Algorithms aren't the enemy. Chronological feeds don't scale and the signal-to-noise ratio will plummet if this ever gets popular. The real problems with today's algorithmic feeds are non-transparency, lack of choice, and optimizing for engagement instead of healthy discourse.
Open-source is a perfect opportunity to fix all this. Have there been any efforts to create a Mastodon instance with a (community governed) ranking algorithm? Is that technically feasible? Or is the idea simply anathema?
@randomwalker Algorithmic timelines are only evil when it’s the only choice or the default choice. People should be able to choose which one they prefer.
Both Twitter & Tumblr give me the option to choose between an algorithmic timeline or a chronological one.
Tumblr goes several steps further by suggesting sites based their recommendations, hashtags I follow, blogs I follow, trending & popular reblogs.
But both offer a simple chronological feed which is awesome.
@darnell @randomwalker I think you both might be missing the fact that the other folks on your server act as moderators for your local and federated feeds.
So if you join the right instance, 'local' becomes a human curated equivalent of the algorithmic feed.
That starts to break if everyone just uses the AI.
@darnell @steely_glint @randomwalker There thing about OSS is having the choice.
I like to follow lots of people with diverse views. A reverse chronological algorithm means people who post infrequently will likely be lost in the noise. I wouldn't mind an algorithm that added some weight to their posts so I see them.
Arvind Narayanan
Darnell Clayton 
Tim Panton
Atz