Gregory's Server@neil Decentralization requires a level of personal responsibility users aren't used to. I think a lot of people are expecting a more curated experience, but the biggest selling point to the Fediverse is that Musk/Zuck etc isn't doing the curating.
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23 comments
 > at least it feels like you're looking at what you've decided you're interested in, not some random "Humans without context" viral post. Bingo. I only see posts or boots from people I follow, and I really rather like that. @almenal99 @neil @JustinH Yeah, people don't want homework - they want to be able to easily discover content. You can find whatever you're looking for here, but it's more work; it's not easy to just stumble into. Saying more work is a selling point isn't actually going to make the sale for most people. I like Mastodon, but honestly, I get why many people don't. @ManitouRyan @almenal99 @JustinH > people don't want homework - they want to be able to easily discover content Different people want different things, I expect! @neil @almenal99 @JustinH For sure, or else we wouldn't be here. But if you're wondering why the masses aren't flocking here like they do the corporate alternatives, I think that's a BIG part of it.  @ManitouRyan @almenal99 @neil Absolutely, but people "like" pizza better than broccoli, too. I think it's important for users to be able to make informed choices, especially because social media use has been shown to dramatically impact mental health. Corporations aren't going to educate anyone. @JustinH @almenal99 @neil Telling people it's good for them isn't going to get them here, though. I got into Bluesky a few days ago, have been kicking the tires a bit. One thing that jumped out at me right away was the simple "quote post" option, something everybody wants but that we keep getting told we *shouldn't* want over here. It's that elitist attitude against basic functionality that keeps so many people away. @ManitouRyan @JustinH @almenal99 > something everybody want Different people want different things, again? Not everyone wants quote posts... Some do, some do not! @ManitouRyan @JustinH @almenal99 That is only considering the person who is quoting. The person being quoted needs considering too. Personally, I like the idea of a quote post feature, provided that the person who is being quoted has chosen to enable that. IMHO, it should be off by default, and the person can choose to enable it for all their posts, or control it per-post, like the visibility settings. @neil @ManitouRyan @JustinH @almenal99 That would only work if every instance supported the feature and also honoured it.
@ManitouRyan @JustinH @almenal99 That is my view - I get that people want it, and that some people don't, and I don't think it needs to be as polarising as it seems to be! @neil @JustinH @almenal99 I used that as one example. There are some other basic things, too, which I won't bother breaking down here, point by point. I've seen conversations here with people complaining about "the normies" when decrying people who want some basic functionality (like search?) they've become accustomed to. If you're a non-tech, non-alt-culture type who hears talk like that about the general population, do you feel welcome? Do you wanna join? Is our goal to keep people out? @neil @JustinH @almenal99 The reason I have strong feelings about this is that I want to see people come to Mastodon (or another Fediverse alternative). It seems like the time is ripe to stop people from always running to the tech bros like Zuck, Musk, Dorsey, etc., walking into their horrible data privacy and tracking practices. We have to welcome and listen to them, though. @ManitouRyan @JustinH @almenal99 > people who want some basic functionality (like search?) But what search? Search of their own posts, for "oh, I'm sure I posted this!" purposes? Probably uncontroversial. Search of posts which have already been on their timeline? Again, probably uncontroversial, as long as deleted posts are not searchable. Search *across the fediverse*, including posts of people you don't follow? More controversial (and tricky, technically), and I'd err on opt-in again. @ManitouRyan @almenal99 @neil To be fair, I said educating, not telling. Ultimately someone who's comfortable using BlueSky after knowing how it works (and the values of Jack Dorsey) is probably not going to be comfortable with the "wild west" nature of decentralization anyway. What's important is that people know the pros and cons of both. @JustinH @almenal99 @neil Yeah, I just think Mastodon is so close to being a tool that most people could get on board with - and I think we should want that, as breaking the corporate hold on social media is an important and laudable goal, IMO - but the attitude that it being harder to use is a "feature" needs to break. It's kind of elitist and just results in gatekeeping. Is that what we really want?  |
@JustinH @neil
That's very true. I use fosstodon mostly on a PC with advanced web view to have multiple columns with hashtags I follow (tweetdeck-style). My main feed is not enough without algorithmic recommendations.
It's an interesting situation. You need to put more effort, but then at least it feels like you're looking at what you've decided you're interested in, not some random "Humans without context" viral post. But it is effort that you might not want to put in 🤷♂️