Since moving off Twitter/X/whatever to (mostly) here, I have about 1/3 the followers, but roughly the same level of engagement. Also, twice the scolding. But roughly 0% of the Nazis. That last bit is what keeps me here.
There are aspects of the federated model that I prefer - the decentralization, the lack of commercial control - and I like to think they contribute to making this a better experience. But really, all that pales compared with the main difference between this and Twitter, which is the near complete, universal, lack of tolerance for Nazis and their ilk. Just that makes all the difference.
@mattblaze It is kinda wild that that some FOSS enthusiasts came up with a UX that's at least competitive with, if not superior to, those on offer by BigSocial, and all it took was "No Nazis" and "edit button"
how do we lessen the scolding? there was some discussion of that at #FediForum. I think some people are calling that harassment, which it is, but I think needs to be called something different to focus our attention correctly.
I feel like scolding is part of sustainable decentralization... Like having people remind me to do alt text is healthy, and a culture where it's not just the people who need it who remember to care about it is good.
As someone descended from Karen's I'm constantly thinking about the distinction between call outs and call ins, with elements of 'how do we all make the world better' through empowerment instead of policing. I think interactive schooling/scolding/discussion of norms that scale to the amount of impact you have, is part of that.
The need for reporting/blocking/muting is also real - particularly for those marginalized people everyone feels entitled to correct(young, BIPOC, women, etc). I haven't figured out a path forward to deal with biases like that except consciousness raising :/
Sorry, that sounds very nice in theory, but in practice here, it's out of control.
I'm routinely (and often angrily) scolded here for such offenses as posting B&W photos, mentioning politics, failing to put content warnings on photos of people looking at the camera ("some people are uncomfortable being stared at"), and pointing out ways in which the Mastodon DM mechanism is broken.
It's bullshit, and if unchecked, will eventually drive me away.
agreed. also there's just gonna be disagreement. lots of black folks have said they aren't going to use mastodon cause it doesn't have quote boosts, while it's also true that those have been an attack vector before. people need to back off a bit and compromise, even when they think they are fighting the good fight.
it kinda goes back to a fundamental question of ranking our priorities, sadly. the nicest place or the most popular. other goals too.
@mattblaze@thesquirrelfish@wjmaggos@shansterable it's a weird entitlement problem on fedi. people demanding that strangers cater to their very specific, niche needs, & curate their own mental health for them the way a helicopter parent would. aren't these the same people who complain about being asked to do unrecognized 'emotional labour'? what do they think they're asking for?
but it's understandable based on the network's history.
they sustained their little servers by being strict with moderation. they had small communities devoted to niche subjects used by people who didn't feel welcome on the big platforms. if anybody left, it might lose the critical mass necessary to convince others to check in. so they tried to make sure newbies wouldn't upset anyone.
decentralization wasn't their focus. we are gentrifiers.
@wjmaggos@shansterable I think a lot if it is that some people think the local rules/policies/norms of their own instance apply (or should apply) everywhere. And they feel entitled to enforce them.
absolutely but it's tough. there is a limited set of rules we do need to make the overall fedi great, but people assume they know what those are (as you say, generally what they do on their own instance). and there's little interest in talking about them with people we disagree with. add to it that these folks are usually old school and the most knowledgeable. they can reasonably say they know what worked. but that was for somewhat of a different type of network or goal...
@mattblaze I tried to go back to Facebook, as I do have a lot of friends and relatives who use it to connect. But I kept getting these ultra-maga posts, and yesterday someone was talking about stockpiling bullets to kill democrats when the time comes. That was it for me. FB should be able to keep these nuts off our boards. Mastodon does a much better job.
@mattblaze I for one am eagerly awaiting the moment you forget to add alt text to an image so we can put you in the stocks and pelt you with rotting pronouns.
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