Those who desire hashtag__blocking desire #WeAreTheAlgorithm.
#WeAreTheAlgorithm
I'm very much hooked to #Mastodon , I found my new #digital #home here. It took several months to built it, but it was worth it. Still, yesterday I got overwhelmed. And I've noticed I'm sharing negative/incendiary news way too much. I'm sorry for that. From now on, I'll post/boost at least one positive message for every negative one. I hope this way we could stay sane in these insane times :)
#WeAreTheAlgorithm #Fediverse
Hashtag__blocking is rare, #WeAreTheAlgorithm is even rarer.
Having a middle-of-the-night #BoostFest while I enjoy my various timelimes and #Lists with a mug of herbal tea.
Thank you everyone for posting such great content!
And don't forget, WE spread the news, #WeAreTheAlgorithm, so boost away when you spot good stuff (preferably with #AltText too if there are images)
I follow various #art #mastoart hashtags so I get various styles of art coming onto my home timeline that aren't really of interest to me, so I just #Mute them - it's that simple really, enjoy your art and sharing it with others who enjoy it.
I also see other art that you're free to draw and share. But let's have a bit of common sense - put content warnings on it (the little CW at the bottom of the posting dialogue box), and an extra warning in the #AltText (NOT a graphic description!!!) so that people can choose to engage with your art rather than having it pop into a timeline raw and unannounced.
If you do this responsibly, I'll just mute you. If you do this irresponsibly, I'll #Block and #Report you.
That was a quick experiment. My local area on the #BBCNews website. It's still quite heavily weighted towards bad news, but there's good news too if you look.
But on #Mastodon, we are the algorithm. Boost the good news, the important news, the warm-hearted news, as well as talking about the serious stuff in a considered non-threatening manner as you might when you're round at friends, and you're enjoying getting their points of view, sharing their troubles, and building communities.
It's a good place to hang out, this place we choose to share. I'd love to have your help to keep it that way.
I'd normally say it's just my late night musings and I'm not expecting replies, but this time, if you spot my musings and it resonates with you, give it a boost and help spread the message. But only if you want to. You choose.
With my current Mastodon settings, now I get a confirmation dialog for each Follow request.
Got one, went to look at that user's profile, and it's all shitposts. So denied the Follow and Blocked the user.
Viewed them on their server, then viewed the server's local timeline, and it's all shitposts. So I Blocked the whole domain.
I encourage others to do similarly.
Do encourage people acting in good faith.
But shut down trolls immediately.
"Pepe frog" user icon? Block.
Flirting with racism, kinda "tee-hee" edgy shitty username? Block.
Edgelord vibe? Block.
Spend 3m and look at the domain too. If it's a troll town, then block.
Don't engage, amplify, or repeat trolls.
Take a similar amount of time, and encourage people of good faith. Tell artists when you like their work. Thank those that post good things and useful info. Help good people feel connected. Be kind.
Amplify the good.
It's #welcomeWednesday 🎉
Your weekly reminder to check your home instance feed, #newHere #mastodonHelp and #introduction feeds to answer questions, boost new voices, and just generally check in to see how new entrants to Mastodonia are doing.
Remember, there's no algorithm to connect new folks, just kind-hearted humans like you. So get exploring! There are awesome humans out there you haven't even met yet, seek them out!
#welcomeWednesday
Let's talk about boosts, baby!
Take this week to be extra mindful to boost the toots of smaller voices. It helps diversify all our connections and avoid silos.
And if you are someone not getting a lot of boosts, it may be because you're missing #altText or #CW - got questions, ask away!
#crossConnection #diversity #community #weAreTheAlgorithm #network #boost #newHere #mastodon #mastodonHelp #contentWarnings
@slgr
#Welcome back to the #Fediverse, then. 😀
Here are some ideas on how to grow your #network, as #WeAreTheAlgorithm:
@nickapos @atomicpoet @N3VEM @fediversenews
As there is no #algorithm and no #network for #newbies, they are in the void initially.
Building a feed (#TimeLine) takes up a lot if time and effort in the beginning.
How about creating a sort of "landing page", similar to the ones e.g. big news corporations or #VOD services have, where you first click your general areas of interest?
As a next step, you'd need to refine that a bit.
E.g. #History, then #AncientHistory. As a final step, this "landing page" would then suggest popular #hashtags of the last 60-90 days in this area of interest.
Other than the landing site, an #index of trending #hashtags would be needed that would need to be linked to the areas of interest.
This is probably key and quite some work, but my feeling is that #LLM's would be predestined for this kind of structuring.
Alternatively, groups of volunteers could do this.
@_dmh I'm gonna use this from now on: #WeAreTheAlgorithm - brilliant!
Things are pretty bleak these days. I have curated my TL pretty tightly but the bad news is still unrelenting.
This is maybe a good time to remind folks YOU are the algorithm.
Instead of amplifying outrage (and there is plenty to be mad about, I get it. Holy fuck I get it) consider prioritizing the boosting of: resources, solutions, hope, even humour, and definitely anything that celebrates folks stepping up to make things better.
About time for a mute-fest of the whatabouts, I think. People running cover for atrocity. Useful idiocy.
Similarly, I have a bunch of ad-hoc Mastodon lists I have been trying to add follows to. Flavors sorta. Good and bad.
An "inbox to sort" for new follows.
And "review these" for weird behavior.
@allenstenhaus @Tattooed_mummy @ApNudd
"Delete and redraft"/repost after blocking someone who QT's to gain exposure rather than commenting directly would cut the link and prevent them from reusing it or any other of yours in the future. Yes, you loose the replies, boosts and favourites you had originally, but as it refreshes your post's position on the current timeline as well, you will probably get a fresh set of people who see it.
I assume if QT becomes a feature on some instances, we will get notifications as we do with other interactions so we can decide to take action or not even if our own instance doesn't implement them. That would be essential.
Seriously - well done!!
It's a hard discipline to get the hang of with stuff you post yourself, especially if you've got into the habit elsewhere of just blasting out photos without thinking about it.
And it's even harder to resist boosting a really great image or meme just because it doesn't have #AltText!!
Good for you for trying, but don't think you have to stick to it every time. Just prioritising ones with #AltText first changes the balance overall.
There's a fair few people posting links to Twitter, which is OK I guess - it's a news(!!) source just like any other.
But - just a suggestion - if something sparks your interest on Twitter (or elsewhere), why not research it yourself, and write something for here quoting original sources instead?
That way, you express your own thoughts, and interpret source information rather than parrotting someone else, and can be mindful of the content you post for others to read.
I've blocked 8 that have appeared into my home timeline so far. Mainly cross-posting or spam self-promotion, but a couple for, well, talking a load of crap and being arseholes.
Avoids any accidental engagement and/or promotion so just mute / block / report away!
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Server: https://mastodon.social
Version: 2025.04
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