blaineNov 14, 2022

I've been thinking about the Fediverse for a looooong time, since before it was called the Fediverse. I'll admit my thinking hasn't evolved much for much of that time. The basic structure of it has been clear for nearly 15 years.

But today (so far - it's only 8:30 AM here!) I've learned *three* new perspectives that have changed/improved the way I think about the Fediverse/Mastodon in subtle but important ways.

So. Much. Gratitude. πŸ™β€οΈ

Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022
Since a number of folks asked what I learned yesterday, I wanted to pick this back up and share with the community that's giving me so much right now. So, a few brief threads (apologies to folks who don't like threads) of things I learned on the Fediverse yesterday: 🧡🧡🧡🧢🐈
Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022

TIL🧡2/3: Many have said it, I'm going to say it, too: I miss Quote Tweets. I appreciate the thoughtful justification for not implementing them, but also disagree. My ideal would be

a quote tweet that points up 😍☝️
rather than Twitter's pointing down πŸ€¬πŸ‘‡

because I think sometimes it's really important to contextualize or emphasize why you're boosting someone's post.

Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022

I think Quotations are coming, and I hope and believe that ultimately, the call isn't @Gargron's alone to make. @scottjenson has been advocating for designers & UX folk to take part, and I hope that structures emerge to make that not just possible, but pervasive.

In the meantime, @amirouche pointed me at this lovely pattern:
https://social.hyper.dev/@amirouche/109343002733668741

amirouche 🌱 (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] Quoted toot fork the conversation, and promote individuals instead of... conversation. Boosting a reply does the same, and leads to the interesting context.

social.hyper.dev
Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022

Basically, instead of QTing something, on Mastodon it's possible to reply to a post and then boost your reply.

That way, the visibility is the same as a Quote would have been, but with the interesting property that the OP doesn't get silenced/steamrolled, but the original post is still easily visible. More conversational, less adversarial.

Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022

Even if/when we get formal QTs, I like this pattern and will be using it where appropriate (it would be great to have a one-click mode and a name for this – does one exist? Any ideas?)

Thanks, @amirouche πŸ™

Show threadrealcaseyrollins ✝️

These are some interesting ideas here.

a quote tweet that points up

Here you mean, rearranging how quotes are displayed so the original post is listed above and more prominently?

Nov 15, 2022 at 10:59pmWeb
Show threadblaineNov 15, 2022
@realcaseyrollins @amirouche yup! Subtle changes can have a huge impact on how we think of things; obviously, there would be some big questions around how it would work given federated systems' ability to change the rendered output, but I reckon something like it could be worth a try. 😊
Show threadchris - sᴉɹΙ₯Ι”Nov 17, 2022
@blaine @realcaseyrollins @amirouche In terms of subtle changes, a "Disable QTs" option (either ad hoc for each post, or let a user set it for all posts) could help prevent the dunking problem.
Show threadJoseph E. Edwards VIIINov 19, 2022
@newfangl3d @blaine @realcaseyrollins @amirouche I think this is it exactly. I was never a Twitterer, so the QT thing is somewhat lost on me. But in line with the philosophy of consent here, why not make it an opt-in feature for those who want their toots to spread outside their own network?