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1. Embed this notice
   Taylor Lorenz (taylorlorenz@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 09:45:01 JST Taylor Lorenz

   “The problem is, there’s a certain type of pedantry that has followed the internet through its various forms, especially in more technical channels, and it often creates a negative experience because it seems to be driven by ideology or disdain for people who don’t think the same way.” https://tedium.co/2023/11/21/mastodon-reply-guy-problem/

   • Embed this notice
     Taylor Lorenz (taylorlorenz@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 10:05:27 JST Taylor Lorenz

     in reply to

     Curious to hear if others on here are experiencing what’s described in this piece. I enjoy most of the replies I get on here (though I never have time to respond to most of them, I like reading them)

     I do think Mastodon could use more safety/audience limiting tools though, like what Ernie describes. Esp for larger-ish accounts on here who get a lot of replies, it would be nice to limit conversations on some posts. I would also love a real DM inbox on Mastodon! but that might be a pipe dream 😅

     Evan Prodromou repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Eugen Rochko (gargron@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 10:05:27 JST Eugen Rochko

     in reply to

     • かき@GNUsocialJP

     @taylorlorenz In case you haven't seen, we're experimenting with something in this area:

     https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/11/improving-the-quality-of-conversations-on-mastodon/

   • Embed this notice
     George Station (harmonygritz@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 10:47:33 JST George Station

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     @Gargron @taylorlorenz

     "If they [convo improvement features] prove successful, we’ll be bringing them to the experience on the web as well."

     As a middling new presence, I'm hoping the data supports keeping the first feature (Reply thoughtfully) but not the second (Hey, you're replying to an older post).

     I was reminded once not to tag you into a thread, which was annoying but valid. But if I'm replying to an old post, its because I deliberately dug it up. So I don't need that extra step.

   • Embed this notice
     Shoq (shoq@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 11:57:46 JST Shoq

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     @Gargron @taylorlorenz I applaud some promising ideas here, but I get nervous when I see things like “we can prevent some awkward situations, such as explaining something to an expert in a given field.” While the intent is clear, how are you going to implement that. Who will be the expertise referees? Who decides when an actor’s credentials are even relevant or appropriate to a given context.

   • Embed this notice
     Eugen Rochko (gargron@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 11:59:34 JST Eugen Rochko

     in reply to

     • かき@GNUsocialJP
     • Shoq

     @shoq @taylorlorenz You decide, from reading their bio. Maybe if you see they have a PhD in astrophysics you won't explain astrophysics to them.

   • Embed this notice
     Shoq (shoq@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 12:06:11 JST Shoq

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     @Gargron @taylorlorenz I get the intent. But are you suggesting that some keywords or algo forces the replier to read the bio before their post is accepted? ExTwitter has been injecting some of those behaviorial intercepts now. But they seem far more annoying than effective at calming down the reply tonality.

   • Embed this notice
     Eugen Rochko (gargron@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 12:16:50 JST Eugen Rochko

     in reply to

     • かき@GNUsocialJP
     • Shoq

     @shoq @taylorlorenz There is a prompt that appears when you reply to a stranger for the first time. You can see it in the screenshot in the blog post.

   • Embed this notice
     Shoq (shoq@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 12:28:52 JST Shoq

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     @Gargron @taylorlorenz OiC, only the first time. I suppose that might help in some contexts, but in my experience, it’s just as likely to give the “reply-guy” more to work with when composing their snark or insult. Still, kudos for any and all experiments.

   • Embed this notice
     RodneyPetersonTalentAgency (rodneypetersontalent@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 12:33:15 JST RodneyPetersonTalentAgency

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko
     • Shoq

     @Gargron @shoq @taylorlorenz

     Assuming someone has enough brains to actually look at a profile.

     Have you met the average American yet?

   • Embed this notice
     Eugen Rochko (gargron@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 12:35:30 JST Eugen Rochko

     in reply to

     • かき@GNUsocialJP
     • Shoq
     • RodneyPetersonTalentAgency

     @RodneyPetersonTalent @shoq @taylorlorenz This is why this feature shows the bio in the prompt. You can see it in the screenshot in the blog post.

   • Embed this notice
     Taylor Lorenz (taylorlorenz@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 16:11:32 JST Taylor Lorenz

     in reply to

     • Eugen Rochko

     @Gargron oh this is awesome! Thanks for flagging

   • Embed this notice
     FinchHaven sfba (finchhaven@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 17:26:52 JST FinchHaven sfba

     in reply to

     @taylorlorenz

     I'm going to bite on this again, aren't I?

     I saw the entire history of this issue as it happened here, live, and I've been directly involved with some of the main characters

     It started out on Mastodon with a Mastodon Authority(tm) ("Masto Migra") selectively clipping some Very Famous People(tm) who (allegedly) were all going to move off to Bluesky because they weren't being treated with the deferential obeisance that their Position In Life(tm) had led them to expect they deserved

     That's the real crux of it

     Also see: "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!?!?!"

     I've been blocked by several them at different times; the triggering keyword (I'm not making this up) in two cases who shall remain unnamed was literally "hubris"

     Hubris: "... exaggerated pride or self-confidence, often a dangerous character flaw in ancient Greek tragedy"

     Sure, these people know some things, but lots of people know some things

     Basically these people *really* need to get over themselves

     There

     Kicked the ant hill, again

   • Embed this notice
     FinchHaven sfba (finchhaven@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 25-Nov-2023 17:26:52 JST FinchHaven sfba

     in reply to

     @taylorlorenz

     So now we have Gargron rushing in to put out the PR fires with a proposal to "Improve the quality of conversations on Mastodon" by cloning the Twitter Nanny to chide people who dare reply to people they don't actively know in a sufficiently deferential manner

     "We also believe that by showing a bit of information about the person you’re about to talk to, we can prevent some awkward situations, such as explaining something to an expert in a given field"

     So

     Back into our little Walled Gardens(tm) where we converse only with those we already know

     Hey!

     Wasn't that exactly what Mastodon was supposed to *not* be?

     A Walled Garden(tm)?

     Guess it depends on who builds and enforces the Wall

     Doesn't it always?

     Ref: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/11/improving-the-quality-of-conversations-on-mastodon/