Taylor LorenzPeople who are talking as if reblogging is what leads to harassment need to understand that abuse happens *far more* often in replies. Does that mean u shoudjnt be able to reply to people? No, it means we need controls! As far as I’m aware there’s no way to limit replies on Mastodon or filter them. Would love for more controls like that to be added. Threading on replies wouod help a lot too imo.
It’s also worth noting that a huge problem on Twitter was the way the feed algorithm optimized for attention and outrage. Mastodon doesn’t have that, so it’s impossible to replicate a similar dynamic on here because of the way this platform is currently structured (which I think is a very good thing!)
Sometimes you want to go viral, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you want feedback on a post, sometimes you don’t. Part of meeting the needs of a wide user base (which should be the goal!) is allowing for customization. Facebook and other platforms allow a user to change the privacy settings on a post level, both after and before the post is published, and I think that’s great!
LadyUnicornEJG@taylorlorenz you can control if it's public or not, just not replies separate from visibility. Here's the options via tusky.
@ladyunicornejg ahh thank you, yes I’d love to control the replies specifically but yes! This sort of audience segmentation is awesome imo, thank you! 💓
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕@taylorlorenz The challenge with "followers only" is that if you have unrestricted follows, then ... the protection offered is pretty thin. A hostile actor could simply follow your profile.
I've long had mixed feelings on that setting. I'd rather it were restricted to a set of profiles I'd specifically selected myself.
Brian Hawthorne@dredmorbius @taylorlorenz @ladyunicornejg I’ve never really considered that Followers Only is any kind of protection at all. I just figured that there are some things that would likely not be of interest to the whole world, but that people who are weird enough to follow me might find cool. And those are the things I use it for. I’m not trying to protect myself from having others see them. I’m trying to protect them from having to scroll past my drivel!
@dredmorbius @taylorlorenz @ladyunicornejg Basically, I use it to reduce engagement from people who aren’t used to me.
@bhawthorne That's my general use.
In practice, I use it very rarely myself.
@bhawthorne I see people who seem to use it that way.
One thing that really bothers me is that the scope of replies to Followers Only is not the followers of the initial toot, but of the follow-up toot.
For people discussing personal matters and such, whom I know well enough to respond, I'll preferentially reply with a DM (which opens a whole 'nother can of worms), as what I say to them discloses both their conversation and any context visible from my own.
This is where the post/comment format of sites such as Diaspora*, Google+ (RIP), FB, etc., makes more sense: the conversational scope of the entire thread is that of the parent post itself.
I don't recommend Mastodon for anyone requiring robust tradecraft.