Diana Poudel🇪🇪Nov 19, 2022
christina b

Them: "Mastodon is hard to use."
Me: _gets started easily_
#coops

Them: "The #fediverse is fragmented - hard to find anyone."
Me: _easily finds many folks here I know or enjoy_
👋

Them: "It's just white male tech nerds"
Me: _discovers fairly robust presence of non-white, non-male folks_
✊

Them: "It's set up so it's antiviral"
Me: _sees more interest in my thoughts here than ever on the birdsite_
🙃

Them: "Local servers are like isolated islands."
Me: _finds a canoe to explore archipelago_
🛶

Nov 18, 2022 at 4:49pmWeb
Show threadSue WilkinsonNov 18, 2022
@christina
They will learn fast when the bird site falls over. They will have too.
Show threadJim ClausenNov 19, 2022
@redballoonsue @christina
Got signed up after Elon ran a poll, "Should DT be reinstated?"
Over 60% replied Yes.
I'm convinced.
Show threadSunny Willow 🌞Nov 20, 2022

@Panamafred @redballoonsue @christina

Elon has already reactivated his account. The trolls are ecstatic.

Show threadJim ClausenNov 20, 2022
@sunnywillow @redballoonsue @christina
Now he faces a decision....
Does he cannibalize his own failing social platform & go play on Qelon's site?
Show threadSue WilkinsonNov 20, 2022
@Panamafred @christina
I felt depressed when I saw the poll running. But my husband, who is a tech pro, said the bots were out in force to swing that vote to Trump. And I believe him. He knows how to look. So it's heavily influenced by machines. Same with Katie Hopkins!
Show threadJim ClausenNov 20, 2022
@redballoonsue @christina
Twitter leans heavily Progressive, so DT fairly winning that "poll", is out of the question.
Bottom line, DT won't take advantage, so no big deal.
Show threadJim ClausenNov 20, 2022
@redballoonsue @christina
Just more turmoil from a couple of overly rich bastards.
Show threadSue WilkinsonNov 20, 2022
@Panamafred @christina
It's as if they enjoy toying with us just because they can. Well they can't get at us on here!
Show threadPazzle Ron CupboardNov 18, 2022
@christina I see you've not forgotten the key element of twitter tho... US AND THEM 😄😉
Show threadchristina bNov 18, 2022

@Pazzle
_ducks_

Fair point. Chalk it up to my glee at seeing the huge amount of actual interest and increasing literacy in decentralizing power and technologies.

I’ll look out for it though, ‘cause you’re right. It’s out of character for me.

(Unless the “them” is nazis, then I just block them)

Show threadPazzle Ron CupboardNov 18, 2022
@christina haha I'm not having a go, just a cheeky comment on the us and them dynamic, which as we know is why we all hate (love) social media and it's drama.
Show threadThelunarfoxNov 20, 2022

@Pazzle
@christina

Cheeky, but fair, haha. A reminder shared in a kind way.

Show threadReneeLibbyNov 19, 2022
@[email protected] @Pazzle Thank you I think you need to understand how this comes off to some of us who really want to be here and want to grow your platform but we are being met with some of this us versus them divide.
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022
@neelibby @Pazzle
will be careful in future. thx.
Show threadPazzle Ron CupboardNov 19, 2022
@christina @neelibby feel bad tho I can see your post is meant as positive about mastodon! Which is great. Really hope everyone just moves here and stupid musk loses his money.
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022
@neelibby @Pazzle
No worries at all! Appreciated, in fact! I’m glad to be reminded, and genuinely well-meant reminders of civility are part of what makes this a magical place
Show threadReneeLibbyNov 19, 2022
@christina @Pazzle I am getting the hang of it and starting to meet some very cool people. 🙂
Show threadReneeLibbyNov 19, 2022
@Pazzle @christina he truly sucks as a human
Show threadReneeLibbyNov 19, 2022
@Pazzle @[email protected] Don’t really know why it had to be that way.
Show threadAskPippa🇨🇦Nov 18, 2022
@christina I've been having a lot of fun figuring out how things work here and finding new places to explore. Everything has a learning curve. Even the bird site was awkward at first.
Show threadGabrielleNov 18, 2022
@AskPippa @christina your right about that, I think Im getting it easy though?
Show threadtylerbranstonNov 18, 2022
@christina I’m still working on finding the canoe but it’s definitely very nice here so far.
Show threadchristina bNov 18, 2022

@tylerbranston
we're not on the same server, and you did an intro post, so I'd say you've got your canoe - hashtags help, as does slowly conversing, of course.

(it's like being out on a river instead of on a superhighway.)

have fun paddling!

Show threadtylerbranstonNov 18, 2022
@christina oh excellent! Thanks. 😀
Show threadChicagoVNov 18, 2022
@christina agree with everything you said. This is like when Twitter first started, takes time to rebuild who you follow but there is so much quality content and people here if you just look.
Show threadSunny Willow 🌞Nov 18, 2022

@christina

This is so true...and annoying. 😂

Show threadLelander2000Nov 18, 2022
@christina not to mention twitter was all those things at first.
Show threadAldo de MoorNov 18, 2022
@christina Love that canoe & archipelago-metaphor! To aid visualization, here a photo of the magnificent "Meares Island Canoe Tour" in the Clayoquot Sound area on Vancouver Island, which I joined in 2013. It is still being organized by First Nations T'ashii Paddle School (https://tashiipaddle.com/shop/canoe-tours/). The watershed was preserved from paper mill logging destruction attempts by fierce campaigning efforts from the bottom up. Together, we CAN rise to the occassion!
First Nations Canoe Tours Archives - Tofino First Nations Canoe | T'ashii Paddle School

Explore Tofino from a First Nations Perspective

Tofino First Nations Canoe | T'ashii Paddle School
Show threadJon NewmanNov 18, 2022
@christina
antiviral is feature not a bug? happy to leave behind posting as dopamine slot machine.
Show threadSurlyITJesusNov 18, 2022
@christina I heard the same, that Mastodon was hard to figure out...no, not really. It's different, that's all.
Show thread🐚 Undo Influence 🐚Nov 18, 2022

@SurlyITJesus @christina

I told people 4-5 years ago, "Learn by doing." I'd still say the same, though I'd add that it's much bigger and more chaotic than it was when I got started. But there are guides and intros which help.

And I'm not even a techie.

Show threadexcited for the mastodon riseNov 18, 2022

@christina My feeling is that all of the above reactions have reached the level of status gaining /cool somehow.

It's sorta similar to how for a certain generation being computer illiterate was cool and desirable.

Show threadkeyboardcatNov 18, 2022
@christina Same folks who waited until last night to start exporting their data 🙃
Show threadReneeLibbyNov 19, 2022
@keyboardcat @[email protected] Wow
Show threadTim Purdum  Nov 18, 2022
@christina I think media sites are downplaying the fediverse bc they don't know how to advertise on it.
Show threadHarryNov 18, 2022
@christina Cool, I'm going to follow you because I *am* trying to find more non-men people and get some understanding of this new place!
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022
@Antipodean
yay!
Show threadLeo SussanNov 18, 2022
@christina 100% - given the word on Mastodon is so negative I’ve been hesitant to take a look, but it is wild how pleasant of an experience it is on here
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022
@lsussan welcome to the garden of strange pachyderms and tech built with democratic principles in mind :P
Show threadSakutanNov 18, 2022
@christina wonderful! I'm a Mexican woman. 💜💜💜💜
Show threadSindastra  🩷Nov 18, 2022
@christina As a white woman tech nerd, I am insulted (not really). 😆
Show threadSindastra  🩷Nov 18, 2022
@christina (sorry, I have a weird sense of humour...)
Show threadmandelbrot57 🐿️ 🧶Nov 20, 2022
@sindastra @christina Like your sense of humour and always feel a bit offended by those rants. Found lots of women with the least bit of effort. But: I wasn´t looking for women, I was looking for people along my topics.
If those ladies are looking for gender activists, could they please specify that and not rant about too few women? (pardon my English)
Show threadArianNov 18, 2022
@christina The only thing large population know of the Fediverse is just Mastodon. It's like Gmail being a synonym for email.
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022

@arian4n

it's a gateway drug 🤞

may much more of the fediverse see explorers

Show threadMatthew AbbottNov 18, 2022

@christina maybe we need a term for a less explosive but more deliberate spread of content and interests here:

I propose #fungal. Slower and more subtle than #viral but we've been repeatedly surprised by the size and scope of territory a single fungal organism can inhabit and facilitate communication throughout.

Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022
@matt
I’m all down with fungal #mycopunks
Show threadA GunnNov 18, 2022
@christina This is the way. Well done.
Show threadRakurriNov 18, 2022
@christina Well put! 😁
Show threadCrawleyNov 18, 2022
@christina calling Mastodon "antiviral" sounds like a stealth compliment in the context of birdsite.
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022

@Crawley
in other response, #fungal was suggested! :) 🍄

and yes, antiviral is feature, not bug.
the contrast I tried to make is that after hearing complaints, I've found that richer interactions here than on the birdsite

Show threadChristamerNov 18, 2022
@christina Congratulations! I'm struggling with it.
Show threadSiunNov 19, 2022
@Christamer @christina Any particular struggle? #mastodontips is a great help as is #mastodonmigration . I found two things really made a difference for me — first realizing how much I was used to the algorithm feeding me - someone said #YouAreTheAlgorithm and that helped shift my mindset. The other was starting to use Metatext, an iOS app for mastodon. I hear Tusky is good for android. Just some random tidbits.
Show threadChristamerNov 19, 2022
@ChristinaSiunOConnell @christina TY for the advice. Although "you are the algorithm" sounds empowering, I don't think I want to "be the algorithm" exactly. I appreciate the serendipity of cross-connections, of seeing random posts outside my filter, of seeing conversations and ideas and communities I could not have known to go looking for. And having four different feeds to check! Home, explore, local, federated—yikes. I mean, I'll get it. But I admit up front, it's not intuitive or easy for me.
Show threadchristina bNov 19, 2022

@Christamer @ChristinaSiunOConnell

makes sense! and also that's because the money's not here (yet)

the polish of simple design and user experience - especially for a complex and multifeatured tool - is a HUGE cost investment.

on the bright side, with recent developments, this open-source effort will have people interested in helping with design efforts... so hopeful that improvements come.

also, today I learned that you turn on advanced view and add a multicolumn (kinda like tweetdeck)

Show threadSiunNov 19, 2022
@Christamer @christina Have you tried Metatext if you’re on MacOS? I used to do user interface testing a few years ago and this made me so happy — so clean, uncluttered, etc. I gather there is similar for other platforms. Some really lovely design work here.
Show threadChristamerNov 19, 2022
@ChristinaSiunOConnell @christina Not on Mac, but thanks. The timeline looks fine to me; it's just, there's four of them. Meanwhile, I've just read that the server ("instance"?) I'm on is blocked by some other servers? Which I gather means people on those servers are prevented from seeing me. Apparently the one I picked has a bad reputation---poor admin or something. So the advice is to move to a different server/"instance." And hope that the new one doesn't have a bad rep like this one. *sigh*
Show threadSiunNov 19, 2022
@christina @Christamer Hmmm … I have no idea who blocks who but the admin for mastodon.social is @Gargron who started the whole thing so I can’t imagine it being blocked —- very busy, sure but blocked, nope.
Show threadChristamerNov 19, 2022
@ChristinaSiunOConnell @christina @Gargron Oh, that's a relief!
Show threadTinaQuiltsNov 18, 2022
@christina absolutely.