Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:28:25 JST Anil Dash

   The biggest reason I don’t use Mastodon nearly as often as I’d like to is because, unlike other platforms, too many of the people who act like asses here are people who *follow me*. It’s really weird, because every platform has assholes or whatever, but usually it’s due to context collapse from strangers. Here, it’s usually a tiny minority that wants to scold or police over (often contrived!) objections, and it’s just… exhausting. Takes the fun out of hanging out online. Not sure how to fix it.

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:38:40 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     • Mitex Leo

     @ml I’m aware of the options, but if you have to do it all the time, it becomes fatiguing, and then you just don’t feel like using the platform. Which is what I was describing.

   • Embed this notice
     Mitex Leo (ml@social.mitexleo.one)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:38:41 JST Mitex Leo

     in reply to

     @anildash I just ignore them or simply use the block feature :)

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:39:26 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     (Friends, I’ve been on social media for 30 years; I’m well aware that I can block or mute. I’m reflecting more on a peculiarity of culture here that’s specific to this platform vs others. It’s worth pointing out because maybe it can be addressed, or is an artifact of some design choices or social norms.)

   • Embed this notice
     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:39:44 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     • Jack William Bell

     @jackwilliambell @anildash Yeah. If someone following me consistently acts like an asshole - and especially if they do this in the form of hostile engagement with people I boost! - they get blocked and they're no longer following me.

   • Embed this notice
     Jack William Bell (jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 03:39:46 JST Jack William Bell

     in reply to

     @anildash

     That's what the block button is for. I mean, sure, they'll still bitch and kvetch. But you won't see it and it won't matter.

     Block early and block often. That's my motto.

     ETA: You can also remove them from your follows.

   • Embed this notice
     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 04:16:16 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     • Tyson, Chicken Rancher 🐓

     @tsupasat @anildash Mute is a bad idea. It lets them keep harassing other people in your replies without you knowing it's happening.

     A basic rule I go by is that mute is for me problems: when I don't to hear something someone else is posting in good faith. Block is for them problems: when their behavior is unacceptable.

   • Embed this notice
     Tyson, Chicken Rancher 🐓 (tsupasat@infosec.exchange)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 04:16:17 JST Tyson, Chicken Rancher 🐓

     in reply to

     @anildash Block or mute them?

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Wednesday, 24-Jun-2026 04:26:44 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     • Tyson, Chicken Rancher 🐓

     @tsupasat I know how to do these things, I’m just talking about the weird cultural aspect.

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:28:46 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     • Jack William Bell
     • Claudius

     @claudius @jackwilliambell yeah I think that’s the issue, I’m not *trying* to be an “influencer”. I _like_ talking to people and hanging out online. These kinds of behaviors I’m describing just make that impossible, because they won’t engage with me in a normal way. That’s the cause of the frustration.

   • Embed this notice
     Claudius (claudius@darmstadt.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:28:49 JST Claudius

     in reply to

     • Jack William Bell

     @jackwilliambell @anildash I personally don't have that problem, I am simply too inconsequential.

     But I have seen large accounts that I actually would like to see here, and they were struggling hard. And some of them at some point chose to become the exact thing you describe. Interacting with the community here was exhausting. So they became mere broadcasters. Everyone lost in this, and I would love a better solution to this.

   • Embed this notice
     Jack William Bell (jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:28:51 JST Jack William Bell

     in reply to

     • Claudius

     @claudius @anildash

     Sorry, I reread your post and realized I'd missed something: You were saying it's too hard to block all the assholes because there are so many of them. I didn't address that.

     I'm not sure what the best answer to that is either. But I can suggest limiting your follows by making them invite-only.

     I realize this goes against a major goal for 'influencers'. But, for that, see the above.

   • Embed this notice
     Jack William Bell (jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:28:54 JST Jack William Bell

     in reply to

     • Claudius

     @claudius @anildash

     If I don't see it why in the hell should I care about what people say if I don't see it.

     Sure, if you want to be a 'thought leader' and 'influencer' you might care. But I don't and, frankly, I have little time for people who do.

     This is 'Social Media'. And, as such, it is a 'social space' not a broadcast medium. IMHO if you are doing it for the clicks you are doing it wrong.

     And, if this seems like a critique of you to you? I submit you are doing it wrong.

   • Embed this notice
     Claudius (claudius@darmstadt.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:28:55 JST Claudius

     in reply to

     • Jack William Bell

     @jackwilliambell @anildash blocking does not work for extremely large High-Profile accounts. You can do this all day and still not catch all the assholes.

     I can't offer a better solution, but putting this burden on the victim is not a great solution.

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:31:28 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     • Tom Head

     @tomhead you are right about this; I think it’s true most of the time. And in the abstract, I have empathy for it. But the net effect of being the target of it for a whole bunch of dudes is pretty dehumanizing. They aren’t actually responding to me as a person, I’m just a concept they’re using to launch into a performance they already had cued up. When that’s the most immediate and reliable reaction, a platform becomes unbearable.

   • Embed this notice
     Tom Head (tomhead@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:31:29 JST Tom Head

     in reply to

     @anildash I didn't see this mentioned so I will: when a follower is scolding you he (it's almost always a he) is, IMHO, desperately trying to engage with you in the only way he knows how. Social media is used as a substitute for human interaction, and a bad interaction is better than none at all. I'm not excusing that behavior, just trying to suggest that something bigger is going on.

     How to fix it? No idea. People who use social media instead of RL connections are in a bad place.

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:39 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     • Petra van Cronenburg
     • Dreaming of dad jazz.
     • Ethan Marcotte

     @NatureMC @beep @michaelcoyote yeah a big part of the imbalance for me here is that it also lacks a lot of the stuff (uhhh… people of color, pop culture, immediacy) that enable me to have *fun* online. Nobody is riffing on the NBA finals and the NYC elections and Olivia Rodrigo’s album here in ways that are legible to me. So that lack of joy alongside an abundance of scolding is… tiring.

   • Embed this notice
     Petra van Cronenburg (naturemc@mastodon.online)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:40 JST Petra van Cronenburg

     in reply to

     • Dreaming of dad jazz.
     • Ethan Marcotte

     @beep Your last sentence: this is what I wish, too!
     We have several factors for these problems beside account size: belonging to a group like women (mansplaining is horrible here), POC etc
     Or write about/for media, politics, polarising themes.
     That's a problem everywhere in big groups of people, but as you say Bsky is better in protection.

     I have no problems to filter my TL but when I don't see a hate-comment, all others will see it nevertheless.
     @michaelcoyote

   • Embed this notice
     Ethan Marcotte (beep@follow.ethanmarcotte.com)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:43 JST Ethan Marcotte

     in reply to

     • Dreaming of dad jazz.

     @michaelcoyote Thanks so much for sharing 💜

     I’m not sure account size correlates neatly to abuse on the platform—or rather, I don’t think it’s the only variable? I have a number of friends who experienced some harrowing abuse shortly after arriving here, at least.

     But that aside, yes, absolutely agreed—the filtering needs work! And personally, I’d love to see things like Bluesky’s nuclear block and reply controls implemented here.

   • Embed this notice
     Dreaming of dad jazz. (michaelcoyote@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:44 JST Dreaming of dad jazz.

     in reply to

     • Ethan Marcotte

     @beep @anildash

     I feel like there's a real danger to having a large account here because there's no algorithm here beyond human boosting and replies. Big accounts get lots of boosts and you end up with lots of replies from followers and randos.

     The tools to organize and filter incoming posts are nonexistent beyond blocking and muting that I've seen.

   • Embed this notice
     Dreaming of dad jazz. (michaelcoyote@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:44 JST Dreaming of dad jazz.

     in reply to

     • Ethan Marcotte

     @beep @anildash

     I also like this place and find it preferable to most other social media, BUT. If I were in Anil's shoes I'd probably not enjoy it because the feed filtering tools are so bad.

     Conversely, (and this is not a recommendation), but if Anil was just Anil from the block, and not a big account, I think he'd have a much better time here because I think Fedi (and Mastodon specifically) works well for smaller groups of people.

   • Embed this notice
     Ethan Marcotte (beep@follow.ethanmarcotte.com)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:33:46 JST Ethan Marcotte

     in reply to

     @anildash It sucks, man 💜 I generally have a much chiller time here than on Bluesky, but when the dinks show up, they *really* show up. I dearly wish Mastodon had some of bsky’s moderation tools.

     I frequently get caremad about all the people who came here after Twitter died, then were basically chased away from the platform. A real loss.

   • Embed this notice
     Anil Dash (anildash@me.dm)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:35:33 JST Anil Dash

     in reply to

     @jwz all platforms will expand until they get a killfile 😭

   • Embed this notice
     jwz (jwz@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 25-Jun-2026 03:35:34 JST jwz

     in reply to

     @anildash And in a not-at-all-shocking lack of introspection, the first five replies here are people saying, "Anil must not know how to use the block button, I shall explain to him how he's doing it wrong. I am helping."