Tbf I still get better results if I google “reddit” at the end of my question. It may not always be front page there anymore, but there’s still great communities spreading knowledge about the most random stuff and I love it.
If you curate your subs & have only those that match your nerdier interests then Reddit is still enjoyable & educational. A lot of the rest of it can be pretty toxic though.
I left Reddit right after the election. The toxicity got rather personal and I was already dealing with the pain of election loss and knowing what lay ahead. I really did love all the interesting topics over there though.
I can fully understand why you might feel like that, that toxicity seemed to leak into a lot of the other subs. The site has got progressively worse since 2016. I still visit but like here much better nowadays.
Yea there’s something to be said against over-developed algorithms that prevent such unintended collisions. You can’t really “discover” something from a feed perfectly tuned to give you just things you already expect & understand. The wild west web had its joys of discovery.
They didn't ask. They made a factual statement. There wasn't even a "I don't understand [specific item], could you please explain it?" - just a raw pbbbbbbft.
I am working on the "factual statement with no intent" probiem with my kids, so I totally get the respondent's objection.
I have. Frequently and functionally, there is not an actionable question to be gained from an implied question. How much of the ocean am I going to need to boil for this person?
IDK man maybe "I don't understand XYZ" is an invitation to explain XYZ and if you don't think that's actionable I'm not really sure what to tell you! Have a great night, I guess?
I don’t know where “Dan” has been that they’ve never seen this sort of thing before because it’s happened on literally every platform I’ve been on since MySpace. Not to mention, considering the way they replied, Dan should also definitely understand someone being desperate for attention.
Dan Abramov actually works at Bluesky, so his question makes sense. He wants to know if there’s any usage pattern inferred from the app that he’s not familiar with.
I have an earnest question for Dan. If you are intending to have a private, “niche” conversation, why not make a private chat group, rather than broadcast it to 20 million strangers?
If a news network is centered on only American politics and goings-on, shouldn't it be a private group chat? Why broadcast to over 8 billion people? It's just so niche.
(Not trying to be mean, but you're asking everyone who uses Fediverse (1mil+) to be in a private group chat right now.)
Really? All I’m suggesting is that it’s rather strange to broadcast something to 20+ million people and then be put off when you think the wrong ones are answering.
They didn't ask "what does this mean, I'm unfamiliar but curious", they just said "idk what this means.... its English but idk.................." that's not a question or request for explanation, it's just being weird. Most people would be confused by this kind of comment.
I had some long elaborate analogy but... come on, I'm socially stupid and I understand that's asking a question. This is "social" media, not "let me say stuff and everyone has to research anything I say and only reply if it's directly relevant to them" media.
They're labelers. Not everyone uses them, but if you see a label you like in the wild you can click on it, and it should direct you to the label maker.
If there's one you want specifically, you can try searching for it (not sure if that works though, never tried to find a labeler through search)
Sure, Discover does have lots of stuff, sometimes even interesting stuff. It is just as well though that when you want to get some news you can always go to X.
but think of this, rather than this person going and googling it and potentially receiving misinformation, the thread could be engagement in learning something new and factual! That’s what we’re here for, to share and learn. 💙
The post in the screenshot didn’t feel like a request for information so much as a complaint. Also, if you think of social media as a place to avoid misinformation, I have some links to share about my multilevel marketing business for bridge sales. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
No really, go back and read the post. Where is the question? Hell, where is the question mark? Trying to address the concerns of every rude reply guy in your notifications when you have a large following like Laurens is a nightmare.
I recently saw someone extremely confused about why they saw a quote-post of me in their feed, and their conclusion was that they need to block whoever made them see developer content, and they blocked the person who quoted me 💀
That user had a sudden realization and a change of heart, finally seeing clearly that such reply behavior was not reflective of who they truly were. In that moment, they have advanced in life and have grown as a person, and they had to express their gratitude for this sudden change of perspective.
Is it because Bluesky is good at not showing people random unfamiliar stuff that they’ll hate - to the extent that when they do see something unfamiliar they’ll want to engage?
I have commented on stuff and when people popped off at me I earnestly say "Please show me how I am wrong or what I don't understand." and then people share their passion and knowledge. It is GREAT.
I had the exact same thought reading your post lol, no idea what that means but so glad I'm being exposed to things outside my Kuhnian bubble of knowledge
Hey now: They may be genuinely curious in what you're talking about so you have the chance to be accommodating, welcome their interest, and patiently explain it to them... or you can be haughty and dismissive which helps no one.
Educating others and fighting ignorance is how your niche grows.
I am new here, and it took me a minute to realize discover isn’t some curated algorithmic pile of redundant sponsored crap, it’s a hodgepodge of random posts from real people about topics I said I like. I like science, and I’ve been learning a lot! I do think there’s a nicer way to say “I’m curious”
I see your point, but the person didn’t actually ask any clarifying questions or ask to learn, they basically just expressed confusion over the fact that content exists that isn’t catered to them. I don’t think the response was haughty at all!
It's good because it brings us all together to be more well-rounded instead of divided or as (innocently) ignorant about things. We're coming out of the dark. It's one of the reasons they were so threatened by tik tok
I love the discovery feed because it gives me interesting points right on the edge of my realms of knowledge. Sometimes, I catch up, sometimes I can tell that the acronym is the important part and I don't know it. Sometimes, I just make a pun or joke about the part I know. C'est la vie.
It’s so nice being able to actually *use* a discovery feed that isn’t filled with bots, hashtag spam, and influencers.
It reminds me of old Twitter where I can just see what random ass shit people are posting that I can interact with. Haven’t been this active on SM in sooo long too.
I can't wait for one of my random posts to make it to Discover. It'll likely be one I'd the dumb, pointless ones. Not the ones with my substack link or something useful....
The way people got on social media and assumed that every post is a google search bar needs to be studied.
If you really got interested in something said in a post and don't understand it, google it! Sometimes the op doesn't have the time or the will to reply to you!
I get so much mushroom content on my feed. No idea why. I mean I'll eat mushrooms but I don't go looking for them.
... but now I go looking for them? I dunno!
Do they realize they didn't build that discover page for themselves? They contributed no bricks so why do they think the building should be to their specs?
I feel like I’m going insane reading these replies dude lol. Even the original post is fucking weird, person asked a question on a public post! What is even the issue?
The only person who asked a question was the 3rd skeet asking why they replied to a niche topic they know absolutely nothing about. Sometimes the skeet is only going to be understood by people who know a niche subject. Not everything someone says on their own page is for you.
It is a PUBLIC FUCKING FORUM it’s not illegal to comment on it at all, if it’s a problem that someone outside the niche comments then take it to a goddamn group chat or something. How is this even an issue?
Nobody in the thread said it was illegal they just asked a question. Why are you getting so worked up? "I don't know what any of these things mean" doesn't mean I need to tell you what they mean. They're free to comment? He's free to ask why they commented.
Comments
I feel it has robbed us from discovery and human curiosity.
I am working on the "factual statement with no intent" probiem with my kids, so I totally get the respondent's objection.
it's tricky.
Then one day, they asked me to select my specific interests so they could show me only that.
Closed the tab, never went back.
I *want* to see random stuff. I *want* to be confused!
(Not trying to be mean, but you're asking everyone who uses Fediverse (1mil+) to be in a private group chat right now.)
I dunno the hell they said either. cba
If there's one you want specifically, you can try searching for it (not sure if that works though, never tried to find a labeler through search)
im leaning towards real, but definitely not certain
If someone doesn't understand that, that is their business.
Educating others and fighting ignorance is how your niche grows.
And I'm an old raver.
Her profile had something like, "if [topic of her PhD thesis] means anything to you, let's talk!"
I messaged her and was like, "It doesn't, but it sounds interesting. What's it mean?" And off we went
Loving Bluesky 🩵
It reminds me of old Twitter where I can just see what random ass shit people are posting that I can interact with. Haven’t been this active on SM in sooo long too.
If you really got interested in something said in a post and don't understand it, google it! Sometimes the op doesn't have the time or the will to reply to you!
... but now I go looking for them? I dunno!