Notices by Michela Marie 🏳️‍🌈 (michelamarie@mastodon.social), page 31

@Mtony75 I understand the concern, though you are on the biggest instance, run by the guy who invented this whole thing. I don't think you have to worry too much. :)

You can also donate a few bucks to the instance you use, to help them cover their costs and ensure their financial stability.

@Mtony75 The only other time I have heard of a large-ish instance going away (witches.town), the users of it had like three weeks or so notice.

This sort of thing probably will continue to happen from time to time, as anyone can start an instance. So it's wise to regularly back-up your data and such just in case your instance disappears without notice one day, or if they have a bad crash and lose everything. :o

@bram ha! I love this!

@kirstyyarr lol. It must have been really traumatic then! There's also lots of friendly people here who can help if you do decide to give it another go at some point. The Fedora community is very welcoming as well.

@kirstyyarr ah. Bummer. I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know what hardware or distribution you had, but I can tell you that Linux has come a long way from the early days. I have given Linux laptops to my mother (who is *extremely* computer illiterate), mother in law, and others. I think an easy experience depends on having solid distribution and compatible hardware.

If you're up for trying again, Fedora KDE spin is one of the most refined options, and what I recommend.

Citizen Lab was targeted by spies because they revealed shady dealings of an Israeli spyware company, especially those connected to surveillance of Jamal Khashoggi. Nasty stuff.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/apnewsbreak-undercover-agents-target-cybersecurity-watchdog-2/

#infosec #humanrights

@vascorsd Ah! Yah. Hardware hacking like that is really neat. I'm an X series girl, myself (sounds naughty) -- it's one of the best small and light laptops out there, which is what I really like about that line.

@micahflee Finally this rotten and corrupt regime is exposed through use of their own tactics.

@vascorsd Hah! Really neat! You clearly put a lot of effort to get exactly what you were looking for. I love Thinkpads as well.

@TrailRunner_B Ha. Yeah, running in the snow is kind of a novel experience.

It snows about as often where I live. I have running shoe snow spikes and run in the snow with groups, but I usually can't convince myself to run in the snow alone.

@TrailRunner_B Oh, blech. I agree.

I only go on the treadmill, myself, when there is snow or extreme rain outside.

@vascorsd Nice. I've heard a lot of good things about Fastmail, and actually worked at a company that used their service for their company e-mail ages ago.

Thanks for telling me about what they're like lately. I will definitely keep them in mind.

@vascorsd What do you use instead? I was considering #Protonmail, but they have no calendar, among other limitations. I now think my best option may be to host my own e-mail and calendar server.