Ole Kristian Mørch-StorsteinJan 30, 2023
Simon B. Støvring
Friendly reminder that on Mastodon likes do not surface posts to more users. Only boosts do that. We need to boost more on Mastodon than we retweeted on Twitter in order to share content in the community.
Jan 29, 2023 at 9:47pmWeb
Show threadMatt BirchlerJan 29, 2023

@simonbs Honestly I’m so happy about this difference. I really hated how I would like some reply from someone saying “thanks for sharing” or something like that and Twitter would consider it a “soft retweet” and show it to some people.

Love that it’s more clear what each does here.

Show threadTim SchmitzJan 29, 2023
@simonbs I’ve found this one of the most fascinating things about moving to Mastodon, since I had no idea likes did this on Twitter! I guess I inadvertently waited until my mental model matched the service I’m using. 🤪
Show threadTrevor KayJan 29, 2023
@simonbs To be honest I always found it weird on Twitter that likes were so public
Show threadPete MorrisJan 29, 2023
@trevorkay @simonbs but then we would have missed gems like this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/12/ted-cruz-twitter-account-likes-pornographic-tweet
Ted Cruz Twitter account 'likes' pornographic tweet

Married Texas senator, who once defended a ban on sex toys, asked to explain how his account came to like the graphic post

The Guardian
Show threadTrevor KayJan 29, 2023
@pemo @simonbs I was going to say in my previous post "Excluding some amusing snafus” 😝
Show threadKonrad KołakowskiJan 29, 2023

@simonbs Somehow I always used likes on Twitter as some kind of a bookmark (before there was bookmarks) 🤷‍♂️

Good to remind me they are public 😉

Show threadphrichardsJan 29, 2023
@simonbs as someone who always used third party apps or the chronological timeline I had no idea likes were surfaced for other users, I just used them to show appreciation.
Show threadMigrated to @[email protected] 🏳️‍🌈🎃🇧🇷Luana🇧🇷🎃🏳️‍🌈Jan 30, 2023
@simonbs I wish there was a way to make your likes public tho (on a separate page in profile, like twitter is for you if you use the recent timeline instead of the algorithm one: you can see one person’s likes, but only if you want (but optional as a privacy setting)).
Like, likes are different from boosts. Sometimes I like something but don’t want to throw it in everyone’s timelines or for it to appear together with my toots you know?
Show threadTechnorganicalJan 30, 2023
@luana @simonbs Agreed. Your comment is going to be one of my first boosts, haha.
Show threadJason NickelJan 30, 2023
@simonbs I always used likes as a way to tell the person I appreciate the tweet/toot and I’m happy to receive either. It’s not always about reach and internet points for me.
Show threaddtrainJan 30, 2023
@simonbs it really is like the old days of twitter pre-algo
Show threadThe Spoonless KitchenJan 30, 2023
@dtrain @simonbs Hint: There was no "pre-algo" on the avian droppings container.
Show threaddtrainJan 30, 2023
@thespoonless @simonbs for a long time, Twitter only had a reverse-chron feed of only people you followed, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about. But glad to see the reply guys have made it here too.
Show threadcrossgolf_rebel - kostenlose KwalitätspostsJan 30, 2023
@simonbs A friendly reminder: you are on Fediverse and only using Mastodon software access, others use Pleroma, Misskey, Calckey, Friendica, etc.

A Fav is a thank you to the creator and therefore worth more than on Twitter.
If you want to share a post, then enhance it with a comment from you. A post with a comment is worth twice as much as a simple boost, because with your comment the original post is also shared further. Both are connected.
So please, comment what is important to you instead of just boosting.

Boosting/sharing is so Twitter, you don't do that in Fediverse. 😉
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@crossgolf_rebel Yes I do.
Show threadAlaricJan 30, 2023
@simonbs @crossgolf_rebel hmm maybe we need some way we can simultaneously boost fave and comment..?
Show threadcrossgolf_rebel - kostenlose KwalitätspostsJan 31, 2023
@spinal @simonbs
that is not necessary at all.
A fav is a thank you.
Your comment is also a boost for the original post. That's all it takes. You just have to get involved with the new network and its mechanisms.
Show threadRoni Rolle LaukkarinenJan 30, 2023

@simonbs There are no "likes" on Mastodon.  

⭐ = I think you're nice and noted. It's an appreciation.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@rolle Likes, favorites, whatever. It’s clear to me that you know what I meant no matter what it’s called.
Show threadAlan Hesketh NZJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Thank you for the lesson! I appreciate learning about how this environment works.
Show threadAlejandro MartinezJan 30, 2023
@simonbs I was already used to that on Twitter 😂 mainly cause people tended to like my posts instead of rt and I hated that xd it always felt like ‘i like that but I’m not willing to give you exposure’ 😆 instead i just RTed more than liked 💪🏻
Show threadSam KrahlJan 30, 2023
@simonbs A challenge I’m encountering is that my timeline is then full of duplicated Boosts. Which is irritating. Apparently @ivory has something in its latest Beta to help with this 👍
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@samkrahl @ivory Indeed, that's a pretty big problem for this platform. I think I'm seeing less duplicates in the latest Ivory beta but it feels like something Mastodon should handle server-side.
Show threadSam KrahlJan 30, 2023
@simonbs @ivory Totally agree. There’s a number of different ways you could approach handling it and it feels like something Mastodon itself should take a direction on. Or offer a few options that Instance admins can pick from to implement.
Show threadThe Spoonless KitchenJan 30, 2023
@samkrahl You can hide those, so you see only original content, not boosts.
Show threadJackie ❤️☮️🇵🇸🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧Jan 30, 2023
@simonbs
Boosts are good, but I do think that "likes" have their place.
It's an acknowledgement to the person posting. Not everything warrants or needs a boost.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@BintyMcFrazzles I didn't say likes shouldn't be used and everything warrants a boost. I agree with you.
Show threadJackie ❤️☮️🇵🇸🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧Jan 30, 2023
@simonbs
I guess I was agreeing with you as well. 😀
Show threadThe Spoonless KitchenJan 30, 2023

@simonbs As a #twitterrefugee whose account was deliberately de-amplified, I ended up having to "like" tweets and replies I replied to so the people I was replying to would see what I way saying - and then Twitter even stopped being that generous to me, and no one saw anything I said. At all.

But they saw six tweets per second of COVID-19 disinformation on September 11 2021 with no problem!

Ugh.

Show threadChristian Pietsch (old acct.)Jan 30, 2023

@simonbs

For those who use the "Explore" feature of Mastodon, likes do matter because they are taken into account when this list of popular toots is ordered. In this simple algorithm, likes count half as much as boosts.

Show threaddanimo 🏳️‍🌈Jan 30, 2023
@simonbs small (slightly annoyed) reminder that the demands of an average social media user can be quite individual enough not to recommend people to all do the same thing in a dull common mode.
Show threadPanic In The DarkroomJan 30, 2023
@simonbs I would add a small correction: we do not need to indiscriminately boost more. If we do, we've just replaced "like" for "boost".

Yes, by all means boost more, but only the content that is meaningful to YOUR audience. If you like something, you signal the author with a "fave", or even better, with a reply. If you think (some of) your followers might also like it, THEN you boost.

Mastodon, and in fact, fediverse is a much more personal experience for a lot of people here. We like our small circles of people whom we mostly know well.

That could be an important lesson for people new to Fediverse - if they suddenly start getting unfollowed (or not followed in the first place), their timeline might be a bit chaotic and pruning it might change the situation.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@zlatko I didn't specify that people should only boost content they believe is relevant to their audience because I trust my followers to be wise enough to come to that conclusion themselves.
Show threadPanic In The DarkroomJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Yes, it's probably very individual anyway. Let me correct myself: that toot was not a correction of yours, but perhaps an addition to it.

I just wanted to point out that people who've been here for a while sometimes get annoyed at a timeline full of just boosts and no personal content.
Show threadregphuntJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Actually I don't get what "favorites" is for. We have boosts, we have bookmarks.
On Twitter, FB, and TikTok, I "like" things to support someone algorithmically or to boookmark it. It doesn't really do anything like that here I guess.
So far it seems it's just to make the poster feel good. Which is fine, but is/was that the intent all along?
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@regphunt I'm not qualified to answer that but my guess will be "yes".
Show threadregphuntJan 30, 2023
@simonbs I spoze for me it encourages me to do more of the same kind of content, so there's that.