Sorry for the late response, but yes, I believe you can. There is an option in the config called allow_public_upload which can be changed to true or false.

Also worth mentioning: osu!lazer has a native Linux build, whereas osu!stable still requires WINE to run on Linux. That’s something I was very glad to see.

Use Mullvad, unless you absolutely require port forwarding.

As another commenter said, it’s not possible to verify. You’ll just have to take each instance’s word for it.

Instance lists for some privacy front-ends will point out additonal info, such as if each instance is using CloudFlare or not (this may or may not be useful depending on if you distrust CloudFlare), some other services (like Rimgo, a private Imgur frontend) lets the instance hoster customize the privacy policy. But once again, this is all relying on the instance host telling the truth.

At this time, we feel our case for a defamation suit would be very strong; however, our deepest wish is to simply put all of this behind us.

The passive-aggressive bragging… this comes off as nonprofessional to me, like “we could sue the pants off this person if we wanted to”. Why does the public even need to hear this part in particular? It sounds like something that should be privately communicated to the alleged defamer, not the public. It’s a little odd in my opinion…

Regardless, I am interested in seeing the full report and I’ll keep a close eye on this.