Recently I read a post by some jackhole techbro who wants a default automatic feed algorithm here just like Big Social™.
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@lisamelton The Trending tab does this for me -- I have my curated feed, and periodically I click on Trending, which leads me to NEW PEOPLE who I can follow. And also breaking news.
There IS an algorithm. You just get to CHOOSE whether to use it.
@nosrednayduj On my instance, the trending tab is always empty, which maybe is just true. It's an instance for mathematicians, maybe just nothing ever trends. @lisamelton
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@lisamelton Nah, I'd love it if people that post only when I'm asleep, or people that only post occasionally get bubbled up so that I can read their stuff and not have it buried by folks that post several times a day, every day. "Algorithm" isn't an inherently naughty word.
@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley
You can already have this with Lists. A list for sleep posters, a list for low volume posters. Clients can implement features to automatically create these kinds of lists for you without any change to how Mastodon servers work. Maybe it already exists
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@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley
You can already have this with Lists. A list for sleep posters, a list for low volume posters. Clients can implement features to automatically create these kinds of lists for you without any change to how Mastodon servers work. Maybe it already exists@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley I think to most people "the algorithm" means something that digs up the most popular posts across a specific social media and jams it into your feed. So you "are part of the global conversation". It sucks and selects for lowest common denominators (which is often US centric). Additionally, it typically optimises for engagement rather than enjoyment.
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Recently I read a post by some jackhole techbro who wants a default automatic feed algorithm here just like Big Social
.Opening the door for AI bullshit is not even the worst part of this idea.
Folks, all of us here ARE the algorithm. Personal curation is a feature, not a bug.
We make Mastodon awesome by following people and boosting what we find meaningful, significant or just cool. That's how it works.
Let's keep making friends. Let's keep sharing. Let's keep Mastodon alive. Together.
@lisamelton Besides, it is curious for me that how that "auto feed" would work for me. I always lurk only global feed, and I never have a single clue what I will get there. Iran news? Cute cats? Some software I did not know even exists? It is total random and I like it.
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@haliphax @lisamelton @karlhigley I think to most people "the algorithm" means something that digs up the most popular posts across a specific social media and jams it into your feed. So you "are part of the global conversation". It sucks and selects for lowest common denominators (which is often US centric). Additionally, it typically optimises for engagement rather than enjoyment.
@drgroftehauge @lisamelton @karlhigley Yes, I understand what most people think of when it comes to the capital A Algorithm. I also understand it's possible to do myself by fastidiously selecting and maintaining lists like a second job, and that software can do things. To my knowledge, no such feature exists in any client that I am aware of. Phanpy gets close, but not quite (and it's a very clunky experimental feature).
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@IveyJanette Come to think of it, he might have been coming *from* Shitter.
Figures.@lisamelton Of course.
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@lisamelton I'd like to be able to apply my own algorithm to my home feed, though. Some sort of syntax that you can save as 'filters', similar to how you'd configure a search engine to generate relevant results. People could share and discuss these, and it would foster a deeper understanding of the impact these algorithms have on what people see. My main fear is that instances would pop up that come with 'built in' malicious filters.
@lastofthem@mastodon-belgium.be @lisamelton@mastodon.social Misskey antennas are basically this. You can pick specific users and/or keywords to include or exclude.
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@lisamelton Personal curation is power.
The moment we hand that over to algorithms, we lose what makes this space real.@BrooklynHill26
For those who have already handed it over to algorithms, how can they regain their power back? -
@lisamelton i'll play devil's advocate on this one. I'm a #mastodon noob. So maybe i'm doing something wrong.
My feed features numerous low-effort posts with no community engagement. One after the other. Is there room for improvement in the algorithm?
I feel that labelling users who voluntarily provide feedback - as 'jackholes', is unnecessary. ( with all due respect
)My 2 cents.
@DazRunner@mastodon.social @lisamelton@mastodon.social so first of all, to be clear, the only algorithm involved in Mastodon and other ActivityPub software is "all posts, in reverse chronological order". the different timelines just vary in where the posts come from.
when you say "your feed", I assume you mean the local or global timelines? this is something that varies a bit by instance. the global timeline will always be a wildcard because it includes every post that your instance knows about in the entire fediverse (that has its privacy set to public, at least).
the local timeline is posts from people on your same instance. unfortunately, if this is the one you mean, mastodon.social is somewhat notorious for being infested with low-quality and bot accounts and having poor moderation. some users just block the entire instance for this exact reason. -
@ProcessParsnip good for her, I guess. It does not make me a jackhole, or does it now?
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@DazRunner@mastodon.social @lisamelton@mastodon.social so first of all, to be clear, the only algorithm involved in Mastodon and other ActivityPub software is "all posts, in reverse chronological order". the different timelines just vary in where the posts come from.
when you say "your feed", I assume you mean the local or global timelines? this is something that varies a bit by instance. the global timeline will always be a wildcard because it includes every post that your instance knows about in the entire fediverse (that has its privacy set to public, at least).
the local timeline is posts from people on your same instance. unfortunately, if this is the one you mean, mastodon.social is somewhat notorious for being infested with low-quality and bot accounts and having poor moderation. some users just block the entire instance for this exact reason.Thanks, kinsey.
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@lisamelton @berniethewordsmith This was the fellow upset because AI journos weren’t being boosted here? Lol, yeah, we’re a tough crowd.
@wendinoakland @lisamelton @berniethewordsmith Colour me not surprised that it was him.
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T tanyakaroli@expressional.social shared this topic
