MastodonMay 1, 2023
You asked for it, and it’s coming. Quote posts, search, and groups are on their way. In the meantime, check out the new onboarding experience launching today. https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/05/a-new-onboarding-experience-on-mastodon/
A new onboarding experience on Mastodon

Today we’re making signing up on Mastodon easier than ever before. We understand that deciding which Mastodon service provider to kick off your experience with can be confusing. We know this is a completely new concept for many people, since traditionally the platform and the service provider are one and the same. This choice is what makes Mastodon different from existing social networks, but it also presents a unique onboarding challenge. To make this step easier, we now have a default sign-up option that works with a server we operate. If you wish to leave or join a different server, you can do so at any time.

Mastodon Blog
Show threadThe Cuddlepunk CubMay 1, 2023
@Mastodon please no quote posts. One of mastodons greats strengths is that it encourages interaction over attention seeking.
Quote posts are a massive step backwards.
Show threadBenMay 1, 2023
@solarbear Quoting is an _integral_ aspect of how some communities interact, and is something I've seriously missed since coming to this platform.
Show thread(Matthew)=> 🏳️‍🌈🇿🇦🎮💻📖
@ben_zen @solarbear quoting posts with an easily accessible hyperlink back to OP is also an integral aspect of social media dogpiles.
May 1, 2023 at 4:58pmWeb
Show threadBenMay 1, 2023

@mdstevens0612 respectfully, that already exists today, in way that does not provide for traceability. I can link to any post in another one, but there is no trace of the connection between the two the way a quote-post has.

So, to follow this to its most absurd conclusion, should posting hyperlinks be blocked?

Show thread(Matthew)=> 🏳️‍🌈🇿🇦🎮💻📖May 1, 2023

@ben_zen starts with "respectfully" and ends with one of the most "so you hate waffles" sentences I have even seen.

So like, a little disrespectfully, you have correctly identified there's a problem with traceability, but just consider this; When a thing is made easier to do, it gets done more often. To follow your thinking to its most absurd conclusion, should we just put every user's takes with their email addresses on billboards in Times Square?

Show threadBenMay 1, 2023

@mdstevens0612 hardly. But to say that the only or greatest use of quoting is harrassment is to ignore the real, actual data about who uses it and for what!

And while I respect concerns about harrassment, that is a human issue and is not something to be solved by technological means. We can build systems that are harder to use to harass, but saying the equivalent of "nobody wants this for legit reasons" ignores entire communities who use it extensively.

Show threadHughsterMay 2, 2023

@mdstevens0612 @ben_zen Indeed, and that's why i hope they don't try to copy Twitter by turning the Boost button into a menu and adding "Boost with comment".

I get the point about traceability but the "always notify OP author" and "show all QTs in a list under the OP" features were IMO a big part of what made QTs so negative.

Show threadZekeMay 2, 2023
@mdstevens0612 @ben_zen @solarbear how is it integral when one can screenshot or otherwise describe an interaction? I've never been dogpiled harder than on mastodon once I've disagreed with an original post and subsequently had to deal with their every follower. This is anecdotal and hyperbolic so it's not something to prove or disprove, and I am solidly in the "neither pro nor con but bored with the debate" camp.
Show threadBenMay 2, 2023

@Zeke I can actually do better than anecdotal remarks; here's a great place to start on what makes Black Twitter a vibrant community and a look at what people use quotes for: https://privacy.thenexus.today/black-twitter-quoting-and-white-toxicity-on-mastodon/

And then there's Mastodon and "it's so nice here", which is to say that as soon as you posit that things aren't entirely on the up & up, people bring out the knives. A person has even told me that quoting is like heroin!

Black Twitter, quoting, and white views of toxicity on Mastodon

Does quoting really cause toxicity?

The Nexus Of Privacy
Show threadZekeMay 2, 2023

@ben_zen totally believable on the latter point. I was expressing incredulity at the other poster's claim re dog piling fwiw.

As a yte boy I've been sitting the black masto discussions out but appreciate the link--will give it a read

Show threadBenMay 2, 2023
@Zeke
aaaah, sorry!
Show thread(Matthew)=> 🏳️‍🌈🇿🇦🎮💻📖May 3, 2023
For someone claiming to be neutral, you sure have strong feelings aligning with the pro camp. If you're bored, don't participate. Otherwise just own your position bud, this thing of "I'm neither for A or B but I have some strong disagreements with B" isn't the aloof neutrality you think it is.