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This is wonderful! I’ve certainly noticed a lot of activity on one of my recent mastodon posts. Is it appropriate to drop our mastodon tags here? I’m @tlalexan

This is wonderful! I’ve certainly noticed a lot of activity on one of my recent mastodon posts. Is it appropriate to drop our mastodon tags here? I’m @tlalexander@queer.party and I’m a trans robotics engineer from the Bay Area, developing an open source farming robot (see my HN profile for details). Feel free to reply to this with your fediverse handle! Also is anyone on cohost or other platforms like that? I’ve seen some friends join cohost and I submitted the application form.

ooog 4y ago
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  That’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for a very long time.
stavros 4y ago
For one, I'd love it if people posted their Mastodon handles here. Mine is @stavros@mastodon.social. For two, and this is just out of curiosity, what's the reason for mentioning you're trans? I don't mention I'm cis when I introduce myself, it seems like nobody should care.
- sundarurfriend 4y ago
  They also mention that they're a robotics engineer, why should anyone care about that? Because most of the world isn't robotics engineers, so it's a useful thing to know for people who are also robotics engineers or are interested in robotics. Humans connect via points of commonality, especially ones that aren't so widely shared.
  - stavros 4y ago
    I don't know, if we were on a LGBTQ forum, I'd probably ask the same question about the "robotics engineer" bit, whereas the trans bit would be normal to mention. I do see your point about points of commonality, I'm just curious why it was just that one and not hobbies, etc then. I just don't think that being trans should be pointed out as being "niche", I'd rather it was just your gender and we forgot about it.
    - somebodythere 4y ago
      People attach different levels of importance to different parts of their identity. While some trans people may wish to only state their gender, or not even their gender, when introducing themselves to find community, for some other people being trans is an important part of their experience, and they would like to share it in order to make it easier for other trans or queer people to connect with them.
      - stavros 4y ago
        That makes sense, thanks.
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  I post a lot about being trans and about trans issues. Trans people like to stick together because there is a part of society that doesn’t understand issues relevant to us, and that can feel alienating. So by being in community with other trans people we feel better. I want trans people to follow me and other trans people are much more likely to follow someone if they’re trans. But also because I’m trans, and that’s going to upset a small number of bigoted people who will refuse to follow me, and that’s how I’d like it. And since I post about being trans they’re going to find out eventually, and be a problem on my feed.
  - stavros 4y ago
    Ahh OK, that makes sense, thanks. So it's for filtering as well.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
sundarurfriend 4y ago
I'm digital_carver@qoto.org I don't understand the appeal of things cohost. It just seems like "twitter, but this time we're good guys, we swear!" Which, even if true right now, will certainly change if they get popular and become influential, because the pressures and incentives are too great. It takes some fundamental difference (like federation) to provide at least some safeguards against that.
the_third_wave 4y ago
- DoctorOW 4y ago
  There's an irony in writing so much about a supposed lack of interest.
  - the_third_wave 4y ago
    I've written far more words on the subject of blocking advertisements seeing how as I'm not interested in seeing those either. Where is the irony in that?
    - DoctorOW 4y ago
      Actually you ARE interested in not seeing them. This is different from not caring whether you see them or not.
      - the_third_wave 4y ago
        DoctorOW 4y ago
        Thanks for sharing.
    - TaylorAlexander 4y ago
      I can’t reply to your dead comment, but I can read it - I mentioned those two things about myself, that I am trans and that I am a robotics engineer, because both of those things are very important to me, and I write posts pertaining to either subject. You’re right that the two subjects rarely go together. But if I posted about robots and mountain biking a lot I would write that. You said yourself you don’t want to hear about me being trans, so it seems it was relevant for me to write that here given how much I post about it and re-share posts from other trans people. I shared information which allows you to determine you might not want to follow me. I think it’s great that you’re working on farming technology. But I’m a whole person. Trans rights are a very important issue to me. I suspect that if I had instead said I was left handed, you would not have written a tirade against it. I think you should think about why that is. Not just reflexively claim you would have, but think about why me mentioning being trans upsets you. It’s an important part of who I am.
dom96 4y ago
Here is my Mastodon handle: @dom96@mastodon.social (I still feel like I should instead link directly to my profile, isn't it easier to follow then? https://mastodon.social/@dom96 https://mastodon.social/@dom96). Definitely new to Mastodon. If anyone has any good instance recommendations I'd appreciate them :)
- sundarurfriend 4y ago
  > isn't it easier to follow then? Not on mastodon.social, unfortunately. (Unless the reader also happens to be on that same instance.) In most other instances, linking to the profile would allow us to click on the follow button on that page, login to our instance in the new window that pops up, and follow you from there. mastodon.social uses this new UI that doesn't do any of that, instead just tells you to copy-paste the address into our instance's search bar (opening it ourselves). So @dom96@mastodon.social is not any different from https://mastodon.social/@dom96 https://mastodon.social/@dom96 in this case - in both cases we have to do the same thing, paste it into our instance's search bar, to be able to follow or interact in any way.
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  Ooh good point! I should try that form in the future thanks.
DoctorOW 4y ago
I'm @ora@mastodon.lol though I'm debating starting my own branded instance.

ooog 4y ago

TaylorAlexander 4y ago
That’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for a very long time.

stavros 4y ago

For one, I'd love it if people posted their Mastodon handles here. Mine is @stavros@mastodon.social. For two, and this is just out of curiosity, what's the reason for mentioning you're trans? I don't mention I'm cis when I introduce myself, it seems like nobody should care.

sundarurfriend 4y ago
They also mention that they're a robotics engineer, why should anyone care about that? Because most of the world isn't robotics engineers, so it's a useful thing to know for people who are also robotics engineers or are interested in robotics. Humans connect via points of commonality, especially ones that aren't so widely shared.
- stavros 4y ago
  I don't know, if we were on a LGBTQ forum, I'd probably ask the same question about the "robotics engineer" bit, whereas the trans bit would be normal to mention. I do see your point about points of commonality, I'm just curious why it was just that one and not hobbies, etc then. I just don't think that being trans should be pointed out as being "niche", I'd rather it was just your gender and we forgot about it.
  - somebodythere 4y ago
    People attach different levels of importance to different parts of their identity. While some trans people may wish to only state their gender, or not even their gender, when introducing themselves to find community, for some other people being trans is an important part of their experience, and they would like to share it in order to make it easier for other trans or queer people to connect with them.
    - stavros 4y ago
      That makes sense, thanks.
TaylorAlexander 4y ago
I post a lot about being trans and about trans issues. Trans people like to stick together because there is a part of society that doesn’t understand issues relevant to us, and that can feel alienating. So by being in community with other trans people we feel better. I want trans people to follow me and other trans people are much more likely to follow someone if they’re trans. But also because I’m trans, and that’s going to upset a small number of bigoted people who will refuse to follow me, and that’s how I’d like it. And since I post about being trans they’re going to find out eventually, and be a problem on my feed.
- stavros 4y ago
  Ahh OK, that makes sense, thanks. So it's for filtering as well.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

sundarurfriend 4y ago

I'm digital_carver@qoto.org I don't understand the appeal of things cohost. It just seems like "twitter, but this time we're good guys, we swear!" Which, even if true right now, will certainly change if they get popular and become influential, because the pressures and incentives are too great. It takes some fundamental difference (like federation) to provide at least some safeguards against that.

the_third_wave 4y ago

DoctorOW 4y ago
There's an irony in writing so much about a supposed lack of interest.
- the_third_wave 4y ago
  I've written far more words on the subject of blocking advertisements seeing how as I'm not interested in seeing those either. Where is the irony in that?
  - DoctorOW 4y ago
    Actually you ARE interested in not seeing them. This is different from not caring whether you see them or not.
    - the_third_wave 4y ago
      - DoctorOW 4y ago
        Thanks for sharing.
  - TaylorAlexander 4y ago
    I can’t reply to your dead comment, but I can read it - I mentioned those two things about myself, that I am trans and that I am a robotics engineer, because both of those things are very important to me, and I write posts pertaining to either subject. You’re right that the two subjects rarely go together. But if I posted about robots and mountain biking a lot I would write that. You said yourself you don’t want to hear about me being trans, so it seems it was relevant for me to write that here given how much I post about it and re-share posts from other trans people. I shared information which allows you to determine you might not want to follow me. I think it’s great that you’re working on farming technology. But I’m a whole person. Trans rights are a very important issue to me. I suspect that if I had instead said I was left handed, you would not have written a tirade against it. I think you should think about why that is. Not just reflexively claim you would have, but think about why me mentioning being trans upsets you. It’s an important part of who I am.

dom96 4y ago

Here is my Mastodon handle: @dom96@mastodon.social (I still feel like I should instead link directly to my profile, isn't it easier to follow then? https://mastodon.social/@dom96 https://mastodon.social/@dom96). Definitely new to Mastodon. If anyone has any good instance recommendations I'd appreciate them :)

sundarurfriend 4y ago
> isn't it easier to follow then? Not on mastodon.social, unfortunately. (Unless the reader also happens to be on that same instance.) In most other instances, linking to the profile would allow us to click on the follow button on that page, login to our instance in the new window that pops up, and follow you from there. mastodon.social uses this new UI that doesn't do any of that, instead just tells you to copy-paste the address into our instance's search bar (opening it ourselves). So @dom96@mastodon.social is not any different from https://mastodon.social/@dom96 https://mastodon.social/@dom96 in this case - in both cases we have to do the same thing, paste it into our instance's search bar, to be able to follow or interact in any way.
TaylorAlexander 4y ago
Ooh good point! I should try that form in the future thanks.

DoctorOW 4y ago

I'm @ora@mastodon.lol though I'm debating starting my own branded instance.