Just to clarify: when I boost a post, it doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with it.
Just to clarify: when I boost a post, it doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with it.
Often, I do it just to give visibility (and, consequently, to see the comments) on the topic being discussed - especially if it’s a post from a BSD Cafe user.
While I totally agree with you, boosting something adds it to your public timeline, so any casual observer without context about you will inevitably consider it as part of what you are.
When I want to give visibility to an awful post, I just link to it in my own one, prefixed by a bitter and awry comment.
I also wish social networks were designed differently, but it's too late.
@[email protected] Uh oh. What did you boost and what happened? (You don't have to answer that unless you want to). My sentiments on what to give visibility to, and how, are complicated and not very well formed, so I won't try to comment on that part.
@[email protected] it's happened a couple of times, in the last days. My boosts mean "hey, look here" but people, sometimes, think they're some sorts of endorsements.
So I preferred to point it out - just to be sure of not being misunderstood 🙂
@stefano that was one of the use of the quote-retweet that was never accepted on mastodon, it was useful for this very usage, boosting and emphasizing that the tweet was not necessarily your opinion. If people were not misunderstanding intentions, things would get simpler.
Afaiac, I sometimes use the quote-rt using the ReToot iOS app or Ice-Cubes integrated quote-rt, without abusing (to not instantly get inflammatory remarks of good people dictating my behavior with “we hate tweeter here” reminders).
The very first reply I ever received on mastodon was precisely this, and lead me to get quickly in search of building my safe “bubble” where my intentions (which are good btw 😃) would be better analyzed without a human-bot cop instantly triggering.
My only concern in fediverse would be this one, having people instantly overreacting with the fear of having some right-wing adversaries to handle. People, take the necessary time to know people and analyze them well, then take some more minutes to either throw them in flames, or like them or their ideas (when this happens, say it too!).
My view is “people are good by default”, opposing “all enemies until they publicly share my views”. I am reminded each day that in this wartime, my mindset may get rare, but I am fighting for it.
Still, I don't know how they'll be considered by many as many Twitter users did a lot of mess with them, using them to harass people.
I totally agree with your point of view: I don't want to judge people by a post/boost. Still, I understand why people are so "on guard" as the Fediverse is full of bad people/trolls, too.
Luckily, the world is full of good people. But, sometimes, it's quite difficult to find them as they're much, much more silent than the bad ones.
@[email protected] sure, « good » (if we have a solid definition for this word) people should express more. That’s the key to give balance and have people statistically less suspicious about other’s intentions.
As for the quoteRT yes it as been weaponized by some « bad » actors. Then there is the eternal debate about the tool becoming a weapon, as in kitchen knifes. If it is instance-wise manageable this should be no arm. This ultimately points to the moderation topic too, and that’s a hard one for any social network/website.
People tend to give visibility (and engagement) to dramas and hateful positions (see the clickbait thing on YouTube for instance), it seems that’s how the brain has been wired thru evolution to ensure survival. At this very point of our evolution we also may share nice things and achievements, this is also part of survival at this point. That’s what we tend to do in your instance, sharing and rejoicing when someone extends the homelab or talk about design decisions that work.
[as an exercise, and to be a better guy, I shall not share hateful posts about the failure that systemd represents, and share more posts about init being a real success for years. ]