Simon WillisonDec 22, 2022

My least favourite sharp edge of Mastodon is the fact that when you view someone else's post you only see replies to it that are known to your server - so there's actually a good chance there will be replies that are completely invisible to you, especially if you run your own instance

I'd love it if tapping a post kicked off a request back to the original server that fetched the current reply count and provided a "view all replies" button if there were replies not yet visible to me

Show threadSimon WillisonDec 22, 2022

My hunch here is that very few people see even aware of this Mastodon feature

So, a poll: prior to reading this thread, did you know that Mastodon by default will only show you public replies to a post if those replies have already been fetched into your server somehow?

(This only affects you when you view a post that originated on a server other than your home server - if the original post author is on the same server as you then you'll see all of the replies)

Yes I knew about that
24%
No, I didn't know about that
70%
I don't understand the question
6%
Poll ended at .
Show threadAria  ​Dec 22, 2022

@simon I had assumed that replies would inherit the "reach" of the original post by default... Hmm...

*edit: typo

Show threadmaegulDec 23, 2022
@AriaGrace yes! I think this is the normal intuition, where many have the intuition of a forum or threaded structure. But it seems the core idea here is it’s all about who you follow.
Show threadchriszanfDec 23, 2022
@maegul @AriaGrace Here's a great flow chart that shows the visibility of a toot on which timeline it will appear dependent on if it's on a local and federated instance & if you follow someone who interacted with it.
Show threadmaegul

@chriszanf Yes, thank you! IMO, the main utility of the chart is in explaining what the "Local" and "Federated" timelines are. The complexity we're all talking about lies in the last node of the decision tree, which is not coincidentally also the most complex.

The simple intuition that started this thread could easily be added to this chart as "is a reply to a toot that someone you're following has also replied to". IE, a "reply cousin". OR, "part of a reply chain you follow".

Dec 23, 2022 at 8:32amWeb
Show threadKatzentratschenDec 23, 2022
@maegul Exactly. Post visibility in Local and Federated TLs is a no-brainer in comparison. Decentralization gets tricky looking at replies from other instances or even other apps/services (e.g. Friendica, PixelFed) with differing levels of interoperability. @chriszanf