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@evan Certainly wasn't my intention!
I do concede that it would've been more useful to ask the question "should replies to followers-only posts be direct mentions, yes/no?" rather than trying to deduce the answer from an awkwardly worded poll.
Lesson learned!
@evan But it can also be a bit awkward when a mutual I don't know too well posts a followers-only post, and I show up "in their DMs", so to speak, when I'm just trying to be mindful of their privacy.
@evan Yes, perhaps I could have phrased the original question better.
My thinking was, currently, a follower can reply to a followers-only post, with a followers-only reply.
So their followers can reply back to you, without seeing the original post, potentially deducing and further exposing personal information contained in the original post.
This is a dilemma I myself have sometimes, when I see a followers-only post. Sometimes it just makes sense for me to reply directly, eg. health status updates.
If I replied with a followers-only post saying "good luck with the heart surgery", all my followers will deduce that Alice is having a heart surgery.
@evan Well the question was:
"Who do you expect to see replies from when you post a followers-only post?"
So if you only expect to hear from your followers, without reply controls, the visibility of the replies to your post would have to be limited only to you, or, potentially, to you and mutual followers of you and the person replying, but not the followers of the person replying that don't follow you directly.
I think private mentions handle this well and rather simply.
Thanks everyone for voting and sharing your opinion!
Looking at the results, I think this does support the idea that maybe replies to followers-only posts should be automatically private mentions?
@Xen4n Yeah, I like Discourse!
Archived link, just in case: https://archive.is/PvpAx
Time to dust off those early 2000s forums!
"Discord announced on Monday that it’s rolling out age verification on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users’ accounts to a “teen-appropriate” experience unless they demonstrate that they’re adults."
Starting in March, all Discord users will have a “teen” experience by default unless they complete age verification using a video selfie or ID.
The Verge (www.theverge.com)
@saxicola Not quite.
When I post a followers-only post, a follower can reply to it, their followers can see that reply, and may reply as well, without actually seeing my original post, if they are not my followers.
This both creates fragmented conversations (my follower's followers may not see the original post), but also potentially leaks personal information.
Eg. I may share something personal with a handful of followers, like a health status update, a well-meaning follower with a large number of their own followers wishes me a speedy recovery, and then a ton of strangers can deduce that I'm dealing with sickness.
@Heliograph Ha, polls are hard!
@luc Good question! Yes, this is about wants/needs.
@evan Ah, I was only tagging you as an FYI, but thank you, appreciate it!
@evan Well I went ahead, if you're interested:
Hey fediverse, quick question for you. Generally speaking, when you post a followers-only post, who do you expect to see replies from? #fediverse #poll #FollowersOnly #boundaries [ ] My own followers (MOF) [ ] MOF + repliers' followers (RF) [ ] Mutual MOF + RF only [ ] Something else?
Stefan's Personal Mastodon Server (stefanbohacek.online)
Hope the options make sense, I tried to be concise!
This is based on an earlier conversation:
@evan@cosocial.ca Given all the complexities and real and potential vectors of abuse, maybe replies to followers-only posts should be forced to be private mentions? Sometimes people share personal things using followers-only visibility, and replying directly without exposing private details seems the most appropriate. Eg. not announcing "Hope you'll recover from the diarrhea soon, Bob!" to potentially thousands of strangers, or even people who do know Bob, but Bob was not addressing in his post.
Stefan's Personal Mastodon Server (stefanbohacek.online)
@evan@cosocial.ca Maybe it would be better to rephrase this question as: If you post a followers-only post, who do you expect to get replies from? I'm getting the sense that some people are more interested in getting into other people's business than respecting boundaries. Hence the strong opposition to reply controls. "But what about my right to share my unwanted opinion" vs respecting how other people want to interact online.
Stefan's Personal Mastodon Server (stefanbohacek.online)
Hey fediverse, quick question for you.
Generally speaking, when you post a followers-only post, who do you expect to see replies from?
@evan Sure!
Does this wording make sense?
When you post a followers-only post, who do you expect replies from?
My own followers (MOF)
MOF + repliers' followers (RF)
Mutual MOF + RF only
Something else?
(Trying to be concise!)
@evan Maybe it would be better to rephrase this question as: If you post a followers-only post, who do you expect to get replies from?
I'm getting the sense that some people are more interested in getting into other people's business than respecting boundaries. Hence the strong opposition to reply controls.
"But what about my right to share my unwanted opinion" vs respecting how other people want to interact online.
@evan Given all the complexities and real and potential vectors of abuse, maybe replies to followers-only posts should be forced to be private mentions?
Sometimes people share personal things using followers-only visibility, and replying directly without exposing private details seems the most appropriate.
Eg. not announcing "Hope you'll recover from the diarrhea soon, Bob!" to potentially thousands of strangers, or even people who do know Bob, but Bob was not addressing in his post.
@taylorlorenz I just think it's great that you can get together with a few of your friends and run a Mastodon server for a few bucks a month.
Together, you are an independent entity, you set your own rules, but you are also part of something bigger, you can connect with many communities and individuals that the fediverse is made up of.
And that is pretty neat.
