Complete this sentence:
Fediverso
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Not really. There are lively discussions going on in most, often involving politics, in particular. Some similarities with Vienna in 1933. More than one would like, but that's just because 2026 is more like 1933 than one would like.
In some of the cafes they are just playing chess, admittedly, but you make your rounds. Actually the most effective way to keep up with what is going on.
Occasionally a drunk has to be thrown out and someone is monologuing to himself in a corner,
@glc ah yes. I like your analogy, thank you.
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@smallcircles How is ghost town only at 4 % ? the lack of an algo mean i got a lot of things i don't like in my tl bc of hashtags i follow and only get 1 in 8 post that i actually like. The rest of the time it's really quiet. i stay here bc i like the project and there are people i like here but to follow the news from where im from and in the world i need X bc nothing gets recommended to me.
An algo is a tool that can be used for good and the lack of one is really big problem for normies@fwtl yes, I'm quite positively surprised at all the good social experiences people have.
> An algo is a tool that can be used for good and the lack of one is really big problem for normies
I don't think that is necessarily the case, more so than that we are dealing with different social networking paradigms. And when people do not realize that, their expectations are off. I call this paradigm #PersonalSocialNetworking..
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#personal-social-networking
Hopping from #twitter to #mastodon is not just switching to another microblogging platform, that happens to be decentralized. The lack of algorithm gives an opportunity as well as a responsibility in order to get the most out of the fediverse: you are in control and should curate your own feed. By choosing who you follow, you shape your own village, and over time you may nurture it into a bustling city you are part of.
Algo's may help, but it is more Starter packs and app websites that can do a better introduction to fediverse social media.
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@smallcircles I hope you do a follow up survey for anyone who voted ghost town
It would be nice if we could help those people find their way or see what can be done in Masto to help
@mikeymikey thank you. Yes, I will do a follow-up. The poll runs for a full 7 days, and has a delightful response thus far.
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@smallcircles
I experience the fediverse a bit like riding public transit: often you meet interesting people, occasionally you meet hostile people, sometimes you meet people in crisis, and you have a nodding acquaintence with some folks almost every time you ride. Most people are buried in their phones. You hear bits of conversations (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot), the infrastructure is uneven and often confusing, and every now and again there is a flood, storm, fight, or someone pulling a weapon.@geoffduncan an interesting analogy to common day to day life activities, thank you.
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@oblomov @smallcircles @Tattooed_Mummy I’ve found some. If I were better at socialising, it would help. 🙂
@benjamincox @oblomov @Tattooed_Mummy
You are doing well, and attracted a sizable village to be part of together, looking at your profile. Thank you for your input.
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@Netraven I would not express it like that, but I know what you mean.
Mastodon.social can be compared to a large metropole, and it becomes not much different than Twitter platform's megapole in terms of social dynamics and culture. It's a New York that has its charms, but also many unsafe back alleys and ghetto's that are best avoided at night :)
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@fwtl yes, I'm quite positively surprised at all the good social experiences people have.
> An algo is a tool that can be used for good and the lack of one is really big problem for normies
I don't think that is necessarily the case, more so than that we are dealing with different social networking paradigms. And when people do not realize that, their expectations are off. I call this paradigm #PersonalSocialNetworking..
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#personal-social-networking
Hopping from #twitter to #mastodon is not just switching to another microblogging platform, that happens to be decentralized. The lack of algorithm gives an opportunity as well as a responsibility in order to get the most out of the fediverse: you are in control and should curate your own feed. By choosing who you follow, you shape your own village, and over time you may nurture it into a bustling city you are part of.
Algo's may help, but it is more Starter packs and app websites that can do a better introduction to fediverse social media.
@smallcircles everything you said can still be achieved with a customisable algo or litterally two tabs in the app : one with the chronological algorithm (still an algo btw) and one with the customized feed with your interests.
Without the second one the app is dead unless you build your feed yourself, that's really bad and explains why people got into bluesky instead of mastodon.
Also if you want to have mass appeal you don't expect people to have a boring app and understand the "new paradigm" -
@smallcircles Fedi (feeee diiiiii) is coming like a ghost town. All the clubs have been closed down.
@RolloTreadway thank you.
That poses the question if that is just at the town where you are at, or all across the fediverse countryside.
The analogy with towns, villages and cities breaks down here. On the fediverse we have this social fabric we weave ourselves that determines the city or village we want to live in. By carefully curating our own following and followers. I call this Personal social networking..
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#personal-social-networking
It would be an interesting experiment if by doing some curation and turning it into habit to garden your connections, you can arrive again in the village or city that is to your preferences.
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@smallcircles everything you said can still be achieved with a customisable algo or litterally two tabs in the app : one with the chronological algorithm (still an algo btw) and one with the customized feed with your interests.
Without the second one the app is dead unless you build your feed yourself, that's really bad and explains why people got into bluesky instead of mastodon.
Also if you want to have mass appeal you don't expect people to have a boring app and understand the "new paradigm"What is mass appeal though? In our little analogy we might call it Urbanization. And to the extent that that applies, it does not have only positve effects, on the contrary.
Algorithms are railways and highways, and while they may bring what we call 'modern life', there's a cost to that. Urban life, the rat race, not knowing your neighbor, pursuit of vain things and status, following the latest trend just to feel you still belong, are a player.
Algorithmic support to our new and diferent social networking landscape will come, but it may be good if that happens by slow growth and gradual evolution, so the culture can catch up and not deteriorate rapidly by inrush of city dwellers all over the country side and littering it beauty with trash, so to speak.
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@RolloTreadway thank you.
That poses the question if that is just at the town where you are at, or all across the fediverse countryside.
The analogy with towns, villages and cities breaks down here. On the fediverse we have this social fabric we weave ourselves that determines the city or village we want to live in. By carefully curating our own following and followers. I call this Personal social networking..
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#personal-social-networking
It would be an interesting experiment if by doing some curation and turning it into habit to garden your connections, you can arrive again in the village or city that is to your preferences.
@smallcircles I'm sorry. I was making a joke reference to the Specials song Ghost Town. My brain mostly thinks in songs.
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@smallcircles I'm sorry. I was making a joke reference to the Specials song Ghost Town. My brain mostly thinks in songs.
@RolloTreadway ah, nice. I did not know that song, ha ha.
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What is mass appeal though? In our little analogy we might call it Urbanization. And to the extent that that applies, it does not have only positve effects, on the contrary.
Algorithms are railways and highways, and while they may bring what we call 'modern life', there's a cost to that. Urban life, the rat race, not knowing your neighbor, pursuit of vain things and status, following the latest trend just to feel you still belong, are a player.
Algorithmic support to our new and diferent social networking landscape will come, but it may be good if that happens by slow growth and gradual evolution, so the culture can catch up and not deteriorate rapidly by inrush of city dwellers all over the country side and littering it beauty with trash, so to speak.
@smallcircles i recommend this video explaining my point. (search on peertube even in the app is still so bad when it's such a good platform it's a shame) https://video.fedihost.co/w/a1522517-704e-44a3-aa0e-5c4e7d49e7d1
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@smallcircles i recommend this video explaining my point. (search on peertube even in the app is still so bad when it's such a good platform it's a shame) https://video.fedihost.co/w/a1522517-704e-44a3-aa0e-5c4e7d49e7d1
@fwtl thank you!
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@fwtl thank you!
Note btw, that for the most part algorithms are not causing the issue of bad integrations between apps. These are due to the pragmatic nature in which our current app-centric fediverse evolves, i.e. by means of post-facto interoperability. Here app developers focus on getting app features on the wire, and whomever first succeeds in making their new custom protocol extension to become popular, becomes the de-facto standard for that feature. And everyone else should "follow the leader" or push themselves out of mainstream fediverse adoption, into their own app niche.
This is not a sustainable path, and I am among years-long advocates that we should do better in how we collectively evolve the fedi, so that it can truly become the social networking of the future. See also my posts from last week, like:
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@smallcircles everything you said can still be achieved with a customisable algo or litterally two tabs in the app : one with the chronological algorithm (still an algo btw) and one with the customized feed with your interests.
Without the second one the app is dead unless you build your feed yourself, that's really bad and explains why people got into bluesky instead of mastodon.
Also if you want to have mass appeal you don't expect people to have a boring app and understand the "new paradigm"@fwtl @smallcircles there’s a third path to avoid empty timelines vs ‘build your own’ and ‘algorithm’ - packs, which is what the Mastodon team are focussing on .. https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/10/our-ideas-about-packs/.
Because I saw your post and thought ‘oh but my timeline isn’t quiet’.. but rather than you having to find those 100s of accounts to follow to make it interesting, a pack supports different lists of accounts based on different interests. If they get it right (as they’ve got quotes right imho) then it could be really nice, and still no algo.
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Complete this sentence:
"I experience #fediverse as a .."
For me, it is bustling! Loads of interesting people, with lots of clever, funny, curious etc. things to say.
Best of all, the lack of content promotion / selection algorithms, and instead a simple, chronological, algorithm coupled with filters, means I mainly see stuff of interest to me.
Genuinely, the best social media experience that I've had in a long, long time!
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@fwtl yes, I'm quite positively surprised at all the good social experiences people have.
> An algo is a tool that can be used for good and the lack of one is really big problem for normies
I don't think that is necessarily the case, more so than that we are dealing with different social networking paradigms. And when people do not realize that, their expectations are off. I call this paradigm #PersonalSocialNetworking..
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#personal-social-networking
Hopping from #twitter to #mastodon is not just switching to another microblogging platform, that happens to be decentralized. The lack of algorithm gives an opportunity as well as a responsibility in order to get the most out of the fediverse: you are in control and should curate your own feed. By choosing who you follow, you shape your own village, and over time you may nurture it into a bustling city you are part of.
Algo's may help, but it is more Starter packs and app websites that can do a better introduction to fediverse social media.
> I'm quite positively surprised at all the good social experiences people have.
Really?! This surprises me, but then perhaps I am biased precisely because I am one of those people.
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undefined _elena@mastodon.social shared this topic
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Complete this sentence:
"I experience #fediverse as a .."
@smallcircles a quaint town
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Complete this sentence:
"I experience #fediverse as a .."
@smallcircles cozy village when I interact with my server or closer servers, more or less a small group of people, bustling city when I explore all the rest
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Complete this sentence:
"I experience #fediverse as a .."
@smallcircles "I experience the Fediverse as the original promise of the internet" : genuine human connections without the interference of corporate interests (or algorithmic manipulation)
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@smallcircles No, I love ghosts, they have the coolest stories, and I don't have to deal with those pesky living people with their racism and their hate.
I also love villages, they're livable, they're walkable and the only real problem is being stuck out in the middle of nowhere, and that downside doesn't really apply online.
And bustling: Every place is full of people I want to hear from.I don't have the time to hear from all of them, but that's just the FOMO speaking.
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@androcat aha, do you mean you find it hard to get information and connections around your interest areas?
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@maikel that is a great list of points. I won't boost, or you get more of what you don't want, but you might consider filing a fediverse idea..
https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fediverse-ideas/issues
Some of these can be mitigated by nurturing cultural habits.
> 6. The worst one: people use other names instead to call them so filters don't work.
This one in particular. Besides references to toxic people you see it too with folks saying Gaggle, GMAFIA, Farcebook, etc.
Often these names are used in someone's "activism package", but using them is imho more performative to an existing in-group than that they constructively appeal to others and persuade them to join the good cause.
I posted something related to this today. See CALM culture in..
The acronym also litterally means that our social media culture becomes calmer, and there's better separation to where there's activism, and where the natural talk of the town.
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@smallcircles Cosy neighbourhood in a bustling city.
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@smallcircles Bustling ghost village ftw
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@smallcircles meadow where old man yells at clouds
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...to guess what's on a picture, and add it, so when you tell them "I'm not interested in Trump" it actually filters him forever.
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@smallcircles the problems are
1. Pics of Trump face with no trump text, so filters don't work.
2. Pics of Elon face with...see point 1. Like that all other US rage-producing club of billionaires or MAGAs.
3. Using tags as "USpol" requires manual intervention, nobody does.
4. Mastodon follows BOOSTS of whoever you add by default, instead of making those opt-in
5. People don't use alt-text so filters at least filter Trump face becaus eof the alt-text.
6. The worst one: people use other names instead to call them so filters don't work.What commercial media gets right:
1. They have the power to guess...
