Gwen Snyder is uncivilDec 17, 2022

If Mastodon diehards want this to be The Next Place after Twitter, the move is to bend over backwards to listen to disabled and Black community about what they do and don't need in social media space.

Even if it's challenging.

Even if it makes you uncomfortable.

These are power user communities, whether folks like it or not.

Show threadCassandrichDec 17, 2022
@gwensnyder Sadly a lot want it not to be that. They want it to be their private gated suburban retirement community where you can only chat about "pleasant" things. They're happy to sit around eating lotuses while the world burns.
Show threadZorin =^o.o^=Dec 17, 2022
@dalias @gwensnyder I think we can find a middle ground between not discussing important issues at all, and constant doomscrolling. A lot of us just don't want that constant toxicity here.
Show threadBabs 💙🐝⌛️🦋🔻Dec 18, 2022
@zorinlynx @dalias @gwensnyder interesting you call it doomscrolling and constant toxicity
Show threadkiddo•cryptid•crone ✨🌑Dec 18, 2022
@gwensnyder @dalias @zorinlynx @BabsSheKing Right? What some call “doomscrolling” and “constant toxicity” I call “marginalized people speaking openly about our lives” and “listening to and amplifying each other.”
Show threadZorin =^o.o^=Dec 18, 2022

@loosestrings @gwensnyder @dalias @BabsSheKing I absolutely agree that the discourse needs to happen. But it's also a mental health issue for many. It's telling that my depression goes away when I'm off social media a few days.

We just need a better balance I think. I wish I could just have a "catch up on the discourse" period each day, and the rest of the time sharing cat pictures etc.

Show threadCassandrich

@zorinlynx @loosestrings @gwensnyder @BabsSheKing The problem is when someone decides other people's actions to change oppressive conditions they live under have to go on pause or be "less attention-seeking" (i.e. completely ineffective) for the sake of their mental health.

Mastodon gives us much better tools than other social media did to put that on pause *just from our own view* while not interfering with the needs of others to speak in a manner that's effective.

Dec 18, 2022 at 5:36pmWeb
Show threadCassandrichDec 18, 2022

@zorinlynx @loosestrings @gwensnyder @BabsSheKing Beyond the built-in tools like filters and temporary muting, the open protocol makes it possible to create all kinds of new mental health oriented accessibility tools.

Grouping filtered posts into a digest queue, to consume at a time when you feel able to deal with them, is totally doable as a client app feature or an instance feature.