The dogmatism exists because they're trying to protect...

The dogmatism exists because they're trying to protect their culture.

I realize it can be frustrating sometimes and there are real reasons to find it frustrating, but understanding why this comes up is key to understanding this entire messy debate.

Look. At the end of the day, I’m a Mastodon partisan. But I don’t love its collective tendency toward self-important dogmatism. I’ve seen more than one friend get set up only to pull back, worrying there are dozens of unwritten rules about content warnings and alt text and linking and boosting they will constantly be put on blast over. I have never seen so many self-identified queer leftists reflexively drop into well, actually mode.

Like 11 Jul 2023 at 17:13 | Open on writing.exchange

2 comments

Ernie Smith

This is what I think some critics don't get—federation caught on with these early communities because it was often quite harrowing to be in a marginalized community on a traditional social network, or they specifically want to avoid corporate influence.

They made this place hospitable. We owe it to them to at least hear them out when they say “do not want.”

11 Jul 2023 at 17:20 | Open on writing.exchange

Sphinx of Black Quartz

@ernie

There seems to be a genuine split between people who left Twitter because it was UNSAFE, and the people who left Twitter because it was UNUSABLE. The latter group often do not understand that these are not the same concerns. They also do not understand "We should make Masto more like OTHER social media!" is a threat to the former group.

11 Jul 2023 at 18:05 | Open on vmst.io

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