Mastodawn

Jul 28, 2023

If we pretend that the only options are:

1) Chronological feed
2) Algorithmic feed where a company chooses the algorithm and objective function

And we pretend that "Share of time is a perfect metric for happiness," then this might make sense.

But... time spent isn't a perfect metric for happiness, and there is another option: 3) Algorithmic feed where the user has more control of the algorithm and objective function.

Eg, chronological *is* an algorithmic feed!🙂🙃

https://www.wired.com/story/meta-just-proved-people-hate-chronological-feeds/

Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds

Some social media users and lawmakers say chronological feeds are healthier. A new study found that Facebook and Instagram users who were forced to see time-ranked posts turned to TikTok instead.

WIRED

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Craig Hepworth Jul 28, 2023

@mekkaokereke Agreed. I would like to have a simple, user-controlled algorithm in Mastodon, where I can rank some of the people I follow to always show up at to always show up at the top of my feed, so I never miss their posts. And ranking posts higher than reposts in my feed.

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John Wilson

@floridafruitgeek @mekkaokereke my algorithm would be:

Always chronological
All posts
When things get hairy, dump the prolific posters (I identify these) and only show must-follows
A second chance feed with all posts that have been dumped. So I come back from a weekend camping trip and instead of 700 posts I have maybe 200 must follows. Then if I’m caught up and bored, I can go back and see what I missed.