Amy Diehl, Ph.D.Nov 12, 2022
Here's a Mastodon tool to search for users by name across instances. It also returns Twitter accounts in the results.
https://search.noc.social

Show thread๐ƒ๐ซ. ๐•ต๐–Ž๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–Š๐–‘L โ‚ฒโฑซโ‚ฎ ๐ŸŒNov 13, 2022

@amydiehl copied off a toot I came across recently:

[email protected] - This is a helpful overview of why the search feature is intentionally limited

https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/how-mastodon-search-works/

And it links to this thoughtful blog post on why the influx of new people on Mastodon has been so jarring to the community already here

https://www.hughrundle.net/home-invasion/

How Mastodon Search Works: Why Can You Only Use Hashtags?

Explaining the cultural dynamics that have led Mastodon to have a search engine that barely works by traditional standards.

Tedium: The Dull Side of the Internet.
Show threadMiguel Guhlin ๐Ÿฆ‰ ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒNov 13, 2022
@amydiehl @SiR_GameZaloT I suspect that this may not hold up going forward as well as it has in the past. Thatโ€™s not to say it shouldnโ€™t, only that it might be unsuppressable info. To restrict search may come across as a lack of transparency or censorship so many esteem even if it means a loss of privacy. Wasnโ€™t there an Alaska Daily episode that suggested the publicโ€™s right to know trumps privacy? I am not a journalist myself, but this seems irresistible to me to share, perhaps worse for a journalist. But then, I know little.
Show thread๐ƒ๐ซ. ๐•ต๐–Ž๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–Š๐–‘L โ‚ฒโฑซโ‚ฎ ๐ŸŒNov 13, 2022

@mguhlin @amydiehl I agree. The merits or otherwise of the arguments don't matter - search establishing itself here is an inevitability, especially if the influx from twitter continues.

I hope other mechanisms are developed to limit the pitfalls search was originally banned for here.

Show threadMiguel Guhlin ๐Ÿฆ‰ ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒNov 13, 2022
@amydiehl @SiR_GameZaloT what other mechanisms could there be?
Show thread๐ƒ๐ซ. ๐•ต๐–Ž๐–‡๐–—๐–Š๐–Š๐–‘L โ‚ฒโฑซโ‚ฎ ๐ŸŒ

@mguhlin @amydiehl search can be limited (somewhat like facebook already does) - people decide whether they want their names or posts to appear in searches for anyone, just for friends, or not at all.

Admins/Moderators can also be given tools to block search functions for stalkers and trolls.

Stuff like that.

I'm not sure if its codeable into the current protocol though, dont know much about programming.

Nov 14, 2022 at 3:11amWeb