seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
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it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
the funny thing about this: on the Pleroma/Misskey side of the network, favorites distribute posts across servers the same way boosts or replies do, they just don't push the posts directly to followers' Home Timelines --- so they do increase distribution, but in a less obvious way (it's more obvious on smaller servers like mine where any interaction could facilitate federation that would otherwise would not happen).
it doesn't really work that exact way on Mastodon though from what i've seen, as Mastodon doesn't seem to federate favorites at all except to the post author.
@kimapr oh interesting!
and I think that for those of us who read "trending" on a Mastodon server (which I do sometimes if I've been afk all day and want to catch up on the "big ideas") favorites do influence visibility, but yeah, it's in a diffuse rather than a direct way
(and see I boosted this because it's new-to-me information, lol)
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@Beldarak yeah, while I certainly recirculate some political stuff, on that esp I try to pace myself, because it can turn into such a barrage and I don't want to be like "here's a list of 47 horrible things I saw today" without chucking in some pictures of the cats or vegetables or a sunrise or whatever
it's easy to get pulled into that and I definitely do sometimes
Yeah, the no algorithm thing means you can be super annoying to your followers if you boost too much in one shot, you're right
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae I see it as a way to tell the OP that I liked or otherwise appreciated the post, especially when I don't have a substantial reply to share!
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae I agree on almost every point except one: it *does* affect distribution, albeit in a small way, because faves are counted for the trending posts lists.
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae
Thank you to all that was said before.
same here. -
Yeah, the no algorithm thing means you can be super annoying to your followers if you boost too much in one shot, you're right
@Beldarak there are some people who I def like talking with but most of their feeds are stuff I find sometimes-really-upsetting and need to pace myself on
it's nothing personal and it's not like they're "doing it wrong" they're just doing it in a way that doesn't always work for me personally
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@sarae I agree on almost every point except one: it *does* affect distribution, albeit in a small way, because faves are counted for the trending posts lists.
@maxleibman yeah, we were having some conversation about that elsethread and I think you're entirely right
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@maxleibman yeah, we were having some conversation about that elsethread and I think you're entirely right
@sarae Appreciate you spreading the good word, either way.
As I once put it: saying “faves don’t do anything” is like saying “please and thank you don’t do anything.” -
@maxleibman yeah, we were having some conversation about that elsethread and I think you're entirely right
@sarae @maxleibman I am probably weird but I don't look at those
but you're still right because if other people do then they might boost because they saw it .. at which point someone weird like me sees it anyway
and probably boosts it
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae get favourited friend lol
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@sarae @maxleibman I am probably weird but I don't look at those
but you're still right because if other people do then they might boost because they saw it .. at which point someone weird like me sees it anyway
and probably boosts it
@dannotdaniel @sarae I am a narcissist because I only ever look at them to see if I’m in them.
But more seriously, in many clients they are visible on the search screen, so I think they do have an impact even for people who aren’t watching.
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@dannotdaniel @sarae I am a narcissist because I only ever look at them to see if I’m in them.
But more seriously, in many clients they are visible on the search screen, so I think they do have an impact even for people who aren’t watching.
@maxleibman @dannotdaniel I totally use that "Trending' feed as a "quick catch up" on days when I've been doing other stuff and want to get a sense of what's been happening
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@blag oh I'm a big fan of boosting, obvs
but I also kind of have an idea about "these are the topics I'm sharing news about" and when things are way outside that, it's good to have another tool in the box
I use boosting more like I use sharing articles the the family group texts
@sarae PS. Should have put previous comment in context by saying that I tried for a few months to *only* boost and reply.
This survey, and the replies, brought me back into the starring frame of mind:
Sam at BLAG (@blag@typo.social)
Should I start 'liking/starring' posts again? Context: I've tried to be more actively engaged here by forcing myself to only boost or reply but am now thinking about flexing my star button again. #AskFedi #Fediverse #Mastodon [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Other, hit reply
typo.social (typo.social)
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae
To me, Saying "don't favorite posts" is like "don't say 'thank you' in real life"Sure, life works without as well, but come on.. A little appreciation doesn't cost a dime.
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae
Thank you for this.
It prompted me to update my pinned reminders to myself which still reflected the period when I had only recently learned what "Favorite" does here. -
seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae I often lurk on the /explore section (or it's called "Trending" in the UI/app mostly) and I think it maybe is based on likes? Or is it only based on boosts? Also - I basically hit like on everything I read. To say "I saw that! Post more!"
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@sarae l have always thought it was like giving a friendly wave to someone on the street to let them know I have seen them even if I am not going to stop to chat right now.
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@GPJohnston @moss @awawawa yep exactly this
"hang in there buddy times are tough but I am on Team You and hoping for the best"
@sarae @GPJohnston @moss @awawawa all of this. Yes!
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seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae
I think I'd rather get a comment, but favorites are nice. -
seeing another round of "don't favorite posts on fedi"
folks it is a kind and lovely thing to favorite someone's post and anyone who tells you not to be kind and lovely has told you something about themself
it's true that it doesn't particulary increase the distribution of your post but the idea that we're all here to get things distributed as far as possible is pretty weird
@sarae It'll never stop being bizarre to me that Twitter turning faves into "retweets...but different" somehow trained people to consider that normal behaviour for that kind of button.
