i'm not subtooting anyone in particular, i just saw quite a few "hey, this isn't twitter, on mastodon you can do X" type posts recently and i think that's a bit...
well, first of all, yes, there IS a reverse chronological timeline on twitter too, yes, you can mute retweets specifically, yes, you could mute/block/unfollow anyone at any time, none of this makes mastodon special or different
no, what makes mastodon different is what for want of a better word i have to call the culture
that's what makes this a much more tolerable experience compared to the birdsite, and that's what needs to be nurtured, protected and grown
of course the technical framework does have an effect on the culture (although it by no means determines it), but the things that have the most effect are the things mastodon DOESN'T have:
- algorithmic timeline
- quote tweets
- fetishisation of an arbitrary character limit
- reach/engagement metrics shoved in everyone's face
you get the idea
btw, this might be an interesting thing to consider when mooting new features for mastodon
but overall, it's the culture that determines the experience, the people, the moderation, the peer pressure, and the examples you see around you
the tech can only guide you into this direction or that, and in twitter it clearly went the wrong way with scary efficiency, but the situation isn't symmetric
because when you dig down to the roots of the problem you're going to realise:
you can't fix cunts with code
thank you for listening to my ted talk
@almostconverge the lack of qt's, coupled with no rage-inducing algorithm is a good thing imo - it drastically reduces being served a steaming pile of hot take then the urge to throw it in the faces of your followers, who do the same & spread its stank worldwide.
I'm not subtooting, I've been guilty of it myself and honestly I reckon Hopkins, Grimes, Robinson, Cocoran and all the other hatemongers would have no career without the birdsite.
@biggles oh yeah, it's all a good thing but note how you also listed features that DON'T exist here rather than ones that DO
the problem with twitter wasn't that you couldn't do things, it's that they made it way too easy to do shitty things and be rewarded for it
just as you're pointing out
@almostconverge and yes, I could do it by switching boosts off for individuals, but they're people who elsewhere only boost the really interesting things; it's definitely something about here. And I still need that useful stuff.
What I find interesting though is that having lots and lots of things pushed at you is assumed to be good by both Mastodon and the other place, the only argument is over what does the pushing.
@DreadShips and it really just flips a display switch, so if you switch it back on, they instantly slot back on your tl
another thing i started doing is sorting people into lists, and just check out certain lists when i don't feel like dealing with the full tl
Peter Ellis
Martin aka Ad Taylor
Dreadnought Holiday