Been a heavy user of all the Twitter alternatives for a minute now and I gotta say Mastodon is my favorite. There are definitely some features I’d like to see here (like quote posts and a DM inbox), but the community on Mastodon seems to have the best vibe and there are so many smart techies that it’s been the most helpful for finding sources.
@taylorlorenz As others have said, really enjoy your content and having you here with us! Sincerely wish more journalists would embrace the Mastodon platform as well.
Would love to see outlets to WaPo run their own Mastodon instances. Put that in the suggestion box in the break room 🤓
Think this is what she is saying, and pretty much how Mastodon has been evolving. What we have works, but it can always be improved. When they roll out improvements (like search), they are well conceived, executed and tested. Mastodon just keeps chugging along. Getting gradually better all the time.
Think you have a good point, and Mastodon has been very careful (some would say too careful) with rolling out improvements. It seems like a lot of consideration is given to both technical implementation and social implications of all changes.
@taylorlorenz
There are platforms that are all part of the Fedi ecosystem & seamlessly connected to Mastodon etc that have both those features. #Firefish is 1 for example.
@taylorlorenz I also like Mastodon the best (and would LOVE to see those features added here). But I do find getting followers and engagement on Masto to lag behind alternatives like Bsky, significantly. It’s frustrating. Because I want Masto to be my central social media account. It’s a work in progress for me here, I guess…. :mastodon: 🩵
@taylorlorenz I agree. I have only been on Mastodon after leaving the bird this past year (after you know who took over). The community here is way better and less toxic. My only regret is not being on Mastodon sooner. I'm grateful to be here and happy to see so many others here, as well.
@taylorlorenz As others have mentioned, there are quite a few third-party apps that support quote-posting and other features that are not available in the native Mastodon website and app. you could get a much better experience using any of these. Others have also mentioned web apps that have quote-posting.
@taylorlorenz I agree that it's a great community, and definitely the place where I feel the most comfortable being myself. But so many scientists are on Bluesky that I find myself toggling between Masto and Bluesky on the regular.
@taylorlorenz I remember trying twitter for about a week. I just couldn’t get into it. Not sure exactly why but Mastodon has made me stick around and engage. It really is great here!
@taylorlorenz I'm a fan of https://elk.zone , as #elk gives me a clean, functional, dead easy to use interface for #mastodon , without ads or pushed content, along with a nighttime mode that's easy on the eyes, while also reducing energy consumption on laptops and portable devices.
When people say Mastodon's UI is a mess, I have to explain that ONLY Mastodon intentionally & inherently allows you to change the UI as you please. The Big Boys want to force their toxic experience on you.
@taylorlorenz Agreed. I have a color vision deficiency and would like the scroll bar on the right side of the screen to have the mouse point in a much brighter color.
@taylorlorenz Hmm. I've found out of all the alternatives, Mastodon is also the strongest progressive echo chamber.
While that is certainly comfortable, I've found it makes it less useful as a tool for building connections and empathy for people with different views than my own.
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