devimon crime babyI think it's better to treat awoo as a temporary measure while tools like reports are worked on than to abandon the idea of improving safety/cultural features
Prof. Monophylos Fortikos
@Monophylos
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Overeducated, orotund ex-unicorn who lives in a wyvern's imagination. Lives in Seattle. Secretary and assistant to @Chelydros. Affianced to @Daria. He/him.
In the end, what I feared from the start turned out to be true: this place was too much like Twitter, both in design and in the attitudes and style of discourse that ended up prevailing. Certain structural features of mastodon have made it _slightly_ more favorable for wider-ranging discussion with a slightly better chance of not descending into mere grade-school sniping and swapping of snide in-jokes. But it was not nearly enough.
Some users here seem to grasp what has been lost here. More users, however, are taking refuge in the usual, infuriating preoccupation with _tone_ that seems to prevail on Twitter and other social media. Never mind the substance of what happened! What matters is that it is "drama", and "drama" is bad. My friend was guilty of stirring up "drama", it seems--and I suppose that I am doing the same now. The trivialization of this dispute as mere "drama" sets my teeth on edge.
I am an old-fashioned sort, I suppose...a relic of dusty libraries and laboratories. I do not suppose I will ever succeed in getting used to the modern world. So to see one of my best friends here being treated to superficial kibitzing about using "yt" to denote "white" gets on my last nerve. Does EVERY conversation have to be reduced to mere pop-culture reference? @voz https://mastodon.social/media/9H3VhCNo0hdU2ZJ3Qf0 https://mastodon.social/media/bqUOWrjbCtc35KAQ560
Before I go further, let me state plainly what this community has lost in driving @voz away: a fearsomely intelligent, experienced woman with immense practical knowledge in fields that, frankly, do not get the tenth part of the respect they deserve in communities dominated by gamers and programmers. That I was able by chance to meet such a person here, after years in the Twitter wilderness, _was_ one of the most important reasons I was giving Mastodon a chance.
Some hours of reflection and distraction have only solidified my decision: whatever the solution is to my desire for a microblogging platform that encourages thoughtful discussion and is home to the broadest and most diverse possible range of interests and personalities...mastodon.social is NOT it. I have had some doubts previously, doubts I was willing for a time to set aside, but the experience of my friend @voz has exhausted my patience.
InfoGabThe issue with "go start your own instance" is not everyone has the technical know-how or financial resources to set up and host their own website running a ruby-on-rails webapp. Also, not everyone is confident in their own abilities to moderate a community and be a respectable leader. None of that invalidates someone's concerns about where they are and what they need.
That said: having more instances is absolutely a good idea and will really help a lot of mastodon issues
All right, I am making no rash decisions right now, a mere hour after waking and still reeling from a rather rough Sunday evening, but I am probably checking out of here soon and taking @Chelydros with me. There is no place for me here.
I'm on the point of leaving this place. It's driven off a fellow scientist over NOTHING. What is the point of this place if it's cultivating a monoculture of somewhat better than average computer geeks?
bundogwe need to start actively elevating diverse voices and we need to carve out spaces for people who don't fit the existing masto mold to fit in. we can't do this “gay communist tech furry” thing forever. or, i mean, we can, but it means some marginalized people will never feel at home using the service.