@daniel_rubino We've seen what QT is primarily used for on Twitter. It's intent is to stifle conversation that can be had with the original poster and bring the discussion to your audience instead.

It re-centres the attention on you rather than the content itself.

It's never been a good thing. And 'context' can be just as easily applied by replying in the thread and joining the discussion. We have an edit button if the OP agrees additional context is necessary.

Even now as I reply to this post I've moved the conversation from the main thread to a place where this is likely to get very limited discussion.

Self-styled 'Twitter celebrities' are going to miss the quote-tweet button. I am not.

@atomicpoet Thanks for the info. I assumed there are multiple protocols around, I just didn't know what they were. It looks like ActivityPub makes up the majority though, based on the 'Fediverse Maps' I've seen.

Wikipedia recently renamed Mastodon (software) to Mastodon (social network) on the 5th of December.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Mastodon_(social_network)#Requested_move_28_November_2022

"I picked four of the article's secondary sources at random. All four referred to Mastodon primarily as a social network, not software. It is the more accurate disambiguator for our general readership." - I guess this is a direct result of the problem you've pointed out.

It may be worth contributing to ongoing discussions there, but it seems like they're set on that being the primary classification.

@atomicpoet Mastodon is the face of the Fediverse right now, so I'm not surprised by the title. I'm sure editors have the last say on these sorts of things.

The article should have done a better job of explaining the role of the ActivityPub network as the underlying technology and not just as a means of compatibility with other communities.

But I'll still give the benefit of the doubt and say that this article is more for the politics surrounding mastodon specifically than to inform you of the underlying tech.

@alexhern Do you have any input?

@atomicpoet The benefits of "Mastodon" has become a common way to refer to the decentralized benefits of the Fediverse/ActivityPub Network. Most people on Twitter are now aware of Mastodon's existence, but the concept of the Fediverse can still be intimidating and confusing for those who are not tech-savvy - which is most users.

One major barrier to entry for many people is simply choosing an instance. The average social media user may feel overwhelmed by the options and just want a simple Twitter alternative.

Our priority should be making the Fediverse accessible to the average social media user, which currently means focusing on Mastodon. From there, we can gradually introduce people to other services within the Fediverse. It may not be the ideal solution, but slowly shifting people's mindset about the internet and decentralization is our best bet.