MJNov 7, 2022
Sheril Kirshenbaum

After 1 week on #Mastodon, the biggest difference I notice compared to #Twitter is the way each network makes me feel.

Twitter:
Open, scroll…
“Why are people so horrible to each other?”

Mastodon:
Open, scroll…
“Wow! There are so many interesting people in the world! I want to know more of them.”

I sense being here is changing my perspective of social media. #TwitterMigration

Nov 5, 2022 at 11:35pmWeb
Show threadThe Brutal ArtistNov 5, 2022
@Sheril it's like coming up for a breath of fresh air, reminds me of how Twitter used to be in the first 3-4 years.
Show threadNapoleon CornejoNov 6, 2022
@thebrutalartist @Sheril Exactly my feeling!
Show threadRachel Happe 🐘Nov 6, 2022

@Sheril Twitter felt like that pre-2010/2012

It still worked that way for me mostly. My advice is not to follow brands or media handles (put them on lists if you want to see their content)

Show threadMaryn McKennaNov 6, 2022
@Sheril It really does feel like 10 years ago, like a comprehensive reboot.
There are glitches! And am sure there will be problems down the road, with real identity for instance, and with people's demands that it be Like Twitter Evn If It's Not. (See: QTs.)
But right now it's so refreshing.
Show threadJeremy MillerNov 7, 2022

@marynmck @Sheril I really love the lack of QTs. There's no dunking. It's so much better.

Dunking was good for occasional laughs, if I'm being honest - I'm no saint, certainly no better of a person than anyone who's laughed at a good QT dunk - but it was HORRIBLE for the platform as whole. This is...much nicer.

Show threadhpux735Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril Couldn't agree more!
Show threadMougrimNov 6, 2022
@Sheril Twitter is like a big room where everyone is screaming at each other.
Show threadSpencerNov 6, 2022
@Sheril That's was the case for me too, back when I joined. It's truly exciting to me to see what social media can be.
Show threadMike the Mad BiologistNov 6, 2022
@Sheril it really is much lower-key at the toot site
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumNov 6, 2022
@mikethemadbiologist low key sounds good 🙂
Show threadSonja LehnertNov 6, 2022
@Sheril to me it feels like the beginning of Zeitz. Interesting people being polite, helpful and creative.
Show threadRaymond KNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I joined Twitter in 2007, and it was amazing back then. I loved it there. Then I did lose interesr in 2010-2011. It felt a bit more stale. I think Mastodon will also have it’s own issues down the line, but I also think we should enjoy this freshness vibe as long as it is there. Meet new people, be curious, and try for as long as we can to see the others as Individuaks, not part of the numbers. For me, it is like youtube: «Creating videos for 10 friends» vs «I want 100K subscribers.»✨
Show threadbrandomNov 6, 2022
@Sheril And then all the emotionally damaged Tweeters came…
Show threadWer den FelsNov 6, 2022
@Sheril wait until they all come over here...
Show threadLewis L. ChuangNov 6, 2022
@werdenfels @Sheril that should be fine. One just needs to change instances.
Show threadRyuno-KiNov 6, 2022

@Sheril
It's on us, though, to keep it this way.

By either appalling, or - if this doesn't work - blocking and reporting.

Severe cases might even be shared by #fediblock

So far, the majority are acting in good faith.

Show threadIan TNov 6, 2022
@Sheril It’s like Twitter in the first 2 months! Hope this lasts.
Show threadmathewNov 6, 2022

@Sheril This is actually how Twitter used to be when I joined it (2007). I barely registered its slide into awfulness consciously, but that was probably because the whole world was on the same slide.

Which raises an interesting question about cause, effect and conflation, I guess.

Show threadJames PainNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I have a slight anxiety that the difference is actually the people, not the platform.
Show threadJagermoNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I remember when Twitter was like that.
Show threadPetri SalmelaNov 6, 2022

@Sheril Human networks often build around "super cells", people that have lots of connections. Big platforms with suggestion algorithms tend to amplify this. Super cells' communication is often more "one way street". "Everybody knows the monkey, but the monkey knows nobody ."

In smaller platforms without suggestion algorithms are easily more equals and "grassroots".

Show threadmagellanoNov 6, 2022
@pesasa
25 years on the Internet and I refused to create Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts because of those very algorithms that distort the social elements of the platform.
@Sheril
Show threadDatarainbow Privacy Assistant✅Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril Twitter at its first years was full of interesting people and interactions. Later, you needed to create and read your lists. Less interaction is a shame.
Show threadBenBNov 6, 2022
@Sheril best difference pitch i have read so far with this new wave of refugees :)
Show threadFreudian Mistake Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril I think part of this is that landing on a server you treat ppl on the server like family. ofc you got your occasional uncle between toots. but I started in an instance that I share a passion with. it may be different with those more general instances
Show threadMysticSkywolfNov 6, 2022
@Sheril yes! I have noticed same. 😍
Show threadHeike NaumannNov 6, 2022
@Sheril This is my experience, too, so far. Let's hope it's not a Fata Morgana or something ...
Show thread@ui3oNov 6, 2022
@Sheril exactly that’s the feeling
Show threadChristina SørensenNov 6, 2022
@Sheril it's just a matter of time thou before the migration wave brings a total end to the early adopters phase :/

Enjoy it while it lasts
Show threadChris GuidryNov 6, 2022

@Sheril I couldn't agree more! I left Twitter years ago, and had to take a hiatus from social media to detox.

So happy with the traction here!

Show threadLion's Brain Media (PF2)Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril I think it's the lack of quote tweets and "Hey other people follow this account"
Show threadPaethonNov 6, 2022
@Sheril True! #Twitter (and most other social media) generally leaves me feeling horrible and agitated. Yet I still have to control myself to not come back ... I guess that's the "crack" formula all those companies stumbled upon and every company has to use if they want to make money. That's why we need non-profit-driven social networks like #Mastodon.
Show threadChoan GálvezNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I have the same feeling. But I also felt amazed by Twitter and people on Twitter on 2006. I'm afraid evilness may be a function of time and quantity of users. And I hope it's not.
Show threadRebecca RichkusNov 6, 2022
@Sheril Same! I was just thinking about all of the super fascinating people I've run across in the last 48 hours... so many areas of interest and expertise from so many corners of the world. It reminds me of waaaaay back when on the internet.
Show threadCharlotte WalkerNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I feel very much the same
Show threadampanmdagabaNov 6, 2022
@Sheril So, are these the same people you followed before, or a new bunch of people? And if new ones, then how to find them?..
Show threadKara ShallenbergNov 6, 2022

@Sheril i completely agree. Opening twitter was like, ok, my friends are here and things are pretty nice in my little corner… OH MY GOD NOW WHAT.

I am intentionally not following journalists. I can get news from other sources. I want a wholesome, inclusive clubhouse, I want to be reminded that most people are kind, generous, and thoughtful most of the time

Show threadwoodgeNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I'm getting that sense too and it's only day one for me here.
Show threadAnthony M. Abboreno, PhDNov 6, 2022
@Sheril I’m enjoying the difference a lot so far, although I’ve mostly just been following, refollowing, and reblogging, haha! Twitter seems designed specifically to agitate, so I’m hopeful the feeling lasts, and isn’t just a honeymoon period.
Show threadTracey MaddenNov 6, 2022
@Sheril Yes, it feels like the early days of Twitter when there were few people with accounts and no one was too sure of what to do when they had one.
It did become more interesting as more people joined but...
I hope Twitter recovers but it's good to have an alternative.
Show threadmc.flyNov 6, 2022
@Sheril i think meanwhile that mastodon is better for your mental health.
Twitter is not good for your mental health
Show threadCaoilinn Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril that’s exactly how I feel on mastodon! So many interesting people! 🥰
Show threaddaubsiNov 6, 2022
@Sheril my first impression as well! Hope it stays much longer like that!
Show threadCapNov 6, 2022
@Sheril Its probably because the twitter algorithm is trying to maximize engagement, and fights get the most engagement. So it winds up promoting and incentivizing people to fight with each other.
Show threadJennifer TaubNov 6, 2022

@Sheril

Love wins

Show threadComfortably NumbNov 6, 2022
@Sheril Same. Basically my Twitter experience "Logon at 5am stay angry mad the whole day". Here...it's different.
Show threadOldSteveNov 6, 2022

@Sheril

New here today.
What an awesome feeling.
It does remind me of Twitter in the old days around 2011. Glad to see this excitement!
☺️👍☺️🤩🤩🤩

Show threadsiobhán o'flynnNov 6, 2022
@Sheril reminder of what Twitter was like 2009
Show threadStephen HuiNov 6, 2022
@Sheril The thing is Twitter was like that in the early days. Just with pointless food photos.
Show threadClaude M. SchraderNov 6, 2022
@stephenhui @Sheril I’ve been thinking about this too. It does feel kind of like early days twitter sometimes. Im hoping there are structural reasons why (like more aggressive moderation), rather than just a result of a much smaller community
Show threadRyder C   🔭 🚲Nov 6, 2022
@Sheril @adamdavidson it literally feels like a clumsy, super kind distant cousin of twitter’s that’s wears unfashionable clothes unselfconsciously and is just the coolest hang! I didn’t know I could feel good on social media anymore.
Show threadSoNotABrickNov 6, 2022
@Sheril same experience here. and not a single dick pic in my DMs.
Show threadJane AdamsNov 7, 2022
@Sheril I just started realizing now that my #instagram feed is also like 60% "suggested posts"? I can't seem to turn it off either (previously, I'd been able to snooze it and only show posts from people I follow, but it seems permanent now). This #fediverse lifestyle is really changing the way I see other social media sites now..
Show threadJared 🇦🇺🏳️‍🌈⚧️👽Nov 7, 2022
@janeadams @Sheril have you met @pixelfed yet? You can check mine out at @[email protected] or on the web at https://pixel.artemai.art/i/web/profile/494053964293517313
jared on ARTemAI Pixelfed

You can find my <a href="https://pixel.artemai.art/discover/tags/mastodon?src=hash" title="#mastodon" class="u-url hashtag" rel="external nofollow noopener">#mastodon</a> at <a class="u-url list-slug" href="https://pixel.artemai.art/@[email protected]" rel="external nofollow noopener">@[email protected]</a>; this profile is for my <a href="https://pixel.artemai.art/discover/tags/aiart?src=hash" title="#aiart" class="u-url hashtag" rel="external nofollow noopener">#aiart</a> made on https://artemai.art

ARTemAI Pixelfed
Show threadKKNov 7, 2022
@Sheril Agree!! I’m loving it!
Show threadChelle (she/her) 🐸☕Nov 7, 2022
@Sheril I'm just brand new here but there's already like a vibe that in general the content moderation is so much better I'm much more willing to venture out of my closed little circle and meet new folks.
Show threadMaryRobinNov 7, 2022
@Sheril It’s really quite lovely. So many smart and articulate people.
Show threadNobushiaNov 7, 2022
@Sheril this. I didn’t much use Twitter other than for news but that often meant having to scroll through a bunch of hate and yelling.
Show threadMike Sinno  ​Nov 7, 2022
@Sheril It is so refreshing. At least for now most people are being so good to each other.
Show threadSara WassonNov 7, 2022
@Sheril I know what you mean! I have holy been here for a day, but even the #introduction posts have been so interesting and heartwarming- I can imagine having fascinating conversations for hours with everybody