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> I don't really understand why anyone would use an "alternative" microblogging platform > just go to the cesspool of Cohost didn't feel like a cesspool to me

by Twisol 2y ago

> I don't really understand why anyone would use an "alternative" microblogging platform > just go to the cesspool of Cohost didn't feel like a cesspool to me. That's a pretty darn strong differentiator. There are other UX differentiators for me, but it's all subjective. Cohost didn't feel as "cramped" as the others. The others really put the focus on the "micro" in "microblogging", even if technically they (now) allow for longer-form posts. The culture just isn't there for it.

codetrotter 2y ago
> Cohost didn't feel like a cesspool to me. That's a pretty darn strong differentiator. Was this due to something specific they did? Or was this just like how small subreddits can/could be the best place on earth, but then soon after they reach around 10,000 subscribers the quality of the content on the subreddit quickly drops significantly. Something like the Eternal September effect: > The periodic flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
- Twisol 2y ago
  I don't really know -- I'm a user, not an analyst. But the two things that drew me in were: 1. There's no global firehose that your posts automatically get dropped into. I'm a generally shy person, and one of my particularities is that I don't want my content (or, well, existence) to be pushed at somebody who didn't specifically ask for it. The number of social media platforms that meet this criterion is vanishingly small, because everybody and their uncle wants an Algorithm (tm). Mastodon instances also have a default instance firehose; I'm told people don't really look at that, but the fact that it's there at all makes me overthink posting, and I end up not posting at all. Instead of a global firehose, you can add free-form tags to your post that act like much, much more localized streams of posts. You don't have to use tags at all; and you can also use completely nonsense tags that are more like footnotes, in a very Tumblr style that I enjoy. 2. The UI is wider than Twitter, or Facebook, or Mastodon. It feels like it's more inviting to longer-form content, and while there's plenty of short blurbs and memes to be found, there's just a much higher proportion of blog-style content. Also, the way reposting and commenting interact is just way better IMO. If you repost something, the comments on the original post are visible above the comments on your repost, and that makes the whole chain of interactions feel more cohesive. In contrast, quote-retweeting on Twitter creates entirely separate bubbles of discussion (often at odds with each other). And on Cohost, while you can create a repost chain to make a kind of "thread" equivalent, the UI naturally discourages it in favor of just making a single long-form post.
- rebane2001 2y ago
  On Cohost the feed is chronological, so I felt like I was seeing everything my friends were sharing, but not much else. There's no like/repost/follow counts, so engagement baiting is discouraged. It's not addicting, I can check it once a day, or once a week, and feel caught up — I didn't get the urge to keep scrolling. Oh and most importantly for me, it allows html/css in posts, which enables so much cool stuff and creativity generally reserved for personal websites.
asddubs 2y ago
are there any screenshots of the UI available? I tried to sign up but they don't accept any more signups

by Twisol 2y ago

codetrotter 2y ago

> Cohost didn't feel like a cesspool to me. That's a pretty darn strong differentiator. Was this due to something specific they did? Or was this just like how small subreddits can/could be the best place on earth, but then soon after they reach around 10,000 subscribers the quality of the content on the subreddit quickly drops significantly. Something like the Eternal September effect: > The periodic flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

Twisol 2y ago
I don't really know -- I'm a user, not an analyst. But the two things that drew me in were: 1. There's no global firehose that your posts automatically get dropped into. I'm a generally shy person, and one of my particularities is that I don't want my content (or, well, existence) to be pushed at somebody who didn't specifically ask for it. The number of social media platforms that meet this criterion is vanishingly small, because everybody and their uncle wants an Algorithm (tm). Mastodon instances also have a default instance firehose; I'm told people don't really look at that, but the fact that it's there at all makes me overthink posting, and I end up not posting at all. Instead of a global firehose, you can add free-form tags to your post that act like much, much more localized streams of posts. You don't have to use tags at all; and you can also use completely nonsense tags that are more like footnotes, in a very Tumblr style that I enjoy. 2. The UI is wider than Twitter, or Facebook, or Mastodon. It feels like it's more inviting to longer-form content, and while there's plenty of short blurbs and memes to be found, there's just a much higher proportion of blog-style content. Also, the way reposting and commenting interact is just way better IMO. If you repost something, the comments on the original post are visible above the comments on your repost, and that makes the whole chain of interactions feel more cohesive. In contrast, quote-retweeting on Twitter creates entirely separate bubbles of discussion (often at odds with each other). And on Cohost, while you can create a repost chain to make a kind of "thread" equivalent, the UI naturally discourages it in favor of just making a single long-form post.
rebane2001 2y ago
On Cohost the feed is chronological, so I felt like I was seeing everything my friends were sharing, but not much else. There's no like/repost/follow counts, so engagement baiting is discouraged. It's not addicting, I can check it once a day, or once a week, and feel caught up — I didn't get the urge to keep scrolling. Oh and most importantly for me, it allows html/css in posts, which enables so much cool stuff and creativity generally reserved for personal websites.

asddubs 2y ago

are there any screenshots of the UI available? I tried to sign up but they don't accept any more signups