Dan GoodinIt should be clear now that it was and remains a catastrophic mistake for people to view privately owned social media platforms as any kind of public resource. People didn't know better a decade ago. They have no excuse now.
Bruno Nicoletti@dangoodin I’d go further and say _any_ automated platform that relies on advertising for revenue will always end up deeply enshitified as they have to chase “engagement”. And what engages most is outrage. So we end up with systems, that by design, drag you further and further in the world of grift and crazies.
Jo - pièce de résistance@bjn @dangoodin
I have to strongly disagree about what engages most. If Mastodon is a platform without that variable...then I can confidently say my most popular posts are just posts about beautiful things. I get the most boosts, likes, comments, etc. on really nice things most.
But I was throttled first by ad-based social media and that is how they get you to dance for the devil to get seen and they groom and channel the outrage type of engagement, rather than the joyful kind.
b4ux1t3 
#1️⃣@JoBlakely @bjn @dangoodin it's a pretty well-documented bit of psychology that folks are more likely to engage with outrage/negativity than the alternatives.
I'm not saying it's always true for everyone, but the sheer success of that kind of content speaks to the general truth of that psychology.
Edit: and it could well be that the atmosphere of the fediverse is leading to a difference here. I, too, get a lot of engagement on positivity and beauty.
I suspect there's a double whammy at play here. As Chris notes, many people have a natural inclination to engage more with negativity. Then, as Jo notes and algorithms promote that negative content over less negative stuff. What a toxic stew.
@dangoodin @b4ux1t3 @bjn
Mastodon is that 'control' in a scientific test, where nothing is done to alter the algorithm, to compare to. Is it more rageful here? Sure there are problems, but those hate accounts are not doing well here. People are avoiding them, more than engaging.
I'd like to see a study properly comparing these.
Mastodon is that 'control' in a scientific test, where nothing is done to alter the algorithm, to compare to. Is it more rageful here? Sure there are problems, but those hate accounts are not doing well here. People are avoiding them, more than engaging.
I'd like to see a study properly comparing these.
Fair point.