riscyDec 3, 2022
Tim Holmes

I hear new people noting how chill, tolerant, and pleasant Mastodon is.

Mastodon isn’t chill or tolerant or pleasant. It’s a tool… a foundation on which to create and maintain a culture.

It’s those who’ve been on Mastodon, run servers, and served as admins who did the hard work and created the culture you now enjoy.

Now, it’s your turn. The only way it stays tolerant and chill is by us doing the work to keep it that way.

A good example of, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Nov 22, 2022 at 6:00pmWeb
Show threadBasiliskNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes TBF, it helps that there isn't an algorithm intentionally trying to put things you hate into your feed specifically in order to try to get you to engage with it to drive up metrics.
Show threadTim HolmesNov 22, 2022
@basiliskxviii So very true, nor an asshole reinstating other asshole’s accounts.
Show threadKaren StrickholmNov 22, 2022
@basiliskxviii @TPOHolmes
Totally. I wish there was a Mastodon School to get up to speed faster and on how to be a good Mastodon citizen. Regardless I'll keep muddling through!
Show threadFernNov 23, 2022

@KarenStrickholm @basiliskxviii @TPOHolmes a great place to start is the terms and conditions section of your server (“Server Rules”). Most T&C pages are dry and terrible but I’ve found Mastodon servers to be run by real human beings who write like real human beings. It’s the /about page on your server - I believe in your case, you could find the T&C at: https://mastodon.online/about

Also consider following @feditips for helpful hints!

M

Mastodon

A newer server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit

Mastodon hosted on mastodon.online
Show threadKaren StrickholmNov 26, 2022
@fern @basiliskxviii @TPOHolmes @feditips Thank you so much, very kind of you to toot this info!
Show threadKaren StrickholmNov 26, 2022
@fern @basiliskxviii @TPOHolmes @feditips Wonderful, thank you!🙏❤️
Show threaddearmouse51Nov 23, 2022
@basiliskxviii @TPOHolmes ^^^^This!
Show threadCa_GiNov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes Exactly! The most important thing is the culture of the community that runs the Instance. But a tolerant, open minded and pleasant community will keep their Instance healthy also because the platform gives the instruments to have an effective moderation.

As an example you can see PeerTube, a YouTube-like platform that's also federated as Mastodon does but doesn't have the same moderation tools and therefore is more subject to being filled with hate or conspiracy content.

Community culture + effective tools are a powerful mix.

Show threadStephanie conroy :Nov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes I love this
Show threadColman ReillyNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes that misses the ways the tools shape the culture. Twitter is intended to increase “engagement “ and that has consequences for culture.
Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@Colman I understand other services are manipulative, but there’s nothing inherent to a social network that make it chill or tolerant. Those attributes may be more common due to an affinity for the ideals behind a distributed network, for sure, but that makes my point all the more important. It’s about to be overwhelmed by the masses. Ideally those masses would understand the value of the current culture and, equally, understand their responsibility in perpetuating it.
Show threadAryan WildeNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes Dumb question: how do I report something that is objectionable?
Show threadIanNov 22, 2022
@AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes click on the three dots at the top right of the post in question and there you can see the options, including report✌🏻
Show threadKaren StrickholmNov 22, 2022
@AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes
I think there is a button to push to report a toot. Wish I could tell you where.
Show threadAlyssaNov 22, 2022
@AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes Three dots on the lower right of a post, expand and click on “report”. For some*one* that’s objectionable, similar, but on their profile page.
Show threadHtaggertNov 23, 2022
@AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes kind of depends on what app you use, for me there are 3 dots in the upper R corner ish that I press and it says “report”
Show threadJoeNov 23, 2022
@Htaggert @AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes In the web interface it's the three dots in the lower right of a post, it gives you a menu and "report" is a choice.
Show threadGabrielle GueronNov 23, 2022

@AryanInTheWild @TPOHolmes

Newbie here. *I think* you report it to your instance administration.

Show threadGreatgatsby8790Nov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes Thanks for that reminder! I was actually someone who commented on it and point taken!😊
Show threadEdward BarrowNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes
and some of the people early on Mastodon haven't been chill or cool with some of the new arrivals. I'll leave it at that, but everyone has to keep learning.
Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@ejoftheweb People are people.
Show threadAtheist GamerNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes I was always hesitant to engage in Twitter because it's been a cesspool for a while. I wish I'd have started tooting sooner.
Show threadSmallTownGirlNov 23, 2022
@atheistgamer @TPOHolmes have had that same thought. My stress level stays much lower here
Show threadResistUKNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes well said. It’s only pleasant while people behave pleasantly. There’s a large chunk of people out there who are neither pleasant nor behave well.
Show threadSmallTownGirlNov 23, 2022
@TPOHolmes @ResistUK the opposite is also true. There is a large chunk of people out there who are both pleasant and well behaved. The challenge is to find spaces where that decency flourishes.
Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@SmallTownGirl @ResistUK I’d say that we’re all sometimes unpleasant and not well behaved. I think the key is not to be triggered by others’ behavior, so that it doesn’t build on itself and become the norm.
Show threadResistUKNov 23, 2022
@TPOHolmes @SmallTownGirl everyone should have fundamental levels of acceptable behaviour and understand what is not. Always live by the adage - do as you would be done by - ingrained at an early age. Sadly not always the case in today’s society
Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@ResistUK @SmallTownGirl It’s never been true across the history of humanity. We aren’t perfect, we fail regularly, and we forgive those who do, assuming they don’t do whatever offense it is again, on purpose, etc. Individuals will always fail to behave well 100% of the time and everyone’s definition of well behaved is a different, even within the bounds of the rules.
Show threadjebyrnesNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes let’s hope the people who have been here a while can be chill and tolerant, too!
Show threadDoug BostromNov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes

Also if one is able, find "About" for your instance, find "contribute," do that!

This is the product, not us.

#MastodonIsTheProduct

Show threadmmdesoerNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes I'm brand new to Mastodon. Other than by what and how we say it, how can we help? Is there a way to report abuses?
Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@mmdesoer Yes, you can report a post, or an individual. Most clients and the web have a menu item under a button to do just that.
Show threadJust A Simple SpudNov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes
I think people mistake shouting memes and using condescending words as 'debating'.

I am just a simple spud, but I am doing my best to encourage others to be good and "chill" with one another. We should feel more calm after being in a community...not more aggravated.

Show threadKaren StrickholmNov 22, 2022
@spud1907 @TPOHolmes
A simple spud! #MostExcellentWordsmithing
Show threadAppagal CrochetNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes New here and I promise yo do my best to be an example for new people and to keep in mind the hard work that has gone into creating such a lovely spot!
Show threadRachel MariaNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes Please utilize the CW Content Warning when using, especially if you like to swear - like me. It gives the scroller an opportunity. Just pretend you’re talking to your grandmother in a sacred space. #twitterrefugee
Show threadThom ZaneNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes Reminder that not all Mastodon instances are chill or cool. Each instance has their own rules. Gab, Truth Social, and a variety of "Free speech zones" are Mastodon instances, but they are not widely federated because they either choose to silo or other instances suspend them.
Show threadThom ZaneNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes The instances I interact with are chill and cool in my experience. Thank you, chill admins and communities!
Show threadHeath AllynNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes I feel like the key is that it is all run by individuals and not a company and by and large those individuals seem to be decent people who will block servers or users who are not decent people (and of course we individuals have this power as well). Whatever the ingredients, it seems to be working!
Show thread🇺🇦 Sean Prophet ⚛Nov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes

My first viral post was met with a torrent of hate from chud servers. My instance now has a block list of about 20 servers. I can't stress how important this is to get right.

We're all used to certain forms of overt hate like the n-word and other gendered slurs being autoblocked and downranked by FB and Twitter. But here it just comes right up. It's up to admins to make this a safe place for good faith discourse.

Show threadMamaKeiki™-RFGNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes as a new arrival... I realize full well I must respect and protect the spaces created to earn my place to stay and enjoy them. Mahalo for posting and pointing out what all before me have created. Thank you.
Show threadMT NickersonNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes I agree with your words of advice. On Twitter I gave too much oxygen and sacrificed mental energy (along with contributing to a negative environment) by responding to people who only want to create discord. So now I am hanging back, reading, and pausing before responding.
Show threadadrian. 🔞Nov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes it helps that favouriting and boosting- inherently positive actions- are required for a post to take off on mastodon, where other sites consider any engagement- including exclusively negative engagement- just as engagement.
Show threadVidel SmithNov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes "it stays tolerant and chill is by us doing the work to keep it that way"

what kind of work?

Show threadTim HolmesNov 23, 2022
@Videl Not engaging in attacks on others, but instead educating. Reporting those who are violating the rules. Bringing a positive attitude and assuming the best, not the worst, in everything you read and write. I’m sure there’s a lot more than that, of course, but start with that and it will go a long way.
Show threadVidel SmithNov 23, 2022

@TPOHolmes

Nice. Thanks.

Show threadNicklas Johnson 🏳️‍🌈Nov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes I've already seen a handful of examples of it being far from chill or tolerant. Fortunately it is extremely easy to banish people from my experience forever.

I've especially noticed a number of ex-Birdsite folk not understanding what it really means to have no central authority in this system and getting enraged when they can't impose their desires on the entire network by force the way they could by dogpiling and mass-reporting over there.

Show threadGeoff🌍🌎🌏Nov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes It will be interesting to see what happens if Mastadon continues to grow. There's a common refrain on Reddit where people always love a community until it reaches a specific point. After that it becomes more toxic.

I hope the same doesn't happen here.

Show threadNate V.Nov 22, 2022

@TPOHolmes

Excellent point. It's kind of like when the Web started and all the chill nerds were in charge. Then regular people came in and ruined it all.

Until then it was just science, porn and gaming.

Show threadLucasNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes "Mastodon isn’t chill or tolerant or pleasant. It’s a tool…" a tool that must be honed continuously to ensure people have a safe space. Definitely a work in progress.
Show threadDCMattykNov 22, 2022
@TPOHolmes thanks for this!