MarcusMay 12, 2023

I think Mastodon people should use the "like" button more.

People are told not to like because liking doesn't broadcast posts like boosting does, and the site needs boosts. And replies are preferred because they're deeper engagement or something.

But, on some level, we want people to keep using Mastodon. If someone posts something and followers like it, they know stuff is getting seen here and they'll want to keep using the site. I just don't see what's gained by holding back on the likes

Show threadMarcusMay 12, 2023

There's tons of posts you enjoy seeing for a second but don't want to boost (for all sorts of reasons), and sometimes trying to build up the energy to interact is way more work than it feels worth just try to tell someone you liked their post (even if you love interacting, you're only going to reply to a small fraction of posts you enjoyed seeing).

Those would be great times to hit that "like" button! How is it better if everyone is encouraged to just scroll past posts like that?

Show threadMarcusMay 12, 2023
Gonna have to stop answering to everyone who hits back at this by pushing the superiority of replying or conversation over "inauthentic" or "shallow" likes. For me, replying takes a *lot* of energy, even when I'm enjoying doing it. I see and appreciate way more on here than I could ever have the energy to reply to. So I see liking (here, where there's no algorithm) as a way to say to someone easily "I liked that you posted this. Thank you!" without using up all my easily-depleted social energy
Show threadMarcusMay 13, 2023

Haha, I can't keep up with replies to this post & thread at all so I'm mostly giving up! [Edit: Muting this conversation so my notifications are legible]

Lots of thoughtful and supportive and interesting responses though, truly appreciate this place. And I hope I contribute to more clicks of the star or heart thing in general!

Show threadRalph Brandi
@mrxmrt Funny that you only got 1 like on the original post (by me)
May 13, 2023 at 12:31amWeb
Show threadMarcusMay 13, 2023
@thereisnocat Some of that is down to the weirdness of how federation works, though (which it took me a while realize). That is, right now 1.7k+ people have liked that original post, but I think when you look at the post from your instance, you only see likes from your instance. It's possible you'd see a different number of favorites if you looked at it using different apps? Not sure about that, and I'm not sure how the boosting counter is visible relative to that
Show threadRalph BrandiMay 13, 2023
@mrxmrt That makes sense, actually. Mastodon likes are weird.
Show threadShiMay 13, 2023
@thereisnocat @mrxmrt
I see 8 likes and 167 boosts on the original post. Hmm 🤔 really weird. The boosts look like a correct number but the likes not at all. Really wonder how this number gets calculated?