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.
"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.
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.
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.
On Mastodon, there's different visibility settings. They are:
* Public
* Unlisted
* Follower-only
* Mentioned people only
I think you could largely apply this to reply settings as well.
Except, reply settings could be:
* Public
* Local-only
* Follower-only
* Mentioned people only
If there were a way to prevent comments through search results, that would be good too.
It's funny. Regarding potential comment control on the Fediverse, people who are "pro" and "con" tend to be divided along gender lines.
Dudes tend to not want comment control 🤔
But there's a lot of women who very much want this feature. Many of them are DMing me privately to express support -- and that should tell you everything.
But seriously, the reply guy problem on Mastodon is embarrassing.
And it really puts a dent in the whole argument that Mastodon has got rid of social media toxicity.
Of course, that's not true. People have been complaining about reply guys for years.
It's becoming so bad that "Well, akshually..." has become a Mastodon stereotype.
This is why it's better to have more moderation tools, not less.
How about: if you started a thread and you block someone, (s)he should be eliminated from the whole thread...just like as if it were "your townhall". - People misbehave, you have them thrown out.
@HistoPol @MetalSamurai @atomicpoet it works well in small threads, it breaks in larger threads.
I've suggested elsewhere a similar model where you can essentially "interleave" multiple threads via links / references / mentions, so the original thread can be "curated" as desired by OP without inhibiting further conversation by others, since the thread can be "forked" and forks can be discoverable.
@HistoPol
but you can and should report the person to the admin or moderator of your instance. They can ban the person and delete the posts.
I agree, however as @MetalSamurai correctly pointed out, this is more about curating my posts as well, so to speak. Also, I am afraid once the trolls set in en masse, like on the Birdsite, admins will likely be overwhelmed with content-moderation.
At some point, #TwitterDown will be somewhat permanent. This will probably be another major inflection point that might trigger this, extreme growth making the #Fediverse an even more interesting target.
This might prevent this.@atomicpoet
@HistoPol @mycelium @atomicpoet
And earlier today I came across a thread where exactly this has happened. A responder with (what seems to me) a bad faith response, blocked by the original poster, but still visible to us.
https://universeodon.com/@DayWalkingRedhead/109973884721804835
“If I’d been alive in the 30s, in Germany, what would I have done?” You get to answer that question right now, in the US. Teachers, HCW, mandatory reporters, anyone in a position of trust… Will you be a Good German and turn them in to be arrested, taken from their families, sent to prison camps, and killed? Or will you keep their secrets, and risk your own career, home, prison? Will you risk your kids being taken by the state and handed to fascist foster families? Decide. We’re here.
Chris Trottier
Kevin Davidson
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴
Natanael ⚠️
Mycelium
testing
AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈♾️
Ipstenu (Mika E.) 🏳️🌈