4 ms·

Apologies for the vulgarity, but I am presuming someone has informed the initial design team that toot is slang for a fart (at least in England) - which leads t

by bopbop 8y ago

Apologies for the vulgarity, but I am presuming someone has informed the initial design team that toot is slang for a fart (at least in England) - which leads to the phrase "a mastadon toot" being quite a double entendre. How well ingrained is the name? Is it as commonly used in the community as a tweet in twitter? As in do the users identify the messages they send as toots, and are likely to say as such? https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=toots https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=toots

willvarfar 8y ago
Is someone who uses Twitter a twit? Silly names that mean things in different places don't seem to deter Americans (I'm a Brit but I've never heard the slang "toot" before; I guess it might be very regional)
- bopbop 8y ago
  I rather delicately confirmed with a few co-workers and they are aware of the usage, so it could be regional? They're rather reserved PHD kind of people (I'm not), but seemed to find it hysterical. With regards to Twit, that's a great point - although in that instance it seemed like a more intentional slur, as I think I'd normally default to "tweeter". Because it is a verb substitution it has this kind of wordbomb effect of corrupting every sentence it could be used in. Some examples! -the latest release by the Jonas brothers made me so happy i just had to toot. -these toots are a breath of fresh air. -Welcome! Let's get you tooting! For when Mastodon social gets it's first celebrity president: -President Trump released another obnoxious toot in his seemingly never-ending tirade and finally, -I toot, therefore I am.
rwmj 8y ago
FWIW I've lived in England my whole life and never heard a fart referred to as a "toot". The only meaning I'm aware of is "toot[ing] a horn", meaning sounding the horn on a car ("honk" in US English). That seems appropriate in the context of Mastodon.
codesections 8y ago
This was apparently unintentional—the founder wasn't aware of the slang term when they decided on the terminology. That said, I view it as a happy accident, since it keeps the tone a bit silly/irreverent and reminds users that their thoughts aren't that valuable.
jlbang 8y ago
Growing up in the USA, my parents called farts "toots" just because they thought the more popular term was too vulgar. I don't think it's that rare, honestly. I can't take the platform seriously if I have to be talking about toots all the time. Sorry. I doubt I'll ever get used to that one.

by bopbop 8y ago

willvarfar 8y ago

Is someone who uses Twitter a twit? Silly names that mean things in different places don't seem to deter Americans (I'm a Brit but I've never heard the slang "toot" before; I guess it might be very regional)

bopbop 8y ago
I rather delicately confirmed with a few co-workers and they are aware of the usage, so it could be regional? They're rather reserved PHD kind of people (I'm not), but seemed to find it hysterical. With regards to Twit, that's a great point - although in that instance it seemed like a more intentional slur, as I think I'd normally default to "tweeter". Because it is a verb substitution it has this kind of wordbomb effect of corrupting every sentence it could be used in. Some examples! -the latest release by the Jonas brothers made me so happy i just had to toot. -these toots are a breath of fresh air. -Welcome! Let's get you tooting! For when Mastodon social gets it's first celebrity president: -President Trump released another obnoxious toot in his seemingly never-ending tirade and finally, -I toot, therefore I am.

rwmj 8y ago

FWIW I've lived in England my whole life and never heard a fart referred to as a "toot". The only meaning I'm aware of is "toot[ing] a horn", meaning sounding the horn on a car ("honk" in US English). That seems appropriate in the context of Mastodon.

codesections 8y ago

This was apparently unintentional—the founder wasn't aware of the slang term when they decided on the terminology. That said, I view it as a happy accident, since it keeps the tone a bit silly/irreverent and reminds users that their thoughts aren't that valuable.

jlbang 8y ago

Growing up in the USA, my parents called farts "toots" just because they thought the more popular term was too vulgar. I don't think it's that rare, honestly. I can't take the platform seriously if I have to be talking about toots all the time. Sorry. I doubt I'll ever get used to that one.