I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon.
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Well some of us miss you. It's a shame you feel unwelcome.
I am an Amazon and FB hater, yes, but I don't tell other authors what to do. Plus I have books on Amazon (though not exclusively) so I've no right to talk.
It's hard enough to sell books as an indie, people need to do what works for them.I've also noticed revolving hate when it comes to sites. Like you're told to dump Y, use Z instead, & the next week there's an issue with Z.
I generally shrug and let those people get on with their lives. Not worth the angst.
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@crcollins @stuart_j_whitmore @SJHoodlet
It's not just Amazon that acts as a purity test. I could make a list, but I've already said enough. And yes, I can and do ignore what people say for the most part. My main complaint is that it keeps people from joining or staying on Mastodon.
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I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
I struggled a little at first but the basic bits of feditips really helped.
As for the other point. A lot of my friends here are degoogling and avoid Amazon. A lot are anti genAI, as I am but I try not to jump on others at a personal level. And I have friends here who don't avoid things I prefer to.Also, the platform I last published a book on is now part of Amazon!
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I generally shrug and let those people get on with their lives. Not worth the angst.
@nlowell @crcollins @SJHoodlet @joyce
Like Nathan.
I'm anti-Amazon and FB, but author got to make money, and the world is as it is.
Most food is not ethically produced. I don't stop eating.
There are also things I don't talk about here. But that has been true all my life.
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@joyce I couldn’t agree with you more. The purity test folks are exhausting.
@lydiaschoch @joyce The HOA members were the first ones I blocked.
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@nlowell @crcollins @SJHoodlet @joyce
Like Nathan.
I'm anti-Amazon and FB, but author got to make money, and the world is as it is.
Most food is not ethically produced. I don't stop eating.
There are also things I don't talk about here. But that has been true all my life.
@NaraMoore @nlowell @crcollins @joyce
I will say, most people are not openly aggressive. However, I've seen it enough, both on my posts and in general, to rein in posting about how to buy my books. I'll make a post about sales, but that's about it.
It's really a shame that it's come to that. I definitely feel ostracized, but I think that's a me problem. I've always been averse to conflict and upsetting people.
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@stuart_j_whitmore That's a healthy mentality to have. It's getting easier for me to feel that way, but I still have bad days when it feels personal.
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@crcollins @stuart_j_whitmore @joyce
I understand. The genre I write in makes Amazon exclusivity quite beneficial, and Kindle Unlimited page reads account for over half of my total royalties. 57% since I started publishing, in fact. I very much doubt I'd be able to make up the difference on another platform.
But everyone's different. There's no right or wrong way to publish, and it's really sad that some people think there is.
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@Bern Yes, absolutely. I'm not a fan of Amazon by any means, but I want my books to be read, and I'd be a fool to not use Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program to put them in front of the biggest romantic fantasy audience there is.
That upsets some people. I get it, but it works best for me. There may come a day when I make print copies of my books available, but until then, it's Amazon.
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@NaraMoore @nlowell @crcollins @joyce
I will say, most people are not openly aggressive. However, I've seen it enough, both on my posts and in general, to rein in posting about how to buy my books. I'll make a post about sales, but that's about it.
It's really a shame that it's come to that. I definitely feel ostracized, but I think that's a me problem. I've always been averse to conflict and upsetting people.
@SJHoodlet @NaraMoore @nlowell @joyce
I get this very well.
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I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
@joyce
I call these purity testers the Fedi Police and I have no time for them. "Don't use this tool!" "Don't read that author!" "Don't patronize that company!" "On this subject, do better!"
Such people just suck the joy out of life and always trigger an instant block from me (the online version of the middle finger).
But it's sad that I have to, and it's sad that this is a common discussion topic. Mastodon may not be algorithmic but still has its problems. This (for me) is one of the biggest. -
I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
@joyce The second one is also why some people I know have left again.
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I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
@joyce For 1. I warmly recommend the wonderful @FediTips and their easy to understand guide: https://fedi.tips/
For 2: I also nearly deleted my account here several times because I'm so fed up of that typical #Mastodon purity police' and mansplainers.
But meanwhile, I feel angry enough to publicly shame and report/block them if they harass others. The more of us showing them a finger
the more they could learn that they are not liked.The good news: our moderators are humans.
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I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
@joyce one of the main barriers for my friends seems to be having to post to get anything back - I've realised that a lot of people like the experience of Meta and TikTok but not the ethics of it, whereas I dislike both so the Fediverse works well for me. If you wNt to use social media to talk to people the Fediverse works well, but there are a lot of people who just want to scroll social media passively without posting, and the Fediverse doesn't work so well for that because you have to post to find people to follow.
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@joyce
I call these purity testers the Fedi Police and I have no time for them. "Don't use this tool!" "Don't read that author!" "Don't patronize that company!" "On this subject, do better!"
Such people just suck the joy out of life and always trigger an instant block from me (the online version of the middle finger).
But it's sad that I have to, and it's sad that this is a common discussion topic. Mastodon may not be algorithmic but still has its problems. This (for me) is one of the biggest.@drewph
I think that we have two problems: Mastodon once began as a group of white male IT people, and they had very rigid ideas about how one should behave here. Ever since Mastodon opened up, some of these people have been lamenting ‘the good old days’ and getting on everyone else’s nerves.Second: in *any* network with anonymous people you will have the naggers with their tiny, sad life, often isolated, who try to destroy other's joy.
We can help others to find out how to
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@drewph
I think that we have two problems: Mastodon once began as a group of white male IT people, and they had very rigid ideas about how one should behave here. Ever since Mastodon opened up, some of these people have been lamenting ‘the good old days’ and getting on everyone else’s nerves.Second: in *any* network with anonymous people you will have the naggers with their tiny, sad life, often isolated, who try to destroy other's joy.
We can help others to find out how to
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@SJHoodlet I think that there should be always a difference between political arguments and aggressing someone as a person.
I also hate Amazon and FB, but as a published author, I know that my publishers sell *everywhere* - they must do it. And some organisations or artists only get enough customers on big platforms.
And Indies do need every cent for making a living.
I block those people aggressing others personally with a (if it's harassing, I report them).
But it's very difficult! -
@Bern Yes, absolutely. I'm not a fan of Amazon by any means, but I want my books to be read, and I'd be a fool to not use Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program to put them in front of the biggest romantic fantasy audience there is.
That upsets some people. I get it, but it works best for me. There may come a day when I make print copies of my books available, but until then, it's Amazon.
@SJHoodlet Perhaps it helps you to know that those people being upset against you, would never be your readers!
They only suck your energy like vampyres. -
I would love to see more of my friends start using Mastodon. A number have gotten accounts, but they don't stay. They say there are two reasons:
1. It's a steep learning curve.
2. They feel they must pass multiple purity tests to be accepted.Not much can be done for those upset by the first one. But the second one, yeah, I see their point.
@joyce
I fully understand the Purity Test and it's not just in the publishing/ writing realm.
I occasionally feel that I can't fully express my feelings and opinions because of the norms in the community. In a way this is true of any gathering place, real life or online, but it seems somehow more acute here.
CW Content Warnings help to some extent but are an imperfect blunt tool.
It would help to have a more diverse (in every way) base of users - which comes back to your original post! -
@joyce one of the main barriers for my friends seems to be having to post to get anything back - I've realised that a lot of people like the experience of Meta and TikTok but not the ethics of it, whereas I dislike both so the Fediverse works well for me. If you wNt to use social media to talk to people the Fediverse works well, but there are a lot of people who just want to scroll social media passively without posting, and the Fediverse doesn't work so well for that because you have to post to find people to follow.
