Mastodawn

@patricia thanks for writing this.

Folks here on #Mastodon should read this, and take this seriously.
Clearly, there's a culture around how things are done here at Mastodon, but maybe there is a better way to teach folks about that culture instead of blocking/banning folks outright.

If #Mastadon is to be a place for well-meaning folks on the internet, threatening people may not be the best way forward.

And it is hard to know who means well, but @[email protected]'s call out is pretty clear cut #IMHO

an instance where "well-meaning" is not clear-cut:

I have refrained from posting anything about last night's elections here in the US, because I know I would be dinged about CWs. That makes me not want to post about elections/politics.

That does not feel very free-speech-y.

But I can also easily imagine discourse around US politics and elections getting out of hand (as intentioned by the OP), so a CW may not be a bad idea for all things politics (?). I dunno!

Dr Diego Garaialde

@krishnavp Hi, I'm a little confused by your post. If you're worried about getting dinged for CWs for posting on US politics. Why not just add "US politics" as the CW? Why refrain from posting instead?

@diego it’s about friction (one more thing to do when posting) and my want to be in people’s good graces (and generally not wanting to upset/bother folks)🙂
a CW (for me) implies something that may upset folks … I guess. Eg, I get that folks find US politics unappealing or triggering.
So why would I want to post about something, which even I admit may bother someone … even if it comes with a CW?
So I refrain. Unless I feel really strong about it. So in some ways, it’s a good thing? Not sure.

https://someone.elses.computer/@TheCybermatron/109320168604846395

@krishnavp while CW does imply upset. I think the use on Mastodon has evolved past that. And in some instances/interfaces, it's actually called a "subject line".

This thread may provide greater insight:

Cybermatron (@[email protected])

Content warning: Thoughts on CWs

Someone Else's Computer

@krishnavp but as a summary. I think of it likes this. I don't live in America. So I don't care as much about US politics. Therefore I may skip over a few posts that have a CW of US politics. Otherwise I'd have to skim all of them and it gets annoying.

On a more mundane note. I'm no longer a PhD students. If people are looking advertise to PhD students a position, a CW for that also keeps me from getting spammed irrelevant stuff.

Don't see the downside.

@diego to clarify: I would have no trouble if someone used a CW for their posts.. no matter the subject (eg, PhD Positions posting). But I am not going to go ask them to add CW if I think they are missing one.

I would certainly not do this as a mod, unless I have explicitly called it out in the community guidelines of the instance I run. And even then I would be mindful of how I communicate it. 🙂

@krishnavp completely agree

@diego and I am still picking up on that. But as you can see, some of the newcomers are trying to grapple with how things work here. 🙂 thanks for the explainer!

@krishnavp also in terms of friction. If adding a subject line to an email adds enough friction to stop you from emailing, maybe that amount of friction is actually a good thing. Sometimes we shouldn't be posting just because we can, but because we've thought about it.

vijay🍿☕️🍼Nov 11, 2022

@diego that is something I have been thinking about a lot. And I certainly value the "subject" line in emails, as it forces me to think about what it is I am talking about 😂

So yes, I agree that it is a good thing.

CWs are certainly a powerful and versatile feature. And I consider them to be a net positive, not just in Mastodon, but in social media in general. I hope other sites (FB et. al.) steal this feature.

Our attitudes on how we expect our fellow people to use it, is another matter 🙂

Mackaj Nov 11, 2022

@krishnavp @diego

I had a similar experience when I first joined. I had someone thought police me about not wrapping a post about UK politics in a CW. It stung. I just wanted freedom to express myself.

But when I read the guy's post with a clear head what he was actually telling me was that he wanted to be able to scroll through things faster, and return to #UKPolitics posts when he had time to digest them in one go.

Seems to historically be a thing here.

Ben Nov 11, 2022

@mackaj @krishnavp @diego exactly this. It gives you the option to dip in and out of topics at your leisure. Politics especially can raise the blood pressure.

vijay🍿☕️🍼Nov 11, 2022

@benmcfc @mackaj @diego I take the lessons here. Nothing against CWs or their usage. And I agree that social media and politics mix poorly.

how far do you take it with the CW policing though? Pretty sure someone will think that this thread should have been under a CW. ⚠️

Here’s how I see it most days: Any social system needs rules, but also the tolerance for bending and breaking those rules — like English and it’s grammar 🤣

Ben Nov 12, 2022

@krishnavp @mackaj @diego yep! Absolutely. There will be a learning curve too. People need to cut people some slack for sure.

Also, on English:
https://mastodon.scot/@Freyalyn/109321852456050420 😅

Freyalyn 🍁 🍂 🍃 🍄 🌻 (@[email protected])

“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.” #TerryPratchett, who can always be relied upon for saying really interesting things that are true*. *For a given value of true. ETA - I have been corrected; this is quoted from James D Nicholl.

mastodon.scot

Mackaj Nov 12, 2022

@benmcfc

Haha, I love that James D Nicholl quite. So true. Thanks for the link.

@krishnavp @diego

vijay🍿☕️🍼Nov 12, 2022

@benmcfc @mackaj @diego absolutely brilliant re:English(!!) 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣