They just announced that Tim "Not Fediblock" Elephant has discontinued his blocklist in favor of the German FIRES system, developed by IFTAS.

Replying to @p@fsebugoutzone.org

anime graf mays 🛰️🪐

@graf@poa.st remote

pete i just realized i removed the like button from the ux so I could shrink it a bit, and now i am forced to emoji react you. I will replace that

I also see that you have removed the cat ears. I was going to give you a sombrero next week :(