If I was to nominate the two things I find most striking about Mastodon they'd be:
1. the ability to edit posts after posting; this (as my followers will know) is a facility that I use a lot (and thanks to my great crew of typo spotters);
2. the norm of civility that we all maintain; of course trolling & slamming is not completely absent, but at least in my timeline & discussions/conversations civility have been the over-riding characteristic of my exchanges.
@ChrisMayLA6 I’d agree, although it’s also possible we’re not in a group that attracts abusive types. Mastodon structure means we don’t always see all the replies other people get, hopefully that will change.
This could be an effect of non-algorithmic networks not sending up troll flares to attract trolls, damping aggression rather than actively generating conflict and maximising it.
Similarly, it may just be too hard for paid interests to widely penetrate a damp system.
You can see them if you WANT to but they are not FORCED on you.
Emeritus Prof Christopher May
BashStKid
Darwin Woodka