I hope we're all prepared for yet another wave of discourse about the ways in which the cultural norms of mastodon do and do not enable some users to be their full selves on this platform.
I'm treating this as a kind of inevitability because it is clear that the broader Fediverse has not learned from the previous wave or the waves that preceded it. And this is in spite of claims from some mastodonians that an influx of users will bring change.
Put simply, something we're going to have to reckon with is the centrality and stability of desired modes of conduct on this platform, specifically as they are policed and enforced through the technical apparatus of the platforms.
What this means is newcomers who point out the cultural weirdness of the space won't be QTed to oblivion, but they will find their mentions inundated by "well meaning" mastodonians who are trying to explain "the way things are."
This explanation serves to reinforce the very norms of conduct, the very cultural norms, that newcomers will struggle against. Further, this explanation will often treat these norms as unquestioned goods, as a moral order that cannot and should not be transgressed.
Put simply, these explanations will place the onus on the newcomer to "change or die," or; "find another server" without recognizing the ways that they are actually denying the very premises of mastodon they claim to uphold.
Dr. Johnathan Flowers
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