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Discussion about the aussie.zone instance itself

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So what are we going to do with all this social media age-gate stuff? (aussie.zone)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Baku@aussie.zone to c/meta@aussie.zone

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I'm pretty sure we're all across the recent decision to restrict social media to people aged 16+, but has any thought been put into how we'll respond to this?

I know we have about a year to figure it all out, but I am worried about the future of aussie.zone. @Nath@aussie.zone @lodion@aussie.zone do you have the time to implement something? Do you feel comfortable collecting the required information and managing age verification? Are donations sufficient to allow you to pay some other company to do it for you?

Another option is that we may be able to apply for an exemption from the eSafety Commissioner - but is that an actual option? Do either of you have the ability and time to procure the required documentation and write letters to the commissioner, or whatever else is needed?

Perhaps more importantly; what modifications could even be put in place that would be compatible with Lemmy? Will the instance just shut down?

If worse comes to worst, could another option be disabling signups and banning/removing all users, but keeping the instance open as a remote instance accessible solely through other instances?

Forgive me if I am being cynical and jumping the gun, but I am genuinely concerned that a solution won't be found, or neither of you will have the time/ability to implement one, forcing aussie.zone to come to a close. I really love our little instance, and it would be a major shame to see it go.

Whatever happens, please don't just leave us in the dark before eventually pulling the plug on AZ with a couple of days notice (or worse: no notice)

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[–] lodion@aussie.zone 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All good questions, that I don't have any answers to. Plenty of time to figure it out... I'll probably be looking at the larger players to see where this goes, and what clarifying information the government put out next year.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One thought I had was of trying to get an exemption for us. It's a stretch, but if we all sent letters to our MPs and the relevant Minister explaining what we are and why we're not really the intended audience (very small. Mostly adults anyway. Doesn't use an algorithm designed to keep people addicted because it's an open source community project.), just maybe we could get the Minister to declare an exemption for aussie.zone. It's an outside chance, but possible—especially if anyone happens to be friendly with some Government MPs already. (I, unfortunately, am not…unless the next election results in a shock Greens majority 😅)

The only downside I can see of this approach is that it might put us "on the radar" of the government in some sense, though what that would mean in practice is probably nothing, it could be a concern to think about. I would only send such a letter of you wanted that kind of campaign.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah I think any exception for us just brings attention to us which is a double edged sword. More users more members etc more scrutiny unfortunately though