loki maelorin (they/them)
Taylor Lorenz"Any social media platform that dips under 10% poster will fail, but as the early days of Bluesky demonstrated, if you over index on posters, you will have endless fucking chaos. It is possible that posters are deeply unwell. Certainly they are far too online." https://www.theverge.com/24058356/trolls-social-media-commenter-lurker-reply-guy-threads
"Posters generate Discourse; reply guys and commenters continue and refine it; finally, influencers and Brands capitalize on it. It is possible, though rare, for reply guys, commenters, and influencers to generate Discourse, but the point is: someone has to kick it off and usually that someone is the person with the least inhibitions." https://www.theverge.com/24058356/trolls-social-media-commenter-lurker-reply-guy-threads
James Baillie@taylorlorenz I don't know what kind of person in these taxonomies I am and I am somewhat afraid to ask.
The Green Knight@taylorlorenz well that's a terrible opinion and I hate it!
/s
I know exactly what group I'm in, and I'm ok with that. after all, we can't learn unless someone jumpstarts the discussion.
Dave bauer@taylorlorenz This leaves out what I would say are the interesting middle. People who post to share with others in the community, not to influence, not to stir trouble but for real human connection. They are out there and always have been.
@davebauerart good point
@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote@taylorlorenz One thing I’ve noticed is there is a higher % of socially disenfranchised people online due to the leveling effect. Someone you might never speak to IRL feels comfortable & confident interacting with you here. That disenfranchisement can take many forms, disability, race, weight, sexual orientation etc. I think they make up a disproportionate % of people you labeled commenters. They may not have been looking for the balm of anonymity but I think it’s why many stay. @davebauerart
Jeff Grigg@Pineywoozle @taylorlorenz @davebauerart
I think if myself as a "commenter."
See -- I'm commenting, here, now.
And since before "social media" became a thing, I've been looking for connections to others with shared interests.
Like, "Let's get a group of academics together to do a shared writing project of Software Design Patterns."
Or, "Let's talk about Agile Software Development, and how to do it better."
.
It's discussions between people who can't conveniently meet in real life.
@Pineywoozle @taylorlorenz @davebauerart
I still think that one of the greatest and best features of Usenet was that every post and every conversation is within a well defined *TOPIC* within a hierarchy of the same.
No one has ever signed up for or tried to read all of Usenet. You read, and maybe reply on, topics that interest you.
You don't follow people, you follow topics.
@JeffGrigg @Pineywoozle @taylorlorenz They're sort of self-assembling, in that most of the people I follow on IG for example, follow each other, and eventually have met in real life for the most part. Takes years to build though.
Dubi is here 
@Pineywoozle @taylorlorenz @davebauerart
Also true of the socially awkward - in a variation on the frienship paradox, you could say that on average, the people you talk to talk to more people than you do. But online "talk to" could be a more unidirectional experience, and so the people who find it hard to talk with peopld IRL are more likely to try and engage you online.
Also true of the socially awkward - in a variation on the frienship paradox, you could say that on average, the people you talk to talk to more people than you do. But online "talk to" could be a more unidirectional experience, and so the people who find it hard to talk with peopld IRL are more likely to try and engage you online.
@Pineywoozle @taylorlorenz This is a benefit. The self-organizing "Maker Community" on Instagram is an extended version of this, and a subset of those folks, I have met at events in real life (probably 300 people at this point, maybe more)
@davebauerart That’s lovely. 🥰
@davebauerart @taylorlorenz I thought those were a benign subclass of the Posters.
@Dubikan @taylorlorenz That's a good description.
Sibshops@taylorlorenz reply guy reporting in. 🫡 I admit I don't post content. I like supporting people who do, however.
hugh.c 
@taylorlorenz Lemmy suffers from the same problem and it's why I am disillusioned in the idea that it could ever replace Reddit.
Lurking and maybe occasionally commenting is is fine once a social media platform is well-established and has achieved saturation, but in its infancy it requires additional effort from the average user just to maintain the sense of participation than it would otherwise.
Oblomov
Aardvark Cheeselog@taylorlorenz
> The development of trolls appears to be the internet’s version of carcinization.
I love it.
Pieselpriemel@taylorlorenz
As a reply guy (lol), I found this article entertaining.
As a reply guy (lol), I found this article entertaining.
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE@taylorlorenz Sadly, too many cookie options to scroll through and turn off. I don't read things these days where there isn't a "reject all" button.
Creative! Queer!! Autistic!!!@taylorlorenz
That was fun!
That was fun!
John Gordon@taylorlorenz “Will this be useful or even entertaining to my readers? I have no idea. Why am I writing this at all? No one knows what motivates a poster, least of all me.”
John Panzer@jgordon @taylorlorenz Self aware, at least.
Toots McGee"Posters are unwell"...yeah social media isn't going to solve a lot of people's problems. It'll do the opposite.
Wolf Munroe ☎I still don't understand the difference between commenters and "reply guys." I sometimes don't engage with social media posts on the grounds that I don't know what a "reply guy" is and I don't want to be one.
The explanation presented here doesn't explain reply guys to me. Are reply guys trolls? When is a commenter a reply guy?
wraptile@munroe @taylorlorenz "reply guys" is some American Twitter thing where people post something incorrect or whiney publicly and get upset when someone replies. To their public post lol
The Doctor
Deborah@taylorlorenz the aquarium analogy is interesting. The overgrowth of some posters to me is more akin to a toxic algal bloom........!!!
@taylorlorenz I feel it's more about quality than quantity. Blue sky is so toxic because there's no thought behind any single post.
It's my own anecdote but it seems like people on Mastodon sometimes click that x button on the corner or "agree to disagree" on Bluesky shit just never ends until it turns into straight up doxing and bullying.
@taylorlorenz thanks, that was really interesting! In the late 1990s I started a discussion board/webzine and I had a lot of thoughts at the time on classifications like this for participants, though at a much smaller scale of course. I think I'm a poster-wannabe but ultimately I always end up as a commenter (I hope not a reply guy...).
Where do you put the sea lions in this?
Where do you put the sea lions in this?
TheMedellia