I think I’m not alone that Mastodon is giving me the ick(andy-bell.co.uk)
andy-bell.co.uk
I think I’m not alone that Mastodon is giving me the ick
https://andy-bell.co.uk/i-think-im-not-alone-that-mastodon-is-giving-me-the-ick/
17 comments
On the other hand 4Chan was basically formed when Somethingawful kicked a bunch of weebs off of their forums. They somehow managed to find their own identity.
Yeah, there are exceptions where the splinter outgrows the incumbent.
I know nothing about 4chan much less its early days, but maybe 4chan didn't have the "at least we're not Something Awful" culture, or maybe it was unique enough to attract enough new blood that had no clue what Something Awful was.
I know nothing about 4chan much less its early days, but maybe 4chan didn't have the "at least we're not Something Awful" culture, or maybe it was unique enough to attract enough new blood that had no clue what Something Awful was.
> - People get real nasty about others going back to “the birdsite”
> I want to focus on the last point because this has definitely been a contributor to my recent ick. I’ve noticed a few folks getting frankly, horrible about people moving back to Twitter recently and I think it’s a bit unfair.
I think it's a bit unfair to say that "Mastodon" is giving you "the ick" when you really mean that a few folks on Mastodon are giving you the ick.
I'm on Mastodon, and I haven't seen this at all. I'm not saying it doesn't exist — a bunch of crap exists on every social network — I'm saying that the author seems to be guilty of stereotyping the platform.
> I want to focus on the last point because this has definitely been a contributor to my recent ick. I’ve noticed a few folks getting frankly, horrible about people moving back to Twitter recently and I think it’s a bit unfair.
I think it's a bit unfair to say that "Mastodon" is giving you "the ick" when you really mean that a few folks on Mastodon are giving you the ick.
I'm on Mastodon, and I haven't seen this at all. I'm not saying it doesn't exist — a bunch of crap exists on every social network — I'm saying that the author seems to be guilty of stereotyping the platform.
It's weird how the people who find mastodon icky never consider following less icky people.
Some people on Mastodon really do love to poke fun at Twitter though. I can imagine that real Twitter fans might not enjoy that much.
Sure, I've definitely seen that. But that wasn't one of the author's complaints. Instead there was the rather strange complaint:
> People relentlessly calling Twitter the “birdsite”
Twitter users have been calling Twitter the birdsite since forever, so I don't get the criticism of Mastodon. Maybe now though we'll start calling it the dogsite.
> People relentlessly calling Twitter the “birdsite”
Twitter users have been calling Twitter the birdsite since forever, so I don't get the criticism of Mastodon. Maybe now though we'll start calling it the dogsite.
Couldn’t possibly care less
Mastadon depends a lot on what instance you're on. You're community is primarily your instance and non-instance users are secondary (discovery is bad outside the instance). Unlike Twitter you have to be intentional about your community.
I've been on Mastadon since before Musk said anything about buying Twitter. I never viewed it as a Twitter replacement, but I never spent much time on Twitter to begin with.
I think a lot of people came to Mastadon to look for "Twitter but not Twitter". That's never going to exist. Not in decentralized form, not otherwise.
I've been on Mastadon since before Musk said anything about buying Twitter. I never viewed it as a Twitter replacement, but I never spent much time on Twitter to begin with.
I think a lot of people came to Mastadon to look for "Twitter but not Twitter". That's never going to exist. Not in decentralized form, not otherwise.
> Mastadon depends a lot on what instance you're on. You're community is primarily your instance and non-instance users are secondary
I don't agree with this at all. Most of my following and followers are on other instances, and that seems to be true of them too, unless you happen to be on the biggest instance mastodon.social, which has a disproportionate number of total Mastodon users, but as a result also doesn't have much of a "community" is such.
New Mastodon users, especially Twitter refugees, tend to sign up for whatever instances happen to be available for signup at the time.
I don't agree with this at all. Most of my following and followers are on other instances, and that seems to be true of them too, unless you happen to be on the biggest instance mastodon.social, which has a disproportionate number of total Mastodon users, but as a result also doesn't have much of a "community" is such.
New Mastodon users, especially Twitter refugees, tend to sign up for whatever instances happen to be available for signup at the time.
It's interesting that we have such different experiences. I'm on a small instance that's mostly insular. I have a good experience anytime I'm looking at local feeds, but anytime I look at the global feed or search outside the instance the results are very low quality. I follow people outside my instance, but never ones I've discovered through Mastadon.
Any social network is what you make of it. You can choose to socialize as much or as little as you want.
So which instance is a good one? Cause you have to pick a few at the end of the day. I'll legit give it a try.
Last time I played with anything remotely similar to a federated social network, it was Jabber/XMPP.
Last time I played with anything remotely similar to a federated social network, it was Jabber/XMPP.
As far as I can tell, the only people who moved to Mastodon are the people who are REALLY tuned into Twitter rage, aka the super insufferable ones.
Most people seem to be just fine continuing the normal shitposting and whatever on Twitter.
Most people seem to be just fine continuing the normal shitposting and whatever on Twitter.
Depends on what you mean by "insufferable". The people who moved to Mastodon include people like Stephen Fry and Neil Gaiman. If that's your definition of insufferable, then please stay on Twitter. There's significantly less shitposting on the Fediverse than on Twitter, though probably more on Mastodon than on other parts of the Fediverse.
Neil Gaiman is still very active on twitter. He even bought a blue check mark.
Maybe he moved back again. I haven't seen him post that much, recently. A couple of months ago he was more active.
KerrAvon(3)
The bit about tone policing is under appreciated IMHO. If you are very careful to never offend anyone then you will never be influential. Influence is about changing people's mind and people may be offended when you challenge their preconceived notions.
Now obviously you need moderation on large discussion platforms. The disproportionate effect of trolls can't be ignored, but it is possible and even easy at times to go overboard and create a space where nothing of value can be discussed. It's the sort of thing you see when people are complaining that a space feels stuffy and corporate.
Now obviously you need moderation on large discussion platforms. The disproportionate effect of trolls can't be ignored, but it is possible and even easy at times to go overboard and create a space where nothing of value can be discussed. It's the sort of thing you see when people are complaining that a space feels stuffy and corporate.
I disagree. It's entirely possible to have discussions of value between people of differing beliefs without offense, certainly without purposely seeking to offend. That and the "influence" culture it creates is a large part of what people fled to Mastodon to avoid. You don't have a right to come into someone else's space and insist on telling them they're wrong about their beliefs or identity or whatever you take issue with. There are plenty of spaces on the internet where the rough-and-tumble of politics and argument and offense are welcome, but it doesn't have to be everywhere.
What is the point of the internet if not to tell people they are wrong?
But more seriously, you don't have to have the intention to offend to run afoul of overly restrictive policies. Even worse this can create an atmosphere of fear that stifles discussion. Self censorship is the most insidious form of censorship.
But more seriously, you don't have to have the intention to offend to run afoul of overly restrictive policies. Even worse this can create an atmosphere of fear that stifles discussion. Self censorship is the most insidious form of censorship.
>But more seriously, you don't have to have the intention to offend to run afoul of overly restrictive policies
I don't have the intention to offend because I don't find value in offending people. Most of the people I follow on Mastodon are game developers, programmers or nerds of some sort. A lot of those people are also gay or trans or furries or any number of easily targeted demographics. I don't refuse to respect their pronouns or try to debunk their gender identity or whatever out of fear of the system but because I'm not homophobic or transphobic. Because I don't seek conflict wherever I go.
>Even worse this can create an atmosphere of fear that stifles discussion.
It doesn't though, there's plenty of discussion on Mastodon as far as I can tell. No one seems to be fearful about it. Not wanting to have the conversations you want to have isn't the same as being afraid to have them.
>Self censorship is the most insidious form of censorship.
Self censorship is maturity, it's potty-training and big-boy pants for the mind. Your assumption that the only reason anyone would have to exercise restraint and self control being fear is inaccurate. The most effective arguments I've come across counter to my own beliefs have been presented with an implicit respect for me as a person, civility and reason. People who go out of their way to insult me or twist my words in bad faith because they're chasing endorphins rather than ideas aren't liable to convince anyone of anything.
And yes, you have to follow the rules of the house. That's not oppression, that's society. If you don't like it, feel free to spin up your own Mastodon with blackjack and hookers, like Trump did.
I don't have the intention to offend because I don't find value in offending people. Most of the people I follow on Mastodon are game developers, programmers or nerds of some sort. A lot of those people are also gay or trans or furries or any number of easily targeted demographics. I don't refuse to respect their pronouns or try to debunk their gender identity or whatever out of fear of the system but because I'm not homophobic or transphobic. Because I don't seek conflict wherever I go.
>Even worse this can create an atmosphere of fear that stifles discussion.
It doesn't though, there's plenty of discussion on Mastodon as far as I can tell. No one seems to be fearful about it. Not wanting to have the conversations you want to have isn't the same as being afraid to have them.
>Self censorship is the most insidious form of censorship.
Self censorship is maturity, it's potty-training and big-boy pants for the mind. Your assumption that the only reason anyone would have to exercise restraint and self control being fear is inaccurate. The most effective arguments I've come across counter to my own beliefs have been presented with an implicit respect for me as a person, civility and reason. People who go out of their way to insult me or twist my words in bad faith because they're chasing endorphins rather than ideas aren't liable to convince anyone of anything.
And yes, you have to follow the rules of the house. That's not oppression, that's society. If you don't like it, feel free to spin up your own Mastodon with blackjack and hookers, like Trump did.
The simplest way of describing mastodon is: its irrelevant.
Almost nothing in it mimicks that total twitter coverage of some big event, no matter your nieche.
And even though twitter now isnt like Twitter before, its still much much more alive than mastodon. The only nieches that are active on mastodon are tech people and some governments and absolutely nothing else. No sports, no news, heck even tech is smaller, and of course, want to search for something? Good luck.
I agree with the author, the whole thing distanced me from Twitter, tried fediverse but it ain't there mate.
And even though twitter now isnt like Twitter before, its still much much more alive than mastodon. The only nieches that are active on mastodon are tech people and some governments and absolutely nothing else. No sports, no news, heck even tech is smaller, and of course, want to search for something? Good luck.
I agree with the author, the whole thing distanced me from Twitter, tried fediverse but it ain't there mate.
> The only nieches that are active on mastodon are tech people
By this argument, Hacker News is irrelevant.
By this argument, Hacker News is irrelevant.
The difference is hacker news actually speaks about stuff outside of tech.
I quite enjoy the people on Mastodon. Some of them are very irritating in the way that very online people are always irritating, but on the whole they're decent enough. (At least, the ones I see are. Mastodon is very varied.)
But I find the platform itself exceedingly irritating. The UI is horrible.
But I find the platform itself exceedingly irritating. The UI is horrible.
Elk is pretty good. My vmst.io provider offers either the Mastodon software or the Elk software as optional "frontend"s to the Fediverse.
I was on Twitter since the '00s, gained a few tens of thousands of followers, lost interest over the years, only post about work, and with Musk acquiring Twitter, never read anything on it anymore. I did briefly get back into it in a big way prior to the acquisition, interacting with people properly for the first time in about a decade.
However, post-acquisition, I just don't give a fuck anymore. That's the only way I can put it. Since I stopped doom-scrolling Twitter, my mental health is that much better for it, and doom-scrolling was one of the worst things I did during the pandemic and the war beginning.
I don't even care to check out Mastodon. I think all these echo chambers are negative. I don't even really go on any kind of social media anymore.
I don't miss it.
However, post-acquisition, I just don't give a fuck anymore. That's the only way I can put it. Since I stopped doom-scrolling Twitter, my mental health is that much better for it, and doom-scrolling was one of the worst things I did during the pandemic and the war beginning.
I don't even care to check out Mastodon. I think all these echo chambers are negative. I don't even really go on any kind of social media anymore.
I don't miss it.
[deleted]
People (rightfully) mock reddit, tumblr, discord, etc, for being infested with pedos, but Mastodon has long been far worse.
Guy publicly says he will never use twitter again and is angry when people point out the hypocrisy?
Sounds like a guy with principles.
Sounds like a guy with principles.
People who use the term ick give me the ick.
19throw19(1)
It contributes to a culture of NOT being like the incumbent instead of a culture of existing alongside the incumbent. Another example would be Reddit clones like Voat and, sometimes, even HN.
When I was a pre-teen, I was banned from NeoGAF, the massive gaming forum, and joined a forum that was basically a bunch of NeoGAF rejects. While I enjoyed it at the time, it could never be its own stand-alone gaming community and, a decade later, still wasn't. Sometimes you had to know about NeoGAF and its current events if you wanted to fit in and understand content on the splinter forum, yet the splinter forum also would want you to believe they weren't in fact chomping at the bit for more NeoGAF/evilore drama.
Mastodon reminds me of that, especially after Musk's purchase of Twitter where Mastodon became even more toxic and gleefully adolescent in its anti-birdsite-isms.