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It's interesting how many Mastodon users talk about small groups as one of the main selling points, because it's something most platforms do very well actually,
by waboremo 4y ago
It's interesting how many Mastodon users talk about small groups as one of the main selling points, because it's something most platforms do very well actually, yes even Twitter. Discord is another very popular place for small groups to connect, and do so meaningfully and without drama.
The real problem, and where Mastodon has been tested numerous times on and failed, is scaling to larger groups. When people aren't under direct social pressure at all times to play nice and fair. There just aren't enough tools available to counteract this on Mastodon, most places just rely on shared blocklists. There are very good reasons why shadow banning became a thing, but that's a lesson to be learned down the line.
For now, the fact that Mastodon in general isn't all that widely used is its strongest asset. Everything else stems from this but will not last long.
- numpad0 4y agoNot sure if the blacklist has to do with keeping community nice - I believe the point of the blacklist virtue signaling to a) get around oppressive App Store behavior around Gab, and b) avoid dealing with European laws. Both causes are entirely external to the Fediverse, and I haven't seen groups of "bad people" having to be cut off by blacklisting, so I'm not sure if I'm convinced that the list is necessary or effective.
- turnsout 4y agoThis is why large instances like mastodon.social are basically a bad idea–at that scale they have all the same content moderation woes as Twitter or Meta. On a smaller instance, it's much easier for a mod to nip bad behavior in the bud—and less politically fraught, because the moderation decision doesn't have worldwide policy implications. It's the difference between being kicked out of a local coffeeshop vs arrested in the town square.