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Cory Doctorow

Your periodic reminder that if you:

a) Dislike long threads and;

b) Follow someone who routinely posts long threads;

that is a YOU problem, which you can solve by unfollowing, and, if need be, blocking that user so they don't show up in your federated timeline.

Partially redacted toot reading

XXXX@infosec.exchange

@pluralistic you hijacked my feed with your thread wtf
44 comments
Trantion

@pluralistic I have a filter set to block anything with "Long Thread/" in it from my feeds but not when viewing the actual post. That way I can see the start of the thread and choose to read it (usually on your website), and I also see your boosts and other stuff. Win/win

paulfreeman

@trantion @pluralistic perfect, not that I have a problem with long threads but I read Cory’s posts via RSS so it’s just duplication

ftg

@trantion @pluralistic
Thanks! That's a great idea and a nice middle ground.

Ness

@trantion

This solved my problems. Thank you!

C.Suthorn :prn:

@pluralistic

Or the person posting "long threads" could use an additional bot account for that threads, so that is possible to follow one or both accounts.

Stephen Gower

@Life_is @pluralistic That still sounds like it's solving a problem that YOU have that others may not.

C.Suthorn :prn:

@srgower @pluralistic

I have mostly solved the problem for myself, but as this "problem" frequently pops up, it doesn't seem to be my personal problem.

May be it is a "priviligierter Großaccount der sich Dinge herausnehmen kann, was andere nicht können".

Stephen Gower

@Life_is @pluralistic Don't know what that means but the other thing is that this is the way Cory wants to use Mastodon. It doesn't seem right to tell someone else how to use the platform because it doesn't conform to what they want to see.

C.Suthorn :prn:

@srgower @pluralistic

Das ist lustig, weil es ja Doctorow selber ist, der anderen Leuten sagt, wie sie Mastodon nutzen sollen. Nur dass Doctorow das aus einer Person der Stärke tut, und dann auch noch Fans hat, die ihm ungefragt beispringen.

(einsprachig geschrieben, um Mastodons Übersetzen-Funktion nicht zu verwirren)

David Mitchell :CApride:

@srgower @Life_is @pluralistic

Während ich oft sehe, wie Cory anderen erzählt, wie SM eingesetzt werden *kann*, höre ich nicht oft, wie er den Leuten sagt, was sie tun *müssen*

Er ist jedoch sehr kritisch gegenüber der Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen Benutzer einschränken, missbrauchen und in die Falle locken.

Sie sind nicht verpflichtet, einen einzigen seiner Beiträge zu sehen 🤷‍♂️

C.Suthorn :prn:

@DavidM_yeg @srgower @pluralistic

Doctorow ist ein Promi. Ein erfolgreicher Science Fiction Autor, ein einflußreicher Journalist, eine Ikone der Internetkultur. Er war an der Gründung von CreativeCommons beteiligt, und bei der Gründung von Flickr dabei.

Er benutzt Mastodon nicht zu seinem persönlichen Vergnügen, sondern als quasi offiziellen Kommunikationskanal des "Medienunternehmens Doctorow".

Und er sagt faktisch: entweder du erhältst über meinen Mastodon-Kanal sowohl meine Long Threads, als auch meine einzelnen Perlen der Weisheit und meine Boosts fremder Toots. Oder du erhältst bei Mastodon nichts davon, aber über einen meiner anderen Kanäle (zB Blog) nur den Inhalt der Long Threads, aber nichts von meinem anderen Mastodon-Content.

Das kann er so machen, das macht er so. Aber er könnte es auch anders machen.

Wie ich bereits schrieb, habe ich das Problem für mich selbst weitgehend gelöst, indem ich das Wort "Long Thread" stummschalte. Das funktioniert in der App, die ich derzeit nutze, mit anderen Mastodon-Aops funktioniert es nicht. Und auch mit meiner App hakt es: Trotz der Stummschaltung stört es regelmäßig die anzeige der Benachrichtigungen in der App, wohl weil die dutzenden stummgeschalteten Toots von Mastodon mitgezählt werden und die Benachrichtigungen dann solange leer bleiben, bis wieder eine Benachrichtigung kommt, die kein Long Thread ist.

Ich betreibe übrigens selbst einen Bot @Peti_is Dieser Bot postet ähnlich viele Toots wie Doctorow. Jeder Toot dieses Bots enthält eine Reihe standardisierter Hashtags, so dass Follower des Bots zielgenau durch abonieren und durch stummschalten der jeweiligen Hashtags steuern können, wieviele und welche Toots des Bots sie erhalten.

@DavidM_yeg @srgower @pluralistic

Doctorow ist ein Promi. Ein erfolgreicher Science Fiction Autor, ein einflußreicher Journalist, eine Ikone der Internetkultur. Er war an der Gründung von CreativeCommons beteiligt, und bei der Gründung von Flickr dabei.

Er benutzt Mastodon nicht zu seinem persönlichen Vergnügen, sondern als quasi offiziellen Kommunikationskanal des "Medienunternehmens Doctorow".

David Mitchell :CApride:

@srgower @Life_is @Peti_is @pluralistic

Ich weiß vollkommen, wer Doctorow ist.
Ich bin wirklich nicht an so viel Murren interessiert.
Viel Glück dabei, dass sich die Welt all Ihren Wünschen anpasst!

Max Lee :pizzablobcat:

@Life_is @pluralistic
No, the issue here is on the user-side. We can't force people to use hacky workarounds for broken clients which by default show replies the same as actual posts. (Which makes zero sense imo) Some clients have options to prevent that but as long as it's not default people will be annoyed by it. If we want this to get main stream we need to provide a good default user experience, not force individual users to change behaviour.

LonM

@pluralistic I make a list and put long threaders / frequent posters in it. mastodon lets you segregate lists from your home feed, it's really useful and makes the site easier to read

Mastodon list edit interface, option "Hide these posts from home" is enabled
David Mitchell :CApride:

@pluralistic

In a place where we have a truly remarkable level of control over our feeds, it boggles my mind how many people want to dictate to others how they should behave.

moggie

The tools are there, yes. But I get the impression most people either are not aware they exist or don't know how to use them. I guess, if you consider that they're not accustomed to software that offers the user any significant level of control, it makes sense that they don't explore the options.

@DavidM_yeg @pluralistic

David Mitchell :CApride:

@EverydayMoggie @pluralistic

There is that, so regular posts (or patient replies) that remind about the options we have are a good thing. A follow or a pointer to @FediTips is also a good thing.

Also a note that making sure people understand community standards, or your own standards, is different than telling people what they must do.

1/

David Mitchell :CApride:

@FediTips @pluralistic @EverydayMoggie

For example, I expect that people will use alt text if possible, and might occasionally point out that not doing so excludes people, and potentially also excludes you as many people don’t engage with accounts that don’t #AltText
What someone does with that information is up to them.

2/f

Rupert Reynolds

@EverydayMoggie @DavidM_yeg @pluralistic That's a big part of it, yes!

I used to explore websites more, find out what I can do with them.

The temptation now is to give up, because useful features have either never been written, or have been blocked to maximise clicks and advert revenue.

Alan Langford

@DavidM_yeg @pluralistic Seriously. Like make a list "people who don't post long threads" and read that. there are so many tools available and no algorithm overrides them either.

immibis
@DavidM_yeg @pluralistic unfortunately fediverse is not RSS because the mastodon people made some questionable design decisions
wet forest moon folklorist

@pluralistic hey btw I would probably read your threads more if they didn’t have the content warning, tbh. I appreciate the thought but if I don’t know what something’s about I notice I don’t usually click on it

wet forest moon folklorist

@pluralistic maybe a little outdated, most of the apps do threading pretty well now. I like seeing bits of threads show up in my feed, if they’re of interest I can click into the whole thread. plus people are going to boost random parts of the thread anyway (which is what I like about threads as a way to share ideas - they’re modular and the engagement stats show you where the ideas were compelling and where they weren’t!)

Marco Frasca :ironman:

@pluralistic I’m using the @IceCubesApp, there is a filter on threads, so I can see only the first post

TeflonTrout

@pluralistic right? To misquote XKCD about people saying they love science, "You don't really love infosec, you just like to check out its ass as it walks by"

`Da Elf

@TeflonTrout @pluralistic Well, that was some hot coffee to clear the sinuses. I will bet right now that this is the best thing I read all week, Bravo.

Mark Saltveit

@pluralistic
I'm a fan of @pluralistic and I like (many but of course not all) long threads.

When I make long threads, I feel like it's courteous to set the 2nd and subsequent toots to "unlisted" instead of public, so that people who choose not to read that one thread don't have to scroll through a bunch of CW toots.

Anyone who does read the long thread by clicking on the first toot will still see the whole thing. Others see only the first.

Cory Doctorow

@taoish If only that was how unlisted worked! It's a natural assumption, but it's wrong (and a widespread misconception):

pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how

Dinand Mentink

@pluralistic This reminds me of @TechConnectify explaining the federated/mastodon experience is completely different for a 55k vs a 200 follower account.

mastodon.online/@TechConnectif

I thought it was a worthwhile read and highlighted the moderation difficulties for larger accounts mastodon/federation has at the moment.

Jack William Bell

@dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify

Unpopular opinion here: Perhaps making life harder for people at the far end of the power-law curve is a just and right thing. I find the very idea of Social Media 'stars' a bit problematic to begin with and Mastodon does provide a way to keep from having too many followers – Preferences/Public Profile/Privacy and Reach/Uncheck 'Automatically accept new followers'.

Why not see this as a way to encourage people to not build enormous follow lists?

Dinand Mentink

@jackwilliambell @pluralistic @TechConnectify I mean sure. Yet I really enjoy following Cory and Alec here.

Jack William Bell

@dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify

RSS.

ETA: I should expand on this to point out using RSS to follow an account makes you a 'consumer' and not a 'participant' – which runs counter to Social Media ethos, but does fit into how people at the far end of the power-law curve often want to use Social Media; I.E. as a broadcast mechanism, sans the time sink of 'participating' with thousands.

NOTE: Cory is an exception, in that he dives into the participation deep end.

Dinand Mentink

@jackwilliambell @pluralistic @TechConnectify I support designing technology for the least powerful of those affected. Eg accessibility. But as a guideline, not a straitjacket.

Over here I have interactions with quite some mutuals ánd there are quite some larger accounts that I just follow. I enjoy engaging with both at a different level and see absolutely no issue.

Fwiw I see quite some larger accounts here engaging a lot as well.

Jack William Bell

@dinandmentink

> Fwiw I see quite some larger accounts here engaging a lot as well.

That was my point about Cory. And, no, he isn't the only one. But the main point I'm making is: the Fedi is Social Media and Social Media is BY DEFINITION conversational.

When someone is popular on Social Media the time-cost of participating in the conversation goes up rapidly. I believe that is a good thing, because there should be a cost to popularity. Anything else is tantamount to a form of oligarchy.

eyrea

@pluralistic I feel obliged to mention: it is much, much easier to control how I encounter your threads on Mastodon than it was on Twitter.

(Personally I just want to find the pluralistic link to read in article format most of the time, but I get other people have different preferences.)

Noah Kennedy

@pluralistic honestly i think it's an issue with the ui of mastodon and it's competitors which was inherited from twitter

threads should be one entry in the timeline under which everything appears

folks really shouldn't be taking the issue out on you and other threaders - you don't control how this appears on their ui!

Dino Cevolatti

@pluralistic Filter for "Long thread/" works for me!

Screenshot for Matsodon preferences: Filter "Long thread/"
Screenshot for Matsodon feed: Filtered "Long thread/" posts
Jorge Candeias

@pluralistic following you and complaining about long threads is just silly.

That being said, I don't do threads, unless each toot works individually (or the stuff I add is an afterthought). Otherwise, whenever I feel like writing longer stuff, I write it on the friendica account I opened just for that and then boost it here. I find it much neater that way.

Шуро
@pluralistic ... or switch to software which displays threads as, well, threads and not many separate individual posts.
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