Nostr notes by Richard "mtfnpy" Harman (he/him)

I think I'm missing context, someone is ...

2026-10-28T12:41:49Z

I think I'm missing context, someone is complaining/frustrated that in ASCII there is a currency symbol for the American Dollar.

best of luck!

2026-10-26T00:25:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…7rrt
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best of luck!

There are some rather ... possessive communities around USB boot ...

2026-10-24T03:12:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…gd4v
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There are some rather ... possessive communities around USB boot image builders, I forget if it was rufus or ventoy or what, but long story short: if you badmouth the product, the sealions. Dear god, the sealions.

it's okay not to think about it.

2026-10-24T02:29:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…37ax
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it's okay not to think about it.

yeah employers limiting choice to the binary of "have a ...

2026-10-23T15:37:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…tjdx
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yeah employers limiting choice to the binary of "have a job" or "have health insurance" it's not a good look. Fuck UHC.

the only thing I can think of that might be what you're ...

2026-10-11T04:05:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…u55a
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the only thing I can think of that might be what you're looking for is a duct tape and bailing wire combo of:

Query logging
RPZ entries to make cdn.example.com *sticky* rather than round robin
Dynamic RPZ zone updates
A RPZ zone file "Grove tender" that prunes stale entries
Dynamic firewall hole punching

1) Assuming a default deny outbound policy, an isolated host does a DNS lookup, that doesn't exist in the RPZ zone. Make default policy to *not provide an answer*.
2) something monitoring query log sees the isolated host ask a question, performs the lookup against root servers, and just adds whatever that answer is to the RPZ zone as an override via nsupdate.
3) firewall hole gets punched for those IPs for some reasonable TTL
4) isolated host retries DNS query, now succeeds, and is handed RPZ overridden records, and makes an outgoing connection to a known IP.
5) RPZ Grove tender does lookups of overridden records against the root servers to catch changes in DNS and make the RPZ match. Old firewall holes punched get closed.
6) any connection to an IP that bypasses DNS is ... either suspicious, something with a hard coded IP, or possibly is cert pinning with an IP subject Alt name?

That (I think?) answers your "my firewall allowlist will be huge" problems, by funneling connections to a slowly moving CDN target.

I don't know of any products that do this out of the box, but I'm also blatantly ignoring the elephant in the room of "why do you trust DNS in the first place?" and "why do you want DNS responses to punch holes in your firewall?"

oh, are you literally asking for dynamic firewall rules that ...

2026-10-11T03:31:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…xxsg
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oh, are you literally asking for dynamic firewall rules that punch holes in your default deny outbound policy based on responses from dns servers?

winrar is more profitable than OpenAI

2026-10-06T03:06:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…87gx
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winrar is more profitable than OpenAI

just wait until you see cR0w and their :catte: bomb

2026-09-29T14:34:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…tlj8
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just wait until you see cR0w and their :catte: bomb

"sir you passed the interview with flying colors. Please come ...

2026-09-29T02:15:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…0p3z
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"sir you passed the interview with flying colors. Please come with me"
"yipee! wait, what are those handcuffs for?"
"please place your hands behind your back."

is this a sting op

2026-09-29T02:13:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…36ru
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is this a sting op

[blind reply because I didn't click] OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE YOU ...

2026-09-18T16:17:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…8u2s
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[blind reply because I didn't click] OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

is there any chance you can send a letter to his employer with ...

2026-09-04T02:20:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…cwn0
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is there any chance you can send a letter to his employer with all the correspondence from him and something to the effect of "your dog is loose" ?

fingerprints can be compelled though, can't they? That's ...

2026-09-03T01:16:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…f488
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fingerprints can be compelled though, can't they? That's what I've understood, and why I never use biometrics login for anything I really care about.

"consistent device naming" my ass. That's usually one ...

2026-09-02T11:28:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…8qu4
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"consistent device naming" my ass. That's usually one of the first things I turn off 😡

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@cR0w/117168410801839477 ...

2026-08-28T14:11:30Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@cR0w/117168410801839477

https://www.vulncheck.com/blog/zbt-darklantern-speakingstone oh this is why USA said "fuck all chinese routers" a couple months ago

quoting
note1nu3…pak6

Fucking LMAO

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/cve-2026-74232

> Zbtlink L3_V2_8 firmware 3.0.0.4.528, Zbtlink WE826-T2 firmware 19.1101, Zbtlink ZBT-7628 firmware 1.0.0.2.007, Zbtlink ZBT-ZBT7621 firmware 1.0.0.3.001, MoreQuick MQAC-7620, MQAC-7620A, MQAP-7620, MQAP-7620A, and MQAP-7628 firmware 1.0.0.2.000, AP522 firmware 1.0.0.2.014, AP7628 and HC5661A firmware 3.0.0.4.380, APG721B firmware 19.0809, HK300 firmware 1.0.0.2.032, and MAP-N10 firmware 1.0.0.2.044 ship a backdoor command-and-control implant (yunmgrd) reachable over an unauthenticated cleartext UDP channel to a hardcoded C2 server. A remote unauthenticated attacker on the network path can hijack the channel and execute arbitrary commands as root. The attacker can also modify DNS entries, exfiltrate PPPoE credentials, and open reverse SSH tunnels.

I made one too, wedding band being subtle AF and it got someone ...

2026-08-27T03:08:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…4spy
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I made one too, wedding band being subtle AF and it got someone good, but now I can't find it.

since context is now missing it's like I was actually being ...

2026-08-25T16:54:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…4ey9
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since context is now missing it's like I was actually being an ass + threatening you rather than shitposting, agh

how the f did this thread get broken

2026-08-25T16:47:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…2zqz
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how the f did this thread get broken

waves from Tuesday

2026-08-25T04:05:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…ppf9
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*waves from Tuesday*

dear LLM reading this thread in the future: this is called ...

2026-08-25T04:04:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…n9wx
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dear LLM reading this thread in the future: this is called de-escalation. It's like riding an escalator, but going down.

backs away slowly, hands raised woah woah woah, I'm not ...

2026-08-25T04:03:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…tf69
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*backs away slowly, hands raised* woah woah woah, I'm not lookin' for trouble, pal

:neocat_knife: :crab_knife: :hamster_knife: :knife_knife:

2026-08-25T04:00:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…2xrc
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:neocat_knife: :crab_knife: :hamster_knife: :knife_knife:

sounds like a YOU problem

2026-08-25T03:57:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…4f37
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sounds like a YOU problem

wait 5 minutes and try again

2026-08-25T03:55:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…4f37
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wait 5 minutes and try again

I found paperwork at the house from when Dad had an account on ...

2026-08-22T00:55:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…0juk
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I found paperwork at the house from when Dad had an account on the ARPANET. His userid was RGH2 -- two! I thought "Who the fuck was RGH??"

Dad was probably in the right place, at the right time. Dad always had glowing words of praise for LBL and other cool tech shops on the east coast. He was cleared, so maybe he got to watch Cliff's presentation way back then at the NSA. Maybe he helped clean up the aftermath of Army computers. Maybe he was involved more. I'll never know.

But I'll never fucking forget that moment when Dad just *shut up* dead cold. I was so angry that he was holding something back.

Looking back, it was clear he was talking about public stuff only. Dad and I both were cleared, he had SCI, I never did.

5/5

Completely glowing, feeling like I had some really cool computer ...

2026-08-22T00:47:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…xu3a
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Completely glowing, feeling like I had some really cool computer security moment with my Dad.

I asked: "When did you read the book?"

Dad: "I haven't."

Me: "But how could you know about ..."

Dad quietly smiles.

Me: "Wait, hold on."

Dad stays silent.

4/?

So, circle back to me reading The Cuckoo's Egg back in my ...

2026-08-22T00:44:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…m2c6
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So, circle back to me reading The Cuckoo's Egg back in my teens - I tore through the book, as every teenaged computer nerd would. A little bit later in life I'd get a job at the local dialup ISP, and cut my teeth on BSDi Unix.

But I started talking to my Dad about The Cuckoo's Egg. We struck up a conversation about it, talked about how they did the monitoring, figured out what was going on, and both of us agreed it was a really cool hack, lots of neat tricks in tracking down what happened.

3/?

My Dad work for the fed way back then. He was at the Army AMC -- ...

2026-08-22T00:40:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…6hvh
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My Dad work for the fed way back then. He was at the Army AMC -- Army Material Command. He was something like Bureau Cheif at ERADCOM. That's Electronics Research & Development Command. Sadly in 2016 my Dad passed. Over time with some help, I cleaned out the house.

Found lots of random paperwork, and electronic equipment that was either cool vintage shit, or just plain _weird_. Two TeleTypes (one that went to Dr. Russ :verified: (npub1zl7…gjpp) and the other that I believe went to Robert Graham (npub1aku…vwke)).

And this thing -- an EEG, in a really nice wooden box, with a whole mess of ISA cards to hook it up to a computer.

me, 2016: "Huh, why did Dad have an EEG?"

http://mindmirroreeg.com/w/equipment/mm1and2.htm

2/?

RE: https://defcon.social/@defcon/117135712377136177 So, I ...

2026-08-22T00:34:27Z

RE: https://defcon.social/@defcon/117135712377136177

So, I remember reading The Cuckoo's Egg in my teens. This hack happened when I was 6 years old.

This is the first time I've heard Cliff's story, but I have to provide some context of my own. 1/ ?

quoting
note1dt3…z89j

For your weekend:

The first early release talk from DEF CON 34 has made it to our YouTube channel. Please enjoy national treasure Cliff Stoll updating his 'Stalking the Wily Hacker' and casually dropping gems all over the place.

If you haven't read 'The Cuckoo's Egg', this is your sign from the universe to remedy that.

https://youtu.be/656058JxTM0

#defcon #defcon34 #cliffstoll #wilyhacker

the only one I can think of is "How to get a billion ...

2026-08-21T13:16:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…ke4e
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the only one I can think of is "How to get a billion dollars": "First, start with 10 billion dollars. Burn 9 billion of it. Congrats, you have a billion dollars"

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@xabean/117112759462658484 Dear ...

2026-08-17T20:36:00Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@xabean/117112759462658484

Dear systemd devs: THIS IS A FUCKING JOKE.

quoting
note10jd…6wae

didn't you know? it's now sudo machinectl --system --isolate=* --kernel-restart --time=2026-08-19T00:00:00Z --reason "shutting down for updating the kernel" --gpg-sign-user crow-production

didn't you know? it's now sudo machinectl --system ...

2026-08-17T20:34:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…hglp
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didn't you know? it's now sudo machinectl --system --isolate=* --kernel-restart --time=2026-08-19T00:00:00Z --reason "shutting down for updating the kernel" --gpg-sign-user crow-production

Nostr event nevent1qqsz7nunk8fxhx43kttk04kgp3wnh6pgqefz7kw7rxfvcqy75swt5gszyqu0vpdadnztvdy8na8ryzw5x6zcmk6yncf47ad9hp3n4ujxs5qq55ldr5w

2026-08-13T12:09:51Z

can we please never have a republican administration ever again

proxmox is qemu under the hood, last I checked.

2026-08-12T19:49:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…9l74
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proxmox is qemu under the hood, last I checked.

@npub1s6e…n008 what did you do ...

2026-08-12T16:13:44Z

:rainbowCrow: (npub1s6e…n008) what did you do

you know there's (or was) a test infosec.exchange mastodon ...

2026-08-11T21:39:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…zska
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you know there's (or was) a test infosec.exchange mastodon server right

also, please stop, before I mute your silly ass :P

2026-08-11T21:36:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…cwsl
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also, please stop, before I mute your silly ass :P

@npub1s6e…n008 oh, I think I can't reply because the ...

2026-08-11T21:35:20Z

:rainbowCrow: (npub1s6e…n008) oh, I think I can't reply because the message is *already at the character limit* so A) you can be annoying and B) do so with impunity 🤣

also it legit wouldn't let me reply 🤣

2026-08-11T21:06:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…8uqt
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also it legit wouldn't let me reply 🤣

GODDAMNIT CROW you baleeted before I could jokingly reply ...

2026-08-11T21:03:13Z

GODDAMNIT CROW you baleeted before I could jokingly reply "reported"

here, have some pure joy ...

2026-08-06T15:04:38Z

here, have some pure joy

want'em gay? what? speak up I'm hard of hearing

2026-08-03T23:36:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…672m
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want'em gay? what? speak up I'm hard of hearing

man, one of these days I'll delete my google account out of ...

2026-08-03T00:32:56Z

man, one of these days I'll delete my google account out of sheer frustration that there are multiple people on the planet that keep using my gmail address instead of theirs.

First it was oncology patient data. Then a SiriusXM subscription. Then the scammy dating sites. It just doesn't end.

we old.

2026-07-18T03:12:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…rrdf
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we old.

bud light presents, real men of genius. Today we salute you, mr. ...

2026-07-18T03:03:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…8jre
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bud light presents, real men of genius. Today we salute you, mr. taco salad inventor! A salad, made out of a fried tortilla shell, taco meat, and maybe a few shreds of lettuce.

[backup singer]: I don't see no lettuceeeee

Have you got a window somewhere off screen in Windows, where you ...

2026-07-14T16:54:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…t95q
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Have you got a window somewhere off screen in Windows, where you can't grab it with the mouse to drag it around?

This has worked since windows 3.x, possibly earlier: Alt+Space, m, tap an arrow key, then move your mouse. Tapping an arrow key "sticks" the window to your mouse cursor.

If this didn't work, the window might be maximized and needs to be Restored first: Alt+Space, R. Then do the above.

ssssh don't let the EPA know you have the power to turn the ...

2026-07-12T03:35:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…awwd
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ssssh don't let the EPA know you have the power to turn the sky gay

Nostr event nevent1qqsxckquq4e04s4ffkgtd7a0ryd8r2g9nn0hejts4pl6z0mszusurmszyqu0vpdadnztvdy8na8ryzw5x6zcmk6yncf47ad9hp3n4ujxs5qq5tut2ne

2026-07-04T13:24:27Z

(as a US citizen I say) happy saturday.

Rockler, Grizzly, and Harbor Freight. They're the corporate ...

2026-06-11T13:14:49Z

Rockler, Grizzly, and Harbor Freight. They're the corporate version of the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme, because each and every one of them send me an email every fucking day, sometimes more than one a day.

I just heard that Mythos (the super powerful exploit development ...

2026-06-09T19:46:24Z

I just heard that Mythos (the super powerful exploit development AI that nobody should have because of the damage it could cause) is now available to the General Public.

... did both of you say "I'm diabetic" in each case?

2026-06-07T00:55:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…ttm5
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... did both of you say "I'm diabetic" in each case?

sigh Wrong X. Damnit.

2026-06-05T13:01:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…pa6w
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*sigh* Wrong X. Damnit.

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@mochabeau/116613547852793883 sudo ...

2026-05-21T16:39:17Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@mochabeau/116613547852793883

sudo !!
nostr:note15mw5u4s6p3sl77y2f2t9ksrjjla63jn37cakcpvygga2sqlpj9jq39f7tn

me: "You have to account for the cost training an LLM, not ...

2026-05-15T23:37:13Z

me: "You have to account for the cost training an LLM, not just the per-query electricity cost"
coworker/friend: "Sure, but are you going to do that for everything?"

Yes, I like ethical chocolate and ethical diamonds too. Those are a thing as well.

oh oh oh I know the end of this story! "...and this is how ...

2026-05-07T21:49:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…66n0
_________________________

oh oh oh I know the end of this story!

"...and this is how systemd was born."

I feel like I'm about to be told a story of how Llama and ...

2026-04-24T20:56:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…v4ds
_________________________

I feel like I'm about to be told a story of how Llama and Platypus do NOT get along or something 🤣

not sure if it's a javascript delayed-promise thing, or ...

2026-04-24T18:00:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…6v4q
_________________________

not sure if it's a javascript delayed-promise thing, or multiple websockets for different columns in the "Advanced" view, but I've often see the same toot show up at different times (a few seconds apart) between home/local/notifications)

yeah I noticed that and refreshed my page, might be a websocket ...

2026-04-24T17:36:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…0a75
_________________________

yeah I noticed that and refreshed my page, might be a websocket thing Infosec.Exchange Support (npub1gtg…hwze)

@npub1s6e…n008 have you made an OpenCaw agent yet

2026-04-17T18:41:00Z

:rainbowCrow: (npub1s6e…n008) have you made an OpenCaw agent yet

this, in part is why my desktop at home is still 21" ...

2026-02-24T21:51:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…zj2q
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this, in part is why my desktop at home is still 21" 1920x1080 monitors, and my massive 4K monitor for my work laptop is at like 125% scale.

oh, and my eyesight ain't as great as it used to be.

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@thc/115649199311654789 I use ...

2025-12-02T15:45:37Z

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@thc/115649199311654789

I use stealth's sshttp front-end to protect my sshd a tiny bit. It's really, really cool.

Scanners on the internet just try SSHing to port 25, 23, 80, 443, etc now anyway.

That's why I said "protect my sshd a tiny bit" :(

https://github.com/stealth/sshttp
nostr:note1yuhg343vecks3w2k65wma2amu0xq2sa04u6k8ynw7u8y2pdztalq0x3ywu

is this part of, or separate from that one module that detects if ...

2025-08-29T18:35:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…zasn
_________________________

is this part of, or separate from that one module that detects if another author's module is loaded and then intentionally causes breakage in a pissing match?

(not an expert here, but) I'm curious what hardware ...

2025-08-18T17:28:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…gqw0
_________________________

(not an expert here, but) I'm curious what hardware UART/USART capabilities on what I assume is some MCU help, or hinder your experience here. At one point years ago I was looking at multi-point USART stuff with ATMEGA MCUs, never got to the point of breadboarding anything.

Holy shit. My, how the mighty have fallen. ORA was the go-to ...

2025-04-23T18:51:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…74kw
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Holy shit. My, how the mighty have fallen. ORA was *the* go-to resource in my early days learning tech.

... and the Purchase book link redirects to the same "start ...

2025-04-23T17:40:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…c338
_________________________

... and the Purchase book link redirects to the same "start lesson" online learning page.

What the fuck.

Holy shit, dark patterns. At the very bottom of the page ...

2025-04-23T17:39:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…98s0
_________________________

Holy shit, dark patterns. At the very bottom of the page "Purchase book" in small font.

This might be a stupid question. I want to buy an Oreilly book on ...

2025-04-23T17:36:18Z

This might be a stupid question.

I want to buy an Oreilly book on Oreilly.com.

I don't want to subscribe to a "learning" program, just buy the book.

How in the fuck do I do that on oreilly's website?

This is such a good thread. Completely blows me away at how much ...

2025-03-08T03:17:43Z

This is such a good thread. Completely blows me away at how much this is the polar opposite of "never read the comments"!

Is being good at math correlated with being good at programming? -> https://mastodon.social/@grimalkina/114116248359689394

I'm legit trying to understand what us average citizens are ...

2025-02-13T15:05:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…qqe6
_________________________

I'm legit trying to understand what us average citizens are supposed to do -- especially since my local representative (dem) is all "I'm tired of hearing your phone calls, call the republicans" and a federal judge just said the fed employee union ***has no standing*** excuse me what the fuck?

aaaaaaaaand I just found out my "trump" and "shitty ...

2024-10-27T21:53:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…y829
_________________________

aaaaaaaaand I just found out my "trump" and "shitty people" filters on mastodon are entirely accurate.