Mastodon and friends are built as open conduits with very little in the way of safety or permissions. Spam should be expected.

It’s not a Fediverse vulnerability. It’s a Mastodon vulnerability. Don’t want spam? Use a better fediverse technology.

You are correct. Streams is Fediverse software that you install on a server.

I initially misunderstood your question, so deleted my post. Sorry about that.

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Run your own instance. It’s the only way you’ll be able to set your own policies. Otherwise you’re subject to policies of the instance you’re on and those policies may change at any time.

Yes. Synapse is the server side part of Matrix. You install it at a Matrix host, or on a VPS, or even a Raspberry PI device. See https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse#installing-and-configuration

Once up and running you connect a client like Element to it.

Host your own Synapse instance and lock it down to your users.

I take the host my own instance path. It’s safer and more stable than relying on a third party.

Good question.

I’ve don’t think I’ve ever used an Adobe product. While they may be huge in specific fields, there are other options. Yes, extra time, training, and money will need to be used to move to alternatives, but what’s the other option? Continue giving Adobe money and support their monopoly? Be the change you want to see.

There’s always options.

• Refuse to use the applications and consult with the school board with your concerns. Involve other parents and start a movement.
• Use a different local school system. Is there a local private school that’s better?
• Home schooling is another option.

I’m not saying any of those are easy options. In fact, you may have no good options today. But you don’t need to stay that way forever. Explore what options you could have next year, or the year after. What can you work toward?

At the end of the day, the more everybody gives in and allows the abuse to happen, the move it will be normalized and accepted. If you don’t like what is happening, then make changes in what you accept in your life.

I use Koel. https://koel.dev/

Install it at a host of your choice and access it in a web browser or with mobile apps.

I hear your frustration, but there are other options. They won’t necessarily be the same, or perhaps equivalent in every way, but they do exist. You don’t have to use the same corporations over and over again.

Conversations, Cheogram, Dino are the ones I’ve used.

You make a valid point, but I have to disagree about the need to collect the data without consent. I think the key here is opt-in. The way cellular devices currently work there is no way to use one without the location tracking. That is not technically required. It’s a design choice on the part of the telecommunications companies. Let’s imagine a telecommunications infrastructure that does not and technically can not track identifying location information. With such an infrastructure, the potential for abuse is immediately gone. Then let people opt-in to location tracking services using apps or other features on their device on an individual basis. I’m not against giving people individual choices. It’s the forced location information gathering that needs to go.

The act of collecting the location data should be illegal. Selling it should never have been possible.

Yes

These are all good questions.

The lose of signal won’t matter. It happens to me all the time as I move from wifi to wifi.

For your third question, it depends on if you a have a key backup with a key security code. That’s something you should set up asap after your initial client login. If you do, then you can recover. You might want to look at https://github.com/vector-im/element-web/issues/16202 for more explanation. The question comes up a lot.

Regardless, I’d make sure you’re always logged in twice if you can. Do you have Element Web running alongside Matrix? If you do, keep logged in on a desktop, or laptop. Just in case you lose the phone.