Shrig 🐌2d ago
Why are Mastodon so obsessed with growth recently? We don't even have a feature to limit replies yet or distribute moderation tasks between trusted instances. It's so fucking reckless to anyone that's not named Hans from Stuttgart
Show threadMay Likes Toronto1d ago

@Shrigglepuss As a product person, that specific guy's job was Mastodon's product consultant(?), which means growth.

Do they have a strategy for growth? Idk. I don't really pay attention. I figured if this place was fun enough, more people will come.

Show threadShrig 🐌1d ago
@mayintoronto the problem with sustaining growth here is keeping people on board and given the abuse a lot of newcomers experience without more robust safety features it isn't ever going to happen imo. This network does get big bursts of growth, and usually it's because of a lack of safety or trust elsewhere.
In the waves of people jumping ship from other platforms not many stick around if they fall outside of techy people as far as I've seen.
1/3
Show threadShrig 🐌1d ago
@mayintoronto The current per-instance-level moderation has a lot of emotionally draining work being re-done over and over again too which isn't conductive to keeping lots of healthy instances up and healthy from a social perspective when that labour could be being distributed between groups of instances according to their needs especially if it could be semi-automated.
2/2
Show threadShrig 🐌1d ago
@mayintoronto We need to be offering a robust safety net and exciting fresh safety and wellness features on the lines of taking back control of their online social spaces to catch new users for them to put in the effort of rearranging and uprooting their digital social lives and bringing their friends across because the vibes are right and under their control to organise themselves in ways which their incoming community is comfortable with and in tighter control of their experiences
3/3
Show threadMay Likes Toronto
@Shrigglepuss Oh yeah, for sure. I'm just saying why that one guy cared so much about Mastodon's growth: he gets paid to guide product at Mastodon, and a lot of product people think all that means in a social media product is user growth.
Apr 10 at 8:39amWeb
Show threadShrig 🐌1d ago
@mayintoronto for sure, it's so so disappointing to see the Mastodon folk not seeing the forest for the trees. The imperatives should be different on a noncommercial product, growth will occur all on its own once this space feels tangibly healthier to be in than any other space on a social level.
The recent starter packs thing for example just makes more hollow publishing platform style interaction rather than social interactions, it's not making this place any different from any other network
Show threadJérôme1d ago

@Shrigglepuss @mayintoronto I don’t know if growth will occur on its own. In fact mastodon is losing users every month.

It’s a legit question, why are we losing users every month?

Show threadShrig 🐌1d ago
@jerome @mayintoronto because it's not noticably better moderated than any other platform and incredibly easy to harass people here and if it doesn't feel noticeably healthier nobody brings their friends over and by then what's the point moving at all
Show threadJérôme1d ago
@Shrigglepuss @mayintoronto yes. and i think it's a good thing that product people are trying to improve the product so that people don't feel harassed.