DraSelXLApr 15
Lisa Melton

Recently I read a post by some jackhole techbro who wants a default automatic feed algorithm here just like Big Social™.

Opening the door for AI bullshit is not even the worst part of this idea.

Folks, all of us here ARE the algorithm. Personal curation is a feature, not a bug.

We make Mastodon awesome by following people and boosting what we find meaningful, significant or just cool. That's how it works.

Let's keep making friends. Let's keep sharing. Let's keep Mastodon alive. Together. 💖

Apr 14 at 11:29pmWeb
Show threadUberZeitgeistApr 14
@lisamelton - 100%
Show threadRichard W. Woodley 🇨🇦🌹🚴‍♂️Apr 14

@lisamelton

but the problem is nobody gets rich that way

Show threadCarolynApr 14
@the5thColumnist @lisamelton Define rich. :)
Show threadJoe WApr 15
@CStamp @the5thColumnist @lisamelton define "problem" 😉
Show threadJohn MaxwellApr 14
@the5thColumnist @lisamelton I do. Kinda hope others do too.
Show threadLeo Schuldiner🤘🏼Apr 15
@the5thColumnist @lisamelton xD
Show threadJ. R. DePriest    :EA DATA. SF:Apr 14

@lisamelton

I think I participated in that poll and I'm sure I didn't vote the way he liked.

Show threadLisa MeltonApr 14

@jrdepriest Yes! It was a poll. And I'm sure I didn't vote the way he wanted either. 😂

Also, I sure AF didn't boost it.

Show threadFlipper 🐬🏳️‍🌈Apr 14
@lisamelton feed algorithms are profit extraction machines - I'm all extracted out
Show threadTransitBikerApr 18
@flipper @lisamelton next they’ll be extruding you.
Show threadFlipper 🐬🏳️‍🌈Apr 18
@TransitBiker @lisamelton they can stochastically extrude my text from my cold, dead fingers :)
Show threadCM HarringtonApr 14
@lisamelton I mean, they can just make one. It’s fine. There are some apps that will make an algo feed from your local server and your follows.
Show threadCM HarringtonApr 14

@lisamelton That said, let things be true to themselves… Masto as you say, is about the people who make it work, not an algo.

Don’t try to make fetch happen, eh?

Show threadLisa MeltonApr 14
@octothorpe Indeed.
Show threadJack BrewsterApr 15
@octothorpe @lisamelton Fetch would be a pretty good algo name though.
Show threadCM HarringtonApr 15
@jackbrewster @lisamelton I know JUST the icon…
Show threadstux⚡️Apr 14
@lisamelton Exactly♥️
Show threadJenny (cozy node) Apr 14
@lisamelton No, you re the algorithm, the rest of us just swim in the sea of Lisa boosts. 
Show threadLisa MeltonApr 14
@SymTrkl LMAO! Ouch. 😂
Show threadJenny (cozy node) Apr 14
@lisamelton Aw beans I've been added to the ocean, I shoulda posted this from the public account. 
Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteApr 15
@SymTrkl @lisamelton
🤣 🤣 🤣
Show threadScott FrancisApr 15
@lisamelton
Show threadFallsMom 🌻Apr 15

@lisamelton

Yes! And how did I see this post? A boost from a friend (yay!), not from an algorithm !

Show threadMagnus AhltorpApr 15

@FallsMom @lisamelton (I saw it because of an algorithm: the trending tab)

I can understand if people are overwhelmed by posts in their timeline because they're following people that post a lot. They may want to continue following them but get fewer things, and there could be room for a "less of this"/"more of this" personal curator thingy. The key is letting it be completely controlled by the user, and transparent. It might still not be a good idea, but worth exploring.

Show threadJaanaApr 15
@ahltorp @FallsMom @lisamelton Why not just stop following overly prolific people?
Show threadMagnus AhltorpApr 15

@JankaWessman @FallsMom @lisamelton Because you like what they write? Or you like some of it? Or specifically don’t like or don’t care about some of it? Or it might not be one prolific person, but the combined effect of many.

A lot of people here use filters and other selective mutes. Can’t we help people do that, or do we as a collective think that’s only for ”advanced users”?

Maybe there is no good way of doing this, but other than the effort, what is lost by trying?

Show threadEvelyn OctaviaApr 15
@FallsMom @lisamelton i saw this post on trending tab. So it's technically an algorithm? 
Show threadpinkittymarieApr 15
@lisamelton nnooooooooooo!..that's what's enjoyable here..no algo..much more fun....☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
Show threadThommyApr 15
@lisamelton I still lament what we lost when the web mostly gave up on the idea of directories (like dmoz) and just went with search engines. Don't google my social.
Show threadJayApr 15

@lisamelton Oh boy, an algorithm just like my big boy social medias

Tell me, techbro, how well that’s working out

For everyone

Show threadJustin MacleodApr 15
@lisamelton Absolutely no algorithms. No no no! I'm way more opposed to having my feed dictated to me based on unknown, uncontrolled and possibly undesirable factors than I am anything about AI.
Show threadshivvrApr 15
@lisamelton I’m new here and still kinda figuring out the whole making connections thing, but yeah this is absolutely the vibe and why I’m here
Show threadKent PitmanApr 15

@shivvr @lisamelton

Welcome. In case it helps: You can subscribe to hash tags. This is how I've found interesting individuals. It gives some of the serendipity of The Algorithm without the agenda, since you'll see people you didn't originally know about.

After a while, maybe you unsubscribe from the hash tag. I haven't found the need, but the option is there. For example, you might want to rotate what you're listening to as you settle in, every few days or weeks, maybe to try one or a few hash tags at a time.

Show threadshivvrApr 15
@kentpitman @lisamelton thanks! That is a helpful suggestion I hadn’t realized that
Show threadSeaApr 15

@shivvr @lisamelton

Greetings, I am rather new here too. I'm here to join the welcome party. I hope to cross paths in the future. Have a great day.

Show threadRobert KingettApr 15
Yep! Stick with it long enough and you will do well! Of course, also bookmark sites such as https://fedi.tips/ @shivvr @lisamelton
Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

Show threadshivvrApr 16
@WeirdWriter @lisamelton oh neat ty! I didn’t know there were 3rd party apps. The official app i’ve been using is lowkey bad ngl
Show threadRobert KingettApr 16
@shivvr @lisamelton Yep! That’s actually what makes this place so great. I use apps designed for the blind, but the beauty of it is that anybody could be using a third party app without any restrictions or restraints. More mainstream platforms are closing their API’s but Mastodon and other Fediverse projects like Go to Social use third party apps a lot
Show threadDavidApr 15
@lisamelton No algorithm has ever been able to precisely target all of my anxieties as well as I have managed to do here… uh, oops. At least nobody is profiting off of them!
Show threadᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIESApr 15

@lisamelton

"jackhole techbro"

okay i'm stealing that

Show threadLisa MeltonApr 15
@benroyce You have my blessing. 😊
Show threadBernie the WordsmithApr 15
@lisamelton How is the comment section going for that guy?
Show threadLisa MeltonApr 15
@berniethewordsmith He's getting pummeled the last time I checked.
Show threadWendinlondon 🇺🇦Apr 15
@lisamelton @berniethewordsmith This was the fellow upset because AI journos weren’t being boosted here? Lol, yeah, we’re a tough crowd.
Show threadHollieKApr 15
@wendinoakland @lisamelton @berniethewordsmith Colour me not surprised that it was him.
Show threadRobert KingettApr 16
@wendinoakland @lisamelton @berniethewordsmith I want a link to his poll
Show threadBernie the WordsmithApr 16
@WeirdWriter @wendinoakland @lisamelton Over here https://social.coop/@flancian/116393049201404588
In #Flancia we'll meet (@[email protected])

Of course the #Fediverse *already* has a default #algorithm: it is to show the latest posts and boosts by anyone. It is an algorithm but not a very satisfactory one IMHO; even without getting much fancier, we could do a lot better! [ ] Yes, agree strongly. [ ] Yes, agree weakly. [ ] No, disagree weakly. [ ] No, disagree strongly.

social.coop
Show threadRobert KingettApr 16
Ugh! Tech Bros are some of the laziest people around. I bet he hates RSS for the same reason. Absolute nope, and just absolute cringe too, if that was serious. @berniethewordsmith @wendinoakland @lisamelton
Show threadDukeApr 15
@lisamelton Why some want/need an algorithm (I am not one of them)-
Show threadJudy AndersonApr 15

@lisamelton The Trending tab does this for me -- I have my curated feed, and periodically I click on Trending, which leads me to NEW PEOPLE who I can follow. And also breaking news.

There IS an algorithm. You just get to CHOOSE whether to use it.

Show threadLisa MeltonApr 15
@nosrednayduj Yes. It's not the default. And, most importantly, the Trending tab is not tailored to what you've posted. You're anonymous as far as it's concerned.
Show threadOmar AntolínApr 15
@nosrednayduj On my instance, the trending tab is always empty, which maybe is just true. It's an instance for mathematicians, maybe just nothing ever trends. @lisamelton
Show threadhaliphax 👾Apr 15
@lisamelton Nah, I'd love it if people that post only when I'm asleep, or people that only post occasionally get bubbled up so that I can read their stuff and not have it buried by folks that post several times a day, every day. "Algorithm" isn't an inherently naughty word.
Show threadTim 🏳️‍🌈Apr 15

@haliphax @lisamelton

Agreed, at the end of the day even the ordered by time list of posts we have now is an "algorithm"

Show threadMortenApr 15
@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley
You can already have this with Lists. A list for sleep posters, a list for low volume posters. Clients can implement features to automatically create these kinds of lists for you without any change to how Mastodon servers work. Maybe it already exists 🤔
Show threadMortenApr 15
@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley I think to most people "the algorithm" means something that digs up the most popular posts across a specific social media and jams it into your feed. So you "are part of the global conversation". It sucks and selects for lowest common denominators (which is often US centric). Additionally, it typically optimises for engagement rather than enjoyment.
Show threadhaliphax 👾Apr 15
@drgroftehauge @lisamelton @karlhigley Yes, I understand what most people think of when it comes to the capital A Algorithm. I also understand it's possible to do myself by fastidiously selecting and maintaining lists like a second job, and that software can do things. To my knowledge, no such feature exists in any client that I am aware of. Phanpy gets close, but not quite (and it's a very clunky experimental feature).
Show threadjandiApr 15
@haliphax @drgroftehauge @lisamelton @karlhigley It's all about choice and consent, take a look, for example, at FediAlgo: https://mastodon.social/@jandi/115720315643131726