iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dan Phiffer

@phiffer.org

1.9K followers 655 following 106 posts

Web developer at @propublica.org and member of @propublicaguild.org. Lives in Troy, NY. He/him. More active on Mastodon: social.coop/@dphiffer

Posts Replies Media

Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 28/06/2026

⚽️ 3 players from Japan’s national team vs 100 elementary school kids via mastodon.social/@benroyce/11...

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 22/05/2026

Here's how you can setup Firefox to use noai.duckduckgo.com as your search engine:

Screenshot of Firefox search settings, showing a "DuckDuckGo (noai)" option. The URL it searches on is https://noai.duckduckgo.com/?q=%s

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 05/11/2025

Feeling good today.

Strava run results screenshot entitled “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 22/06/2025

Rosie is obsessed with stuff on the ground.

Rosie on her hands and knees in the entrance threshold of our apartment.

Rosie crouched looking at gravel in a parking lot on a sunny day.

Rosie bent over looking down at the sidewalk.

Rosie sitting on the laundromat floor surrounded by quarters.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 03/05/2025

“This one might be my best one yet.” —me, every time I roast a marshmallow.

My hand holding a perfectly toasted marshmallow.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 27/04/2025

The tour was very good—the upshot is basically that Harriett Tubman was a total bad-ass and direct action gets the goods. Very impressed with 19th c. Abolitionists. Tomorrow will mark 165 years since Charles Nalle was rescued in Troy, NY.

Photo of the beginning of the tour, a man is standing on some steps and speaking into a megaphone.

A plaque reads: Here was begun April 27, 1860 the rescue of Charles Nalle an escaped slave who had been arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act.

Many people gathered on a sidewalk in Troy NY, the sun is out.

People gathered at the edge of the Hudson river, a man speaks into a megaphone.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 03/04/2025

Bonus tip: if you’re leaking an image with faces in it, Signal’s camera has a convenient feature to blur them.

Screenshot of the Signal camera with the “adjustments” button highlighted.

Screenshot of Signal’s adjustments tools, the blurring option is highlighted.

Screenshot of Signal’s Blur faces feature.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 04/03/2025

A photo diptych by my 15 month old, Rosie.

View looking up at the ceiling in a dark room. A hand stitched quilt is visible on one wall.

A view looking upward in a dark room. An open doorway, ceiling light, and smoke detector are visible in the top part of the frame.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 28/02/2025

“That’s a promise.” github.com/mozilla/bedr...

Side-by-side screenshots of Mozilla's FAQ shown in Internet Archive’s wayback machine. In the newer version they’ve removed a section: “Does Firefox sell your personal data? Nope. Never have, never will. And we protect you from many of the advertisers who do. Firefox products are designed to protect your privacy. That's a promise.”

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 12/02/2025

The Gulf of [Bee Movie script]

Google Maps screenshot of the Gulf of Mexico place page. Except instead of "Gulf of Mexico" or "Gulf of America" it's just the entire script of Bee Movie.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 12/02/2025

I love this live interpretation audio feature that May First added to their Jitsi video conferencing. e.g., if you have English and Spanish speakers and a live translator, a slider lets each person change who they hear, depending on what language they understand. It works well! gitlab.com/mfmt/jsi/

Screenshot of a Jitsi video call with a slider that changes between "Interpretation" and "Live" audio.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 18/01/2025

Dang they caught my cyber attack! But seriously, having overzealous automated moderation is just a reality of running a giant social media operation. But this is also exactly *why* I’m leaving.

Cybersecurity
Community Standards

We don't allow people to try to gather sensitive information from others.

Examples of things we don't allow:

Trying to get access to someone's accounts or data, with or without permission

Encouraging someone to give away their
password or username.

Using phishing tactics to get someone's
login info

Your freedom of expression
We want you to share freely with others. We only remove things or restrict people to keep the community respectful and safe.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 13/01/2025

New profile pic.

Photo of Dan Phiffer, a white guy in his mid-forties. He's looking into the camera and smiling slightly.

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 04/05/2024

There's also a PDF cheat sheet you can print out and distribute locally, if you are so inclined. themarkup.org/prepmyphone

Prepare your phone for protests

Consider not bringing your phone at all
Think about your own risks and how your phone’s contents might endanger those who you’re communicating with.

Use messaging apps that can’t be intercepted
Signal and Whatsapp are encrypted services

Turn off Location Tracking
Turn on airplane mode or turn off location history/services

Use a passcode, not fingerprint or face recognition
The longer your passcode the better. Passcodes have more legal protection than biometrics.

Turn off or obscure notifications
If your phone is seized, notifications can reveal info about anyone getting in touch with you.

Before You Share
Take screenshots of any photos and post those instead to strip out identifying metadata. Cover up identifying information for people and locations

Physicalize Your Phonebook
Phones can run out of battery, get lost, broken, or taken away. Write down a lawyer or emergency contact on your arm in Sharpie

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Dan Phiffer @phiffer.org · 25/07/2023

I was glad to see @rusty.todayintabs.com make the zombo.com joke, it was all I could think of when I read this.

Tweet screenshot from Linda Yaccarino: “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”

“You can do anything on Zombo com,” she concluded, before projectile vomiting and then falling into deep conversation with a nearby ficus...

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