Rule of Mastodition #33: There are furries. You might as well deal with it.
@stephanmaus The only hard and fast rules about putting things behind a NSFW or CW are things that would probably be encouraged to be put behind a cut on most servers I think? (Lots of people don't want to see untagged gore on their timeline.)
To me (and probably a lot of other people), the use of a cw/cut demonstrates a modicum of consideration for other people. Is it so terrible to spend a few seconds thinking about other people and what they might be sensitive to/want to avoid?
@XopherY You can change it with userstyles, but nothing's built in https://userstyles.org/styles/browse/mastodon
Although it's not possible to browse the timeline of a #Mastodon instance where you don't have an account (unfortunate IMO), it *is* possible to visit, e.g. https://mastodon.social/tags/topic to see public posts tagged with a particular #hashtag, in this case, "#topic".
Could be interesting to compare music tastes, for example, between different instances before choosing one to join.
Or frequency of posts marked #AWOO
@Frans MLIS but not a librarian. Close enough? :smiley:
@MichelleObama Seeing him pop up on the local timeline on social.targaryen.house almost made me make it my home instance but I think I'm entrenched here
Content warnings Show more
There isn't enough patience in the world for people who actively put obstacles in front of others who struggle daily with maintaining happiness. We don't all share the same circumstances, and most of us aren't fortunate enough to have a life of optional suffering and voluntary anxiety.
good manners and a little consideration takes almost no effort and can help improve the tone and energy of an individual or an entire community. Don't drain it. Fill it back up. Top it off.
Back when I was active on Usenet it was considered pretty normal to have house rules for any newsgroup, you were also expected to refrain from posting long enough to notice and learn the unspoken customs (this was called "lurking").
Nowadays people see it as an orchestrated attack against free speech, shout references to 1984, and threaten to move elsewhere.
Yet the ones asking us all to behave politely are called "hypersensitive"?
@Snip re: color schemes, nothing hard-coded, but there are scripts on userstyles.org: https://userstyles.org/styles/browse/mastodon
Building good communities is more important then enforcing rules
Helping someone understand why rules exist is more important then telling them what the rules are
You don't have to build your communities like you're a company. You can just TALK to people.
DO be explicit about your community norms. DO use your moderation tools to enforce them where necessary. But for the love of god, don't mistake rules lawyering for an actual community.
I will just never understand how "Click the tiny fucking CW button and mention you're talking about current events so your don't trigger PTSD or anxiety attacks in random people" is a goddamn divisive issue.
Just fucking CW your politics posts or go back to fucking twitter.
PEOPLE ON MASTODON: hey, as a practice, we'd like to encourage people to put political toots behind a content warning.
MASTODON USERS: yeah, this is great
YOU: *nodding* okay but why should i. lets discuss it.
EVERYONE ELSE: we'd....like you to? we're asking you?
YOU: yes but whyyyy shouuuld i
@nirak Do you post about everything going on in your life to, say, Facebook? We edit all of our experiences for public(ish) consumption in one way or another.
And hiding something under a cut isn't making it "verboten". It's letting people know you're talking about something they may not want to engage with right now.
@nirak I don't think it's a matter of ignoring it. It's choosing whether or not to engage *here*.
Don't be ashamed or afraid if you're not able to process what's happening tonight. We're all fighting for ourselves, and others. Everyone has their limit, and every day hurts or helps people differently.
Just because someone is hurting worse, doesn't mean you aren't hurting. That's the great thing about communities like those that are growing on Mastodon. When you can't handle anymore there is someone who can and will. #selfcare
@pearwaldorf Content warnings are having consideration for your audience. If you lack consideration, don't expect the audience to show.
@ZedFable *points at avatar, waves* :DD
@emily My last cat was a bit like that. It took her years to settle down and become a grumpy old lady.