I hope that Mastodon folks who like to scold newcomers will realize how off-putting -- and damaging -- that behavior is.

Please be helpful, not scornful. Let's reduce the genuine risk of poisoning fediverse growth, and thereby giving social-media oligarchs indefinite control over online discourse.

Having said that, Mastodon/fediverse could/should do more to make users' experiences more gratifying.

Read this essential post from @kissane to understand more. https://erinkissane.com/mastodon-is-easy-and-fun-except-when-it-isnt

@dangillmor @kissane

"About half of the people whose primary or secondary reasons fit into this category talked about content warnings, and most of those responses pointed to what they perceived as unreasonable—or in several cases anti-trans or racist—expectations for content warnings."

"Others said that their fear of unintentionally breaking CW expectations or other unwritten rules of fedi made them too anxious to post, or made posting feel like work."

@dangillmor @kissane That has certainly been my experience, along with scolding by white knights for not using image descriptions which made me want to use them even less. I post images a lot and having to describe every one in detail is tiresome.

I'm staying because I like the decentralised, open-source aspect, but I'm posting on my terms. I figure we are all adults so people are welcome to block me if they need/want to. I certainly do with other people.

@dangillmor @kissane @KorimakoEcology It felt a little daunting at first but now I’m really enjoying adding image descriptions. I’m using them like short creative writing exercises often trying to thoughtfully capture the content and feel of my image for people who can’t see it. I’m also seeing a lot more in my own photos I post by doing that.
@AnneleiseHall that’s such a great reframe! Good on you!