about 10 hours ago
It is interesting looking at users on different platforms and how they deal with replies to their posts.
On one side, you have pre-X Twitter style micro-blogging platforms like Mastodon, which are primarily designed to broadcast your thoughts, and are not really designed for discussions. Many users of these platforms consider people who reply to their post as #replyguys and generally don't like people replying to their posts, especially if someone disagrees with them. And even if they want replies, the UI is not conductive of conversations since people have to actually mention them for them to see the reply. And, ironically, there is no way to prevent someone from replying to your post.
On the other side, you have platforms that are designed for conversations, like Facebook-style platforms and forums, and replies are not only expected, but encouraged. When you don't get replies is when you get worried. And the UI is designed specifically for having conversations, where you can see the entire conversation in a threaded view without someone mentioning you. And, interestingly enough, if you were the one who started the conversation, you can turn off comments (unlike Mastodon).
Completely different paradigms, and completely different user interfaces. What one group sees as a net negative, the other group sees as a net positive.
On one side, you have pre-X Twitter style micro-blogging platforms like Mastodon, which are primarily designed to broadcast your thoughts, and are not really designed for discussions. Many users of these platforms consider people who reply to their post as #replyguys and generally don't like people replying to their posts, especially if someone disagrees with them. And even if they want replies, the UI is not conductive of conversations since people have to actually mention them for them to see the reply. And, ironically, there is no way to prevent someone from replying to your post.
On the other side, you have platforms that are designed for conversations, like Facebook-style platforms and forums, and replies are not only expected, but encouraged. When you don't get replies is when you get worried. And the UI is designed specifically for having conversations, where you can see the entire conversation in a threaded view without someone mentioning you. And, interestingly enough, if you were the one who started the conversation, you can turn off comments (unlike Mastodon).
Completely different paradigms, and completely different user interfaces. What one group sees as a net negative, the other group sees as a net positive.
about 4 hours ago
I think I was looking on the Twitter-style arrangement as simply less convenient. But sometimes posts on those networks receive hundreds of replies and comments. I am not sure that this would work so well with Hubzilla's conversation style and so I'm thankful that we don't have any celebrities here.
about 4 hours ago
In the stricter, more fundamentalist variant of Mastodon's culture, you are not allowed to reply to anyone whom you aren't mutually connected with, and who hasn't explicitly mentioned you either. For on Mastodon, you should only be able to see a post if you either follow the author, or the author has mentioned you.
Interestingly, this completely ignores the concept of boosts which can flush posts from people whom you've never even heard of into your timeline. But apparently, even then, you aren't allowed to reply to them according to Mastodon fundamentalists.
And it's only Mastodon and its forks that work this way. The entire rest of the Fediverse, Pleroma and its forks, Misskey and its forks and fork-forks, Friendica and its family and so forth, they're all aware of conversations, and they can handle conversations.
In all these places, it's perfectly normal to receive entire discussion threads, including replies from people whom you aren't connected to, and who didn't mention you. And it's perfectly normal to engage in such conversations, even if that means replying to total strangers. Especially on Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte, a family fundamentally designed as Facebook alternatives.
But on the other hand, you have the aforementioned Mastodon fundamentalists. For the majority of these, the Fediverse is only Mastodon anyway. Most of the rest only know from hearsay that there's something else in the Fediverse that isn't Mastodon, and they demand it behave itself exactly like Mastodon because they neither know nor care that it's completely different from Mastodon both technologically and culturally and in purpose. The few who remain see every difference from Mastodon as a bug that needs fixed.
You're right that it's ironic that those who know conversations the best are those who have technical means to prevent replies, and those who don't want there to be conversations are those who don't have anything beyond muting, blocking and calling the mods.
It could be a solution for them to lock out entire Fediverse server applications with a blocklist or even everything that isn't Mastodon with an allowlist. Ironically, again, such a feature is only available on (streams) and Forte, both of which are conversation-friendly. In addition, Hubzilla and (streams) can raise the drawbridge by turning ActivityPub off. And Mastodon is worlds away from having such a feature.
Interestingly, this completely ignores the concept of boosts which can flush posts from people whom you've never even heard of into your timeline. But apparently, even then, you aren't allowed to reply to them according to Mastodon fundamentalists.
And it's only Mastodon and its forks that work this way. The entire rest of the Fediverse, Pleroma and its forks, Misskey and its forks and fork-forks, Friendica and its family and so forth, they're all aware of conversations, and they can handle conversations.
In all these places, it's perfectly normal to receive entire discussion threads, including replies from people whom you aren't connected to, and who didn't mention you. And it's perfectly normal to engage in such conversations, even if that means replying to total strangers. Especially on Friendica, Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte, a family fundamentally designed as Facebook alternatives.
But on the other hand, you have the aforementioned Mastodon fundamentalists. For the majority of these, the Fediverse is only Mastodon anyway. Most of the rest only know from hearsay that there's something else in the Fediverse that isn't Mastodon, and they demand it behave itself exactly like Mastodon because they neither know nor care that it's completely different from Mastodon both technologically and culturally and in purpose. The few who remain see every difference from Mastodon as a bug that needs fixed.
You're right that it's ironic that those who know conversations the best are those who have technical means to prevent replies, and those who don't want there to be conversations are those who don't have anything beyond muting, blocking and calling the mods.
It could be a solution for them to lock out entire Fediverse server applications with a blocklist or even everything that isn't Mastodon with an allowlist. Ironically, again, such a feature is only available on (streams) and Forte, both of which are conversation-friendly. In addition, Hubzilla and (streams) can raise the drawbridge by turning ActivityPub off. And Mastodon is worlds away from having such a feature.