Scott BaroloDec 24, 2022

The debate about QTs is interesting because as far as I tell, all sides are correct.

• QTs let you introduce a topic to your followers w/ tailored commentary (Black Twitter is the best at this)

• They bring fame & attention to the worst people in the world

• They cause dogpiles

• They’re a great format for humor, which 🦣 needs more of

• They are often performative dunking “look at this loser”

• They let you address a side issue or add a different perspective w/o derailing the primary convo

Show threadScott BaroloDec 24, 2022
Should Mastodon add a QT feature? Obviously I have mixed feelings about QTs. Most of the commentary I’ve seen from Black Mastodonians says yes, it’s empowering to marginalized folks. So if we’re voting, I vote yes.
Show threadScott Barolo
I’m not going to be interacting with the replies. I already said you’re all correct about QTs, and I believe that you are. There’s more than one way to feel about them.
And this isn’t Twitter, it’s Mastodon, where there is moderation and users generally have more customization options.
I find QTs annoying or threatening 75% of the time, funny or enlightening 25% of the time. But my user experience, as a privileged person on most axes, is the least important consideration.
Dec 24, 2022 at 3:13pmWeb
Show threadScott BaroloDec 24, 2022
They’d be beating my ass in the QTs right now — if they could
Show threadScott BaroloDec 24, 2022
Some of you exclusively follow people like me and it shows
Show threadScott BaroloDec 24, 2022
I accidentally dogwhistled to my fellow complacent whites by saying “all sides are correct”
Show threadCleo of Topless TopicsDec 25, 2022
@sbarolo
OK you are definitely poking the metaphorical bear with this one 😂
Show threadScot HackerDec 25, 2022
@sbarolo No you didn't.
Show threadshrewshrewDec 24, 2022

@sbarolo when privileged people say "quote tweets made twitter nastier" they gloss over how many times "nastier" meant "exposed me to discomfort".

It doesn't always mean that, of course. But many people on mastodon are pathological about being comfortable.

What made twitter powerful and meaningful was the energy it brought to social change by exposing people to new and sometimes uncomfortable ideas. If mastodon wants to stay nice over everything, it will never serve as a public forum

Show threadKevin كيفين PluckDec 24, 2022

@shrewshrew @sbarolo

I'm open to uncomfortable ideas and Mastodon will absolutely provide / has absolutely provided such as this one.

Just with less hate.

Less hate mainly because there's no incentive to induce rage.

Show threadshrewshrewDec 24, 2022

@kevpluck @sbarolo

this isn't about incentives. Quoting isnt an incentive. It's a function. It's an affordance.

If, as you assert, the incentives for "inducing rage" aren't there, then why limit valuable *functionality*?

Show threadKevin كيفين PluckDec 24, 2022

@shrewshrew @sbarolo seems another aspect of mastodon I'm getting used to is seeing a toot and not recognising it's part of a thread.

My apologies for not checking the context of your comment.

I do miss QT but as been mentioned it's a double edged sword.

Show threadSteve GisselbrechtDec 24, 2022
@shrewshrew @sbarolo
Li'l Nas X would QT the awful homophobic abuse he was constantly getting. Was that a celebrity encouraging his fans to pile on? Why yes, yes it was. Was that in any way a bad thing? No, as it turns out, I don't believe it was.
Show threadKasia Dec 24, 2022
@sbarolo I think/hope QT will not transform mastodon into the bad of twitter, but might add some of the fun/referencing, if done correctly. Bad people can do bad stuff w/o need for QT (and I personally find screenshots worse)but I hear all the concerns. I also think QT use over there changed / improved with time, or maybe I blocked / limited better
Show threadMonica Di, PhD Dec 24, 2022

@sbarolo But how can I virtue signal unless I can QT someone else’s great post and say “This 👇🏽”?

(BTW, I agree with all your above posts.)

Show threadScott BaroloDec 24, 2022
@NeuroDrugDoc *snort*
Show threadDrew TipsonDec 24, 2022

@sbarolo I'm hoping that if it does come to Mastodon (hopefully w/ the ability to disable it on your account and per post) then the fact that the servers aren't actively PROMOTING and pushing fights will mean it just won't be the same tool for dogpiling it became on twitter.

Twitter is built from the ground up to let me know who the "hated main character" of the day is, from the second I log on. Mastodon doesn't have that, so far.

Show threadJanetDec 24, 2022

@adrew

@sbarolo

I do like the idea (which I've seen floated a few times) of having a customizable opt-in function for quoting.