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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.

5 comments
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.

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