Maggie MacIntyreNov 27, 2022

Good morning! A post just rolled across my fedi-timeline saying not to post about politics on Mastodon, so I'm here to remind you that:

1 "politics" refers to decision-making about how to live together in groups
2 choosing to not participate in political discussion is saying you support the status quo, and is a political stance
3 abstaining from politics because you feel safe from its impacts is a privilege and a choice to abandon your more vulnerable neighbours

Show threadJonChevreau 🇨🇦Nov 27, 2022
@inkstainedmags perhaps a good compromise is to use CW for all political posts?
Show threadMaggie MacIntyreNov 27, 2022
@JonChevreau I know there is a lot of talk about how to use CW over here. I'm new and trying to listen and learn but my opinion is that CWs should be used sparingly and those who want to avoid certain subjects should use mute liberally.
Show threadGeoff WinklessNov 27, 2022
@inkstainedmags @JonChevreau that might be your opinion but the problem is your idea of what warrants a CW might be different to someone else's.
Show threadRevK Nov 27, 2022
@Geoff @inkstainedmags @JonChevreau That is a fundamental issue with CW. Some people "take offence" (and it is taken in a lot of cases) far too easily. Some people want to avoid causing any possible offence at all costs. Some people "speak their mind". It is never going to be perfect. The best we can do is find some compromise.
Show threadM. VerdoneNov 27, 2022

@revk @Geoff @inkstainedmags @JonChevreau content warnings are not about preventing "offense" they are about preventing pain. There are many topics or images that cause some people anxiety or sadness. Pictures of food can stress people with eating disorders. Eye contact can cause panic. Talk of terrible politicians can cause anxiety in people who live in places with those politics but no ability to escape or change their situation.

There is no list of topics to warn about. But if you can empathize with people, you might want to use CWs for some topics. That's it.

Show threadwb x64Nov 27, 2022

@sixohsix @revk @Geoff @inkstainedmags @JonChevreau yeah the opinion that CWs should be used sparingly is a common opinion of someone brand-new to Fediverse.

The opposite is more true: you will find more respect and a larger audience when you give out the respect for people's eyeballs by using CWs liberally.

CWs should rightly be renamed "subject line" because it's a phrase to let you know if you want to click before exposing your eyeballs. For traumatized people, that consent is everything.

Show threadDoroteja M. Nov 27, 2022
@wilbr @sixohsix @revk @Geoff @inkstainedmags @JonChevreau I like CW being thought of as Content Wrapper (while not taking away original meaning). you wrap your posts in a Wrapper with a short title and those interested in the contents can unwrap them. it takes about 5-10 seconds for first action, and 1 click for the second. it has amazing benefits for those who are often in pain, why not use them?
Show threadwb x64

@luka @sixohsix @revk @Geoff @inkstainedmags @JonChevreau right, I even like to think of it more like trying to help my friends avoid doomscrolling and the 24hr news cycle. We all usually know what the awful news of the day is, so you can give people a choice whether they feel like engaging with it further or not.

I have a giant exception for harmed people talking about how they've been harmed. Obviously that needs eyeballs, we shouldn't demand victims adhere to some desired tone or civility.

Nov 28, 2022 at 12:15amWeb