Kyle Humphrey 🌱Nov 8, 2022
Bastian Allgeier

Some people think Mastodon is too weird to become popular:

I joined Twitter in 2008. We had to put a "d" in front of a tweet to convert it to a direct message and every other day you had some embarrassing private moments exposed because someone forgot about the “d”. Hashtags were just a community hack, introduced by Chris Messina to somehow tag content. Search? Hah, you wish! Tweets via SMS were supposed to be a thing. Oh, and the daily meet and greet with the failwhale. Totally not weird.

Nov 8, 2022 at 1:13pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadunfunkNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't seen the Failwhale in ages, and that Mastodon needs something similarly whimsical instead of these 500-errors
Show threadKiran Castellino Nov 8, 2022
@unfnknblvbl @bastianallgeier There is a whimsically grumpy elephant, but you can only see it if the web app isn't loaded (so if you start getting a bunch of 500s, you might catch it if you refresh the page)
Show thread👀's BelleNov 8, 2022
@kiranc @unfnknblvbl @bastianallgeier I have seen the frustrated Mastodon gif angrily attacking a keyboard. It immediately reminded me of the fail whale. I felt strangely comforted since it made me laugh as I backed out of whereever didn't exist.
Show threadJanNov 8, 2022
@bellesapepper_37 @kiranc @unfnknblvbl @bastianallgeier The frustrated mastodon is always here for you at https://mastodon.social/500
Show threadIwillyeahNov 8, 2022
@kiranc @unfnknblvbl @bastianallgeier The failephant?
Show threadJelle Haandrikman 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇵🇸Nov 20, 2022
@unfnknblvbl @bastianallgeier Yesterday I saw more than enough Mastodon animations banging angry on the keyboard.
Show threadBianca KastlNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Not to forget the weird times a little bit later when someone invented Retweets RT @ which was weird because you further reduced the remaining chars.
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@bkastl oh right!! It's super interesting how I had to dig out all those memories of the early days. It all seems so obvious now, but it really was quite brain-bending back then. I remember when my professor introduced me to Twitter and I thought: wtf this is never going to go anywhere.
Show threadTom AnypuppiesNov 8, 2022
@bkastl @bastianallgeier I know that I first thought "RT" was shor for "reply to" and I used it in that sense for a bit, confusing my 5 readers back then… until a friendly soul (rip b00gie) nudged me in the right direction 😃
Show threadSteve MacNov 8, 2022
@webrocker @bkastl @bastianallgeier
I remember back in the 90s in my first foray into internet chat rooms I though LOL meant lots of love 😮
Show threadKatie LeeNov 8, 2022
@Macros42 @webrocker @bkastl @bastianallgeier me too! Because it did in the 80s!
Show threadmoopetJun 19, 2024
@shinykatie @Macros42 I remember an intermediate time where it meant "loads of laughs" and getting really confused when people emoted it because grammar
Show threadClionaNov 8, 2022
@bkastl @bastianallgeier I remember that, had totally forgotten about the RT taking up more chars! Gas now to think of it.
Show threadDave SwerskyNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier T-minus six months until #WhyDidntWeDoThisSooner 😁
Show threadDieuNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier I joined in 2009. Yes, it was very weird.
Show threadDeesterNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Good times...
Show threadtauliNov 8, 2022

@bastianallgeier I tend to think of twitter as this one weird mastodon instance, that for no good reason has blocked all the other instances and has one of the shittiest moderation teams. Also there's ads and this one emoji that you can add to your name for $8/month for some reason.

Weird is a matter of perspective.

Show thread👀's BelleNov 8, 2022
@tauli @bastianallgeier I swear your post, but it is also full of marginalized community voices and well, digital gentrification leaves them and the marginalized disables community behind. I have paid tverse blue for a year. I will stay and see what the $8 does. Besides they content creators in all instances aee asking for donations, $10, so, eh.
Show threadThomas Knoll 🌊Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier 50500? Or 40400 ? I can’t remember anymore.
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@thomasknoll I never really tried the SMS endpoint.
Show threadThomas Knoll 🌊Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier that was the only option when I started. T9 for lyfe.
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@thomasknoll hahahaha nice! Then you joined even earlier.
Show threadMichael D. IveyNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier @thomasknoll it was 40404
Show threadExtremely JordanNov 9, 2022
@thomasknoll @bastianallgeier 40404 I think. I had the number saved in my phone for years even after getting the app.
Show threadAlfred R. BaudischNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier also we would retweet by writing "RT [append tweet here']"
Show threadJonasnutsNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier And #FollowFriday and #ThrowbackThursday :-) Here at mastodon it smells a lot like those days (joined in 2008 as well). We were shaping the service. And then, the algorithm took place. Maybe we can help shape Mastodon, and expect no algorithm, this time :-) The return of the utopia? :-)
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@jonasnuts oh yes please! I'm here for it!
Show threadJonasnutsNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier So am I :-)
Show threadDaniel MorganNov 8, 2022
@jonasnuts @bastianallgeier I want to make my own algorithm that gives weight to certain attributes that I can tweak myself
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@Danielmorgan @jonasnuts that would indeed be pretty cool
Show threadJonasnutsNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier user sided, not platform sided, would be great. @Danielmorgan
Show threadDaniel MorganApr 30, 2023
@jonasnuts @bastianallgeier Impressed that the new AT network features “Algorithmic choice: Control how you see the world through an open market of algorithms.” - https://atproto.com Is there anyone working on this for Mastodon?
Lexicon - AT Protocol

A schema definition language.

AT Protocol
Show threadJonasnutsApr 30, 2023
@Danielmorgan I really don't know. @bastianallgeier
Show threadMi LiaNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier I don't find popularity necessarily a good thing ...
Show threadJoão SantosNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Toots via SMS would be a killer feature for instances targeting places with bad mobile internet.
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@jmcs never thought about it that way. You are totally right.
Show threadDan LovejoyNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier @jmcs Unfortunately, SMSes still cost a little bit, even at huge scale, so you’d have to have some sort of revenue model to pay for them.
Show threadJoão SantosNov 8, 2022
@danlovejoy @bastianallgeier receiving SMS is included on plenty of VOIP/SIP services, so it would "just" be a matter of having a service to bridge SIP to Mastodon. Of course this would one way, but helpful in general if you just want to send live updates from a zone without mobile internet.
Show thread🇵🇸 🇻🇪 🇮🇷 Severian 🔬🔭📡📚Nov 11, 2022

@jmcs
@danlovejoy @bastianallgeier

There are bridges which send toots vía email. Combined with DeltaChat they are a good alternative for poorly connected places

Show threadLarry ClappNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Had to Google "failwhale". For the lazy: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1987/fail-whale
What is the Fail Whale? - Definition from Techopedia

This definition explains the meaning of Fail Whale and why it matters.

Techopedia.com
Show threadladyterukiNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier : I need to RT this on Twitter ! :P
Show threadrickNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier and for years new people would sign on and have no idea what to do, what the point was, or how to find people. IMO it was way more confusing to people than the server thing is now. At least now people get what microblogging is and how it basically works.
Show threadhernancaNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier you had to use URL shorteners, and external sites to post images.
Show threadChristian Michel Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier I joined Twitter in 2006. There was even a global timeline!
Show threadBastian AllgeierNov 8, 2022
@chm oh yes, I remember that. It almost feels like an ancient memory that is no longer plausible 🤣
Show threadAaron SilversNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier I absolutely forgot about the d to dm someone…
Show threadStormkeeperGU (ShM) 🇺🇦Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Oh yeah... The failwhale... I almost forgot about that!
Show threadJaxNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier tweets via text were a thing. We used to use it on camping holidays. Meant you could save money, send one text and all your friends for it. Because you got charged by the text back then.
Show threadBenjamin Dumke-von der EheNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Manual "RT"s! Images needed to be hosted externally! Fun times 😁
Show threadEnricoNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier although I've never been a heavy Twitter user I remember those days, but the main difference is that back in the day we weren't spoiled by 10+ years of social media algorithms and carefully designed UIs. A lot of people learned to use the internet inside those ecosystems and breaking free won't be easy (or even desirable) for many of them..
Show threadTomas Bruno Choy 🐐🇨🇦Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier been on Twitter since 2009. Mastodon isn't bad at all.
Show threadSimply KatNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier so true.
Show threadjomoNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier @pfhllnts remember twitpic?
Show threadJinji the GengarNov 8, 2022
@jomo @bastianallgeier @pfhllnts Or TwitLonger?
Show threadSaxxon🦊Nov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier Tweets via SMS were absolutely a thing, and that's how I used it on the go! I won't forget the SMS number, 40404. This was before I had any "smart" mobile devices.
Show threadwolfie 🐺Nov 9, 2022
@Saxxon @bastianallgeier yeah that's what I came to say too, I only signed up to Twitter because I could send SMS to update it when I was away from the internet (unthinkable now!) and then had a daily digest post of my tweets that would post to my Livejournal 😄
Show thread👀's BelleNov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier good ol' days of Twitter. When cell data plans severely limited who could participate. When Twitter SMS rolled out and the ability to quote SMS tweets. I thought that was the best access of it's time. 2k + per day for me. LoL texting plan was better. Then it changed to app notifications, bloated app ware. smh Good thing internet hit some parts of this Rez. Or I wouldn't be here.
Show threadH2ONov 8, 2022
@bastianallgeier thanks for that bit of history! I waa remembering the advent of hashtags last night but didn’t know who to credit.