@kissane There’s a volume aspect to this too. I suspect...

@kissane There’s a volume aspect to this too. I suspect I’m considerably more norm-core than the archetypal Mastodon user (along most axes but not all) — but because I don’t have a big account, this stuff just doesn’t come up for me.

Might be worth doing a qualitative study of pain points identified by big users of various platforms/whatever-we-call-them, and what those say about the culture. (Possibly this is already out there. Possibly you are even the person who would have written it… I’m out of my depth here) The median user of any service probably just isn’t going to experience the same things.

Like 27 August at 19:03 | Wall-to-wall | Open on mathstodon.xyz

6 comments

Erin Kissane

@emjonaitis For sure! I am thinking a lot about ways of getting into the needs of a bunch of cross-cutting groups, like people who really want to connect more but feel lonely and ignored + people in groups that are likely to be targeted (Black women, most of all) + “big” accounts whose work enriches the network but whose own experiences of it are often so alienating. This is one of 2-3 things I’d like to work on next, tbh, but I’m a little crispy so I’m taking a wee moment first. 🫠

27 August at 19:23 | Open on mas.to

Azuaron

@emjonaitis @kissane I was thinking along the same lines. Even if only 1% of users is going to get all up in their feelings about something, and you have--to pull a random number--13,000 followers, that means 130 people are going to get all up in their feelings about something.

I don't want to have 130 pleasant and engaging conversations with people I know well in a given day, let alone 130 strangers getting upset at me for something, even IF I could sympathize with their perspective.

27 August at 19:57 | Open on hachyderm.io

FelisCatus

@Azuaron @emjonaitis @kissane maybe I am misunderstanding your post, but how is it those 130 persons's problem if you have a lot of followers?

If you start having a lot of followers, obviously it will require you thinking about how to handle it. That's your responsibility.

And I am not saying your responsibility is to reply to each one of them. Rather I al trying to say that what's causing your issue is more your high number of followers than the "purity" of 1% of them.

27 August at 22:00 | Open on mastodon.social

Azuaron

@FelisCatus You're definitely misunderstanding my post, because I never assigned any kind of blame.

27 August at 22:21 | Open on hachyderm.io

FelisCatus

@Azuaron glad it was a misunderstanding :)

27 August at 22:45 | Open on mastodon.social

Sheldon Chang 🇺🇸

@Azuaron @emjonaitis @kissane getting attacked in the Fediverse feels worse to me than it does on other platforms. Been thinking about this a lot. I think the non-algorithmic nature of the interactions combined with a general culture of avoiding conflict are factors.

Because of the lack of an algorithm, that one true believer who's trying to make an example out of you is probably not just an average rando who's easy to dismiss. That person has more intent than the garden variety crank who may just be reacting to whatever the algorithm chucked in front of them.

Also because of the non-algorithmic nature, help is less likely to be coming. Even with a good following, most people who follow you have reasons for doing so that don't include wanting to get in harms way for you. The same dynamic that normally brings more unwanted randos to your door also bring people who are likely to defend you against them.

So my experience is we end up with fewer conflicts that are more intense & more lonely.

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27 August at 23:14 | Open on sfba.social