Chris TrottierMar 5, 2023

Don't like strangers busting into your mentions to give unsolicited opinions?

This could be solved if the Fediverse had better comment controls.

You should be able to make a read-only post if you want.

And you should be able to make a public post that's only writeable to followers.

You should also be able to lock a thread if it becomes a vector for abuse.

Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023

"Just make locked posts" is the worst response to this because that so-called "solution" basically tells people to reduce their visibility.

Many people don't want their visibility to be reduced.

However, they want a reduction in harassment.

Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023

In fact, much of the "I don't want search to exist" crowd exists due to lack of comment control.

People don't want to be found on search because they can't control the potential replies that might occur through a search vector.

I know this because plenty of the anti-search crowd wants public visibility -- but they don't want harassment.

Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023

No, a public post doesn't mean "talk to me".

Public means "publicly visible".

It's about being *read*.

Reading is different from writing.

Just as there's different settings for visibility, there should be different settings for replying.

Show threadTProphetMar 5, 2023
@atomicpoet Hi, you have described a blog with comments disabled.
Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023
@tprophet Yes, that's exactly it -- but federated via ActivityPub.
Show threadTProphetMar 5, 2023
@atomicpoet You could effectively get this today by posting from a bot instance (where replies are assumed to go into the ether) and ignoring replies. Also easier for everyone to filter out this kind of non-interactive content.
Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023

@tprophet Yeah, I don't think the majority of people who want comment control know how to set up posting from a bot instance. So that's a no go.

Comment control settings for their *current* account is a hell of a lot more usable.

Show threadTProphet
@atomicpoet Brands and governments would love this feature! Any unpopular thing they announce could have replies disabled. So there is that. I totally get what you're trying to solve for, but I'm not sure the proposed solution wouldn't create entirely new and different problems.
Mar 5, 2023 at 8:30pmWeb
Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023

@tprophet Again, freedom of association.

You're entitled to say whatever you want. But you're not entitled to an audience 🙂

Show threadVictor TangentMar 5, 2023
@atomicpoet @tprophet why is the original poster entitled to an audience but not someone commenting?
Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023
@Victang @tprophet An original poster isn’t entitled to an audience either.
Show threadVictor TangentMar 5, 2023

@atomicpoet @tprophet but if he's supplied the vehicle to that audience, shouldn't the commenter have use of the same vehicle?

Or maybe you consider that "ride-sharing" 🙂

Show threadChris TrottierMar 5, 2023
@Victang @tprophet I don’t even understand your analogy.
Show threadRDS (shawphd on Twitter)Mar 6, 2023
@atomicpoet @Victang @tprophet Somehow I suspect these are the same folks who feel entitled to butt into private conversations simply because they are taking place in public settings.
Show threadVictor TangentMar 6, 2023
@shawrd773 @atomicpoet @tprophet the problem I see with that equivalency is that having a "private" conversation in a "public" setting makes that conversation, by definition, not private.
Show threadRDS (shawphd on Twitter)Mar 6, 2023
@Victang @atomicpoet @tprophet So…. You see a couple of friends having a personal conversation on a park bench and you think the location means you can sit down and join in? You’d not last long in most cities with an attitude like that.
Show threadVictor TangentMar 6, 2023
@shawrd773 @atomicpoet @tprophet that's not exactly what I said. Interesting interpretation though 🙂
Show threadRDS (shawphd on Twitter)Mar 6, 2023
@Victang @atomicpoet @tprophet What DID you mean, then?
Show threadGerty SteinblattMar 6, 2023
@shawrd773 @Victang @atomicpoet
I think you may both be arguing the same side (my interpretation).
I'll butt out now. :)
Show threadAT-AT Assault 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 5, 2023

@Victang @atomicpoet @tprophet

The Original Poster ISN'T entitled to an audience. If the OP doesn't have any/many followers, and users that can see the post in local, explore, federated aren't boosting it, then the OP doesn't gain traction/audience.

Show threadNatanael ⚠️Mar 6, 2023

@Victang @atomicpoet @tprophet you can have your own audience in a different corner. There's no right to visibility in within the original post's context.

Yes some people will use it to say dumb shit without replies. But others will use it to be able to speak their mind without having to deal with harassment by idiots who can't accept differing opinions. The latter is more important to me.

Show threadJoostMar 6, 2023
@tprophet @atomicpoet I'm a bit (okay, more than a bit) frustrated about the lack of search/discoverability here, for which hashtags are a very poor substitution, but i understand the wariness of those who were exposed to harassment elsewhere, so at first blush your suggestion about comment control seem like a welcome compromise.
Show threadJoostMar 6, 2023
@tprophet @atomicpoet I do worry how, as TProphet said, it could create new problems instead though. Thanks to its so far fairly niche existence Mastodon seems to have only experienced a fraction of the concerted disinformation efforts that reached such massive audiences on FB and Twitter, seeded at scale by certain governments and parties. Of course you can block or mute disinfo accounts, but others will still be influenced by them.
Show threadJoostMar 6, 2023

@tprophet @atomicpoet One moderately effective if obv hugely imperfect restraint on that influence is when false claims are called out en masse in the replies - it's crude but at least it's something. Facilitating comment control precludes that kind of mitigation.

Might be worth the trade off anyhow. Just worry about the law of unintended consequences when Mastodon is growing and changing fast, i guess. (Sorry, super verbose.)

Show threadGadfly (-booq-)Mar 6, 2023

@tprophet @atomicpoet The use of the comments below popular accounts as a public space is a terrible antipattern that I think we should build better alternatives to, not attempt to preserve.

Additionally, I don't really like the idea of making things less convenient for 90+% of people (who don't have social media managers to bear the emotional brunt) in order to make things less convenient for 10-% of people (who do). That's not a trade-off I care to make.