©h®istoffe® Aug 12, 2023
Low Quality Facts

How to use Mastodon:

Step 1: Sign up.

Step 2: Do regular social media stuff.

Journalists: Only those with advanced degrees in computer science should even attempt to navigate Mastodon, the frustrations of its complexities will drive the average user to a state of hysteria.

Jul 17, 2023 at 3:27pmWeb
Show threadLawler Hix Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts i can't help but feel that you straight up copypasta'd that last part from an actual article lmfao.
Show threadneena maiyaJun 19, 2024
@lawlznet @lowqualityfacts 😂
Show threadDJul 17, 2023
High quality facts.
Show threadMargotBJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts Ah I didn't know that I have advanced degrees in computer science.
Show threadClay RosenthalJul 17, 2023
@MargotB @lowqualityfacts signing up was the final exam, congrats! expect your diploma any day now
Show threadMargotBJul 17, 2023
@clayrosenthal @lowqualityfacts 😊
Show threadGameDevinJul 17, 2023
@MargotB Congrats!
Show threadUrethramancer🐀Jul 18, 2023
@MargotB @lowqualityfacts Your Mastodon account is your diploma.
Show threadMonkeyLordJul 21, 2023

@MargotB @lowqualityfacts

You do?? Well shit...

*disappears like spiderman*

Show threadPeter Koopman 🦣Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts
Mastodon is way too hard. The horror of of having to think about what to toot next. 😱😱😱
Show threadAnime SocialistJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts It's the same for linux.
Show threadDon Hawkins - W7DAHJul 17, 2023
@animesocialist @lowqualityfacts Exactly. I’m no computer science genius, but Linux is just about all I use these days & Mastodon seems superior to the bird-site too. Oh, I still own a Windoz 10 laptop, but it sits idle, collecting dust. And, I haven’t yet deleted my bird-site account just outta curiosity for how it ends, & to annoy others still there, with Mastodon promoting Tweets, etc.
Show threadAnime SocialistJul 17, 2023

@donhawkins @lowqualityfacts

I have been using debian based Linux distributions for almost 10 years and they are by no meand less inconvenient than Windows. And don't get me started on apple, it is the exact opposite of convenient.

Show threadDon Hawkins - W7DAHJul 17, 2023
@animesocialist @lowqualityfacts I’m so long with Linux, I’m like the Twitter users who can’t grasp Mastodon … fooking Windoz seems like a PITA to me these days. Linux just fooking works (my first taste / flavor was a Linux-precursor, of sorts, SCO Xenix on a 386). 😎
Show threadRoy Brander🍁Jul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

I keep meaning to unfollow because so many of these are so dumb. But then you make it all worth it with the best facts out there.

Show thread[email protected]Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts 😮 😂🥳
Show threadThe Great Llama Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts
Going to start applying for jobs based on this. No, I don't have any coding experience, but I use Mastodon, so... 🧐
Show threadBeaverrrJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts

Yeah I really don't understand why people think they have to learn
everything about mastodon to use it

Might be because there are a lot of really smart people on here

Or maybe they hear buzzwords or the words server and instance and get really confused

idk people confuse me
Show threadZeiros LionJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts
Didn't know my art degree counts as an advanced degree in computer science.
Show threadBlack Chic with the Red TruckJul 17, 2023
@ZeirosLion
Yes! Thank goodness for my English Comp degree or I would never be able to successfully navigate Mastodon! 😅😅😅
Show threadBrendan JonesJul 19, 2023
@ZeirosLion @lowqualityfacts can you paint 1’s and 0’s? Congrats, you are now computer scientist. Nerd.
Show threadBen Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts should start posting "Can use Mastodon" on my resume since apparently it's such an advanced skill
Show threadKyleJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts I am not a tech person or very computer savvy at all but I have had no problem navigating Mastodon and even managed an instance change.
Show threadPretty Good (at crashing out)Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts a journalist cannot make a decision. They can only do what they're told and there's no one to do that on fedi unless you're being told to kys
Show threadThe1goit Jul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts this feels more like an average quality fact.

But they probs don't understand mastodon cause of a lack of official onboarding.

Show threadGrumpy Green TrollJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts

Your quality is slipping upwards again, did you bump your head 🤕?
Show threadI’m 481 PhonesJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts literally heard an NPR reporter say “I tried to sign up for mastodon and I’m still not sure if I did or not.” Wtf mate.
Show threadfrigginGlorious ✅Jul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts a good friend is a comp Sci guy, a professional software engineer, who "tried mastodon but didn't get it"

When pressed for more info, it turns out he had trouble siging in... because he forgot what server he signed up at.

I don't know how to help that.

Show threadfrigginGlorious ✅Jul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts figure it out @docfresh
Show threadBlack Chic with the Red TruckJul 17, 2023
@frigginglorious There is no help for that if he hasn’t figured out how to search for the email that Mastodon sends you when you sign up telling you all that information. 🤦🏾‍♀️
Show threadA_Wandering_AlbatrossJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts These guys have lower quality facts than you 🤣
Show threadjz.tuskJul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

And yet:

"Unlisted has a slightly complicated behaviour pattern in the Home timeline, and this isn’t officially documented for some reason. Here’s how it works:

Unlisted posts and replies from people you follow WILL appear in your Home timeline, unless they are a reply to someone you don’t follow. If they’re a reply to someone you don’t follow, they WILL NOT appear in your Home timeline."

Show threadJonathan HendryJul 17, 2023

@jztusk @lowqualityfacts

Why should anyone care about this?

Show threadjz.tuskJul 17, 2023

@jonhendry @lowqualityfacts

I can explain why I care: I've been seeing the occasional toot in my timeline (or is it notifications) that is clearly a response to another toot, but I don't and can't see what it's replying to.

And then I wonder if I'm doing the same thing, and at the same time feditips drops some info on setting visibilities. As a result I do change my default visibility, but I'm still not sure I'm doing it right .....

Show threadjz.tuskJul 17, 2023

@jonhendry @lowqualityfacts

... and that thing I posted was part of the page explaining visibility.

It's not like I give much credit to journo's saying "it's too hard". (I suspect the real reason is "my colleagues aren't there, and the audience isn't big enough.) But people who dismiss new users genuine issues aren't helping us much either.

Show threadJonathan HendryJul 17, 2023

@jztusk @lowqualityfacts

Yeah, I see those too sometimes, but I just chalked it up to a quirk of federation and the dissemination of posts.

Show threadxyhhxJul 17, 2023
@jztusk @lowqualityfacts i don't get what the problem is
Show threadjz.tuskJul 17, 2023

@xyhhx @lowqualityfacts

It's confusing. Very, very confusing.

Show threadxyhhxJul 18, 2023
@jztusk @lowqualityfacts it's not, just that description. where did you find that?

unlisted just doesnt display posts in public timelines

https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/posting/#privacy

there's a table that shows how it works. lmk if you're still confused, i'll try to see if i can explain better
Posting to your profile - Mastodon documentation

Sharing your thoughts has never been more convenient.

Show threadjz.tuskJul 18, 2023

@xyhhx @lowqualityfacts

So first, thank you for offering to help.

Second, that's from fedi.tips, at the bottom of here: https://fedi.tips/who-can-see-my-posts-in-mastodon-how-do-i-send-dms-in-mastodon/

Third, I think I'm not going to bother to figure this particular thing out. I've written an HTTP parser, and Perl scripts that munge PostScript directly, but Mastodon is where I enjoy cats and flowers, and I don't even know what a "public timeline" is, and I'm fine staying that way. (cont'd)

Who can see my posts and replies in Mastodon? How do I choose post visibility settings? How do I send DMs in Mastodon? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

Show threadxyhhxJul 18, 2023
@jztusk @lowqualityfacts totally valid homie. carry on 😌
Show threadjz.tuskJul 18, 2023

@xyhhx @lowqualityfacts

The only thing that I let get my goat is people pooh-poohing other's difficulties. (You didn't do that, but the top toot did.) I want to get my non-techie friend off Twitter, so I complain when people comment dismissively. God knows if it'll actually change anything, but it's what I'm going to try for a while. Again, I do appreciate the offer to help.

Show threadsi_iriniJul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

😂 😂

Show threadpenciledpageJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts So true, and I think it's because the media can't figure out how to buy followers on here.
Show threadeyrea 🇨🇦Mar 23, 2024
@penciledpage @lowqualityfacts Yeah. I've seen some people here complain their follower count wasn't rising as expected, and how does the algorithm work here?
Show threadMaura HubbellJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts Their only skill is pushiness, and that's tragic.
Show threadIan InfernoJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts high quality facts
Show threadkinyutakaJul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

Journalists looking at Mastodon:

Show threadLynne JackierJul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

I'm 66. It took a LOT more attention and learning to master the home computer in 1988. Mastodon is not "hard." It just takes attention and intention. Algorithms have made people lazy about creating their own social media community and experience.

Show thread@AlexBlock has movedJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts It's like their billionaire masters are fearful of a social media platform they cannot control....
Show threadOcéanJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts also journalists: here are 278499 steps to use Threads in Europe, you will love it
Show threadarthur.pizzaJul 17, 2023

@lowqualityfacts

"I suspect thousands of other Tooters (blech!) will soon do the same and Mastodon will lay down beside all other other fossilized social media platforms and fade from existence."

~ Lance Ulanoff
Mashable, 2017

https://mashable.com/article/mastodon-wont-survive

Six reasons Mastodon won't survive

The hot new thing in social media has some big problems.

Mashable
Show thread~robbyJul 17, 2023
@art @lowqualityfacts that article is a goldmine :D

> I registered on the upstart social media platform using, as I always do, my full name: "LanceUlanoff" to protect it from potential social media identity poachers (they're everywhere).

I'm tempted to make a @[email protected] just to troll them, as the devious identity poacher I am 😈
Show threadGunChleocJul 17, 2023

@art Now that's a low quality fact!

@lowqualityfacts

Show threadjohnbessaJul 18, 2023
@gunchleoc @art @lowqualityfacts
Sounds like we owe a lot to #Musk, though not in ways he meant.
Show threadGunChleocJul 18, 2023

@johnbessa Free marketing 😈

@art @lowqualityfacts

Show threadJohn S. Weddington IIJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts I don't think journalists are OK. Someone should get them councilling on living in normal society.
Show threadarclightJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts "Crucially, it lacks an algorithmic feed which directs social media consumers to my Substack"
Show threadJay Thurber ShowJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmzuRXLzqKk
Mass Hysteria

YouTube
Show threadJhooperJul 17, 2023
@lowqualityfacts It asks a question of which server you want to create your account on. Sometimes it gives you an error if the server you connect to is not available at that moment. That's about the biggest problem during the sign up process I've seen.