#Bluesky now allows you to “choose your own algorithm”.
Which sounds “incredible” and “sci-fi”—but it really isn’t.
What it essentially does is give a Twitter-like service Reddit-like features.
As an aside, now I’m wondering why Reddit doesn’t offer an alternative web front-end to make it more Twitter-like!
But how does this apply to the #ActivityPub flavour of the #Fediverse? This feature now makes me realize how big a deal Fediverse groups are going to be, and if I were @Gargron@mastodon.social, I’d be even more excited about rolling out Mastodon’s group functionality.
Because while groups aren’t exactly relevancy algorithms, once you add a “New”, “Hot”, “Best”, etc. feed to groups, now you’re in business.
I don’t know if choosing your own algorithm is the killer feature that Bluesky thinks it is. My experience is that most people hate choice. Nevertheless, I still thinks it’s important.
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joel b
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •If this is "choosing your own algorithm", #Calckey has actually had this feature long, long ago.
We call it "Antennas" -- and you can easily build an Antenna yourself.
Here's a screenshot for Antenna creation settings.
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Gabriel
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I can't find anything in the settings and I can't think how to do it in the antennas.
Miss Koula
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Jyn Erso Lives!
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Jyn Erso Lives! • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Not a Number
in reply to Jyn Erso Lives! • • •Jyn Erso Lives!
in reply to Not a Number • • •Not a Number
in reply to Jyn Erso Lives! • • •Chris Trottier
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oldfartjmb says FREE PALESTINE
in reply to Jyn Erso Lives! • • •What is an unlisted post and what does one use it for, please?
@NaN @atomicpoet
Not a Number
in reply to oldfartjmb says FREE PALESTINE • • •Posts can have several levels of public visibility.
Global - everyone on every server will see it in all feeds (global, home, threads, etc.). This is usually the default visibility.
All other settings narrow the audience.
Unlisted - visible everywhere except in the Global timeline. People often set replies as unlisted to keep from cluttering the global timeline. They are visible when reading the thread.
Followers - only visible to people who follow you.
Direct - visible to people actually mentioned in the post.
This reply is marked as Unlisted.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •So I'm thinking about this in more detail, and I think the "choose your own algorithm" feature with #Bluesky is really not hard to implement, and something very doable on the #Fediverse.
What do we exactly want from an algorithm? Topics.
And we want topics sorted according to the following:
1. Hot
2. New
3. Top
4. Rising
Some people would like a "controversial" feed, but we don't have to give it to them 😉
As for "Top", we can sort it according to time parameters.
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Alex
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •though not completely opposed I would be curious how we could mitigate bad actors manipulating the algorithms?
I would imagine that Fedi services could adopt them. For example, maybe Calckey would offer algorithm whereas Misskey didn't?
I can absolutely see a benefit in allowing for some computational assistance.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Alex • • •Well, the way you combat bad actors is to not allow black box algorithms. Make them transparent. Basically show everyone how the sandwich is made.
My objection to algorithms isn’t that the exist. Everything in computer science has algorithms.
My objection is that Big Social dictates relevancy, and I have no say in the matter.
That said, algorithms that focus on drama and outrage should absolutely be banned even if they’re transparent.
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Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I enjoy being able to determine what I see here, as opposed to the crap-crammed-down-my-throat algorithms of other social media outlets.
Why WHY WHY would anyone want to turn Mastodon into Twitter?
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I won't delete my previous, comment, though, because I meant what I said, there... I made the wrong assumption as to where said algorithms would be applied.
Mea Culpa.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •https://kitchenparty.online/users/01GNMTYTSFMTM7SXADPT4MEAFP
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •@admin@mastodon.ai8w.ddns.net
I'm going to double down on the question: What do you imagine people mean when they say algorithm? I think it's important for everyone to be clear about this.
We've been abusing this term for a long time now. The word is loaded, and potentially means very different things to different people.
Like, "show me a list in reverse chronological order" utilizes an algorithm every bit as much as "show me a list based on an index built from a large dimensional table of generalized user engagement metrics" is.
A lot of what people are talking about right now with regards to "algorithmic feeds" is not only closer to the former than the latter, but also tunable at the user client level. And Mastodon already has some of that, e.g. "group boosts".
@atomicpoet@calckey.social
Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally:
in reply to • • •@kichae
Is this the part where people assume lack of knowledge, then, when the assumee shows them they do know what they're talking about, they zing over to some only tangentially related thing in order to deride and discredit?
I'll answer the question - The "black box" "feed you only what we think you should see" "algorithm" is what I was talking about.
I write code in several languages - I know that the path the code follows is called an Algorithm. That's not what I'm (cont'd)
sub_o
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •@admin If you want to have some sort of algo / recommendation, then just make sure that it's not on the home timeline.
Do it like the explore page. An extra column for it.
Honestly I'd like to have top posts, but only for specified instances.
Because I'm getting bored seeing the same Americans doing the same routine "Wow Elon / conservatives / NYT are nazis" every day feigning surprises.
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Chris Trottier
in reply to sub_o • • •Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •If it's not 100% "opt-in" to use (for example) data I have created, then there are some significant privacy concerns here.
Utilizing someone's data without notice or consent... that's treading a fine line.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally:
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •This is as much a search engine as Google is, from the description and from what I've read so far.
Mastodon users are about to be indexed, categorized, and their data stored without their consent
The current hashtag search works. We don't need an external database with metrics...
Chris Trottier
in reply to Some Internet Dude ✡︎ :ally: • • •@admin@mastodon.ai8w.ddns.net@sub_o@mastodon.social Are you really not aware that *key apps have had search capabilities for years, and that *key is older than Mastodon by two years?
Literally everyone who’s aware of the Fediverse beyond Mastodon knows that indexing has been here for ages.
SparkIT
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
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Steve Bate
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Jupiter Rowland
in reply to Steve Bate • • •@Steve Bate It doesn't?
If I like a Mastodon toot on Hubzilla, my like can be seen on Mastodon. Vice versa, if someone on Mastodon likes one of my Hubzilla posts or comments, I can see it. And I'm pretty sure that all this doesn't only happen on the side of Hubzilla where ActivityPub is an optional add-on.
Steve Bate
in reply to Jupiter Rowland • • •eshep
in reply to Steve Bate • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Gustav Lindqvist 🇸🇪
in reply to eshep • • •eshep likes this.
Steve Bate
in reply to Gustav Lindqvist 🇸🇪 • • •Allen Very Serious Versfeld
in reply to eshep • • •OP sees both our likes. But I don't see your like, and you don't see mine, unless we use "View on original page"
eshep likes this.
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eshep
in reply to Allen Very Serious Versfeld • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Allen Very Serious Versfeld
in reply to eshep • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
eshep
in reply to Allen Very Serious Versfeld • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Allen Very Serious Versfeld
in reply to eshep • • •I could be wrong, but I seem to recall this being a design feature of Mastodon itself - the idea being that "Going Viral" is everything bad about social media, because disinformation and chasing clout and so on, so the idea is to hide a post's popularity so that people are less likely to respond to a message because of it's popularity and more likely to engage based on the content of the post itself.
Personally I think that this is just a feature of how human brains evaluate the importance of information, it's a feature of how we communicate, and that it is how ideas naturally propagate through societies and cultures. I think that social media merely amplifies this process, and did not create it from nothing, and that trying to solve all those problems by amputating it completely is a mistake that ends up neutering conversation completely... but what do I know, I'm just some random guy on the Internet *shrug*
eshep likes this.
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eshep
in reply to Allen Very Serious Versfeld • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Graham Downs
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I want no algorithm at all. Always show me the latest posts and boosts from my followees, and nothing else, in reverse chronological order.
For me, this place is all about what's happening now among the people I'm interested in. When I open Mastodon in the morning, and glance at it occasionally during the day, I want it to feel like walking into a party, sitting down and listening to the currently ongoing conversations, inferring what they're talking about, and jumping in.
I'm not interested in anything any of my followees said 10 hours ago, no matter how popular it is. Nor am I interested in anything they Favourited/Liked.
The single biggest thing that drew me to Mastodon from Twitter was exactly that: it's pre-algorithm Twitter, and the fact that Twitter got an algorithm is the worst thing that ever happened, and I've resented them ever since.
The last thing I want is for Mastodon to force an algorithm on me.
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Graham Downs • • •Fediverse News reshared this.
Graham Downs
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Chris Trottier
in reply to Graham Downs • • •@GrahamDowns@c.im Too late. *key apps have had antennas forever, and people love them.
You can't push your preferences onto the rest of the Fediverse.
Graham Downs
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to Graham Downs • • •Graham Downs
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Interesting question. I guess because I... might use it in the future?
Or because maybe someone who shares my preference discovers the fediverse through one of those apps (just like I did with Mastodon), gets dissillusioned because it doesn't have an option to remove all algorithms from the main timeline (before they've had time to learn that there's more to the fediverse than just that app), leaves and never comes back?
Chris Trottier
in reply to Graham Downs • • •@GrahamDowns@c.im *key apps have existed since 2014, two years before Mastodon arrived on the scene. And they haven't affected your use of Mastodon one bit.
Rather, the entire time you've been convinced that no "algorithms" exist on the Fediverse when this is simply not the case, and hasn't been for some time.
Stick to your preferences. There's no reason to inquire about someone else's.
Graham Downs
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •That's fair enough. I shouldn't've actually replied on that thread and told you my preference without being asked and without really understanding the context.
Because I don't really know much (if anything) about calckey anyway.
I apologise.
In South African English, there's this saying when someone jumps into an ongoing conversation without really understand what it's about: we say they're "picking up stompies" (a stompie is a slang term for a cigarette butt).
Apologies for picking up stompies there. I really need to work on not doing that.
Chris Trottier
in reply to Graham Downs • • •Onion
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Maybe there is something like that already here that I don't know about.
Chris Trottier
Unknown parent • • •https://calckey.social/users/9ee2qrmtw9
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I don’t like algorithms much, because every algorithm becomes a game and some clout-chasers are very good at games and even cheat. The Bluesky’s "12 likes to be on what’s hot" feed was already pretty terrible. You just need 12 friends to get in there. The new "what’s hot" is also terrible, because it’s a reddit-like hot algorithm except for the entire platform not for a group and once a post get there it can stay on top for the entire day. It’s basically reddit karma farming. 0% chronological (But understand why people with large following like this)
I also don’t like the idea of likes becoming a measurement of a post’s worth. On mastodon likes are benevolent and boost is the actual "I want more people to see this" button. What about emoji reactions? If I react with a 🫠 is this supposed to be a like? A dislike? To me the worth of a fediverse post is by the number of boosts and I hope it stays this way.
What I PARTICULARLY don’t like is the way bluesky implemented their custom feeds. It’s not a plugin w
... show moreI don’t like algorithms much, because every algorithm becomes a game and some clout-chasers are very good at games and even cheat. The Bluesky’s "12 likes to be on what’s hot" feed was already pretty terrible. You just need 12 friends to get in there. The new "what’s hot" is also terrible, because it’s a reddit-like hot algorithm except for the entire platform not for a group and once a post get there it can stay on top for the entire day. It’s basically reddit karma farming. 0% chronological (But understand why people with large following like this)
I also don’t like the idea of likes becoming a measurement of a post’s worth. On mastodon likes are benevolent and boost is the actual "I want more people to see this" button. What about emoji reactions? If I react with a 🫠 is this supposed to be a like? A dislike? To me the worth of a fediverse post is by the number of boosts and I hope it stays this way.
What I PARTICULARLY don’t like is the way bluesky implemented their custom feeds. It’s not a plugin written in AIscript running on your instance server nor on your client. It’s literally some random dude’s server running unknown code. Meaning on top of trusting the software running on your client, the software running on your instance server (PDS), the software running on the BGS (which is a separate service) you know have to trust N services offering you N different "custom" feeds. "Make your own feed" doesn’t mean select a few keywords, it means run an entire server on your own.
But still, we can learn from bluesky. Algorithms aren’t all bad and we can have more than just chronological orders. The Mutuals feed is very popular and simple to add, the catch-up feed is interesting when people login only once a day and don’t want to scroll their entire timeline since yesterday, etc. We can add a little bit more choice in our timelines.
But I still I prefer my antennas than having to ask a third-party dev, please can you make a custom feed following this keyword for me? This isn’t freedom of choice to the users...
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Chris Trottier
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narF 🎲
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •@matthieu_xyz I wrote this thread about sorting algorithmn for Mastodon 3 years ago and it got a lot of interest and replies.
mstdn.fr/@narF/104887310401243…
It's sad that there isn't an implementation of it yet.
narF 🎲
in reply to narF 🎲 • • •https://calckey.social/users/9ee2qrmtw9
in reply to narF 🎲 • • •This is what the antenna creation UI looks like. It’s nothing like a bluesky custom feed that can detect pictures of cat with AI. But it’s much stronger than just following a hashtag.
So strong that users are even afraid of people finding their post when they thought they were relatively hidden and hard to find.
btrandolph
in reply to • • •the heat is too hot
https://calckey.social/users/9aqhkybllt
in reply to • • •@matthieu_xyz@atomicpoet@Gargron@mastodon.social@fediversenews@venera.social good post, I agree.
I do like the feed that just got added today on bluesky, that shows the first post of new users signing up. That might be helpful for onboarding new people, and something that fedi can probably take some inspiration from.
Chris J. Karr
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •When I get some time, I'll be looking into implementing an algorithm that I can apply to boosts where I can apply a positive, negative, or neutral rating to boosts from particular posters and have those surface (or sink) in my timeline based on the ranking score of the booster and boostee. I'm also looking into a "seen before" filter to skip the duplicate boosts as one goes viral.
Running a server for one, so I'm not looking to apply this to others' feeds.
Jeff C
Unknown parent • • •Offering a set of check boxes for the most commonly-used hashtags during onboarding could help with the confusion and "goodnight Fediverse" problems.
I like the idea of a catch-up stream, especially to address some of people's concerns about engagement. Currently people compensate by periodically reposting, which has obvious drawbacks.
@atomicpoet @matthieu_xyz @Gargron @fediversenews
m@thias.hellqui.st :verified-skull: likes this.
eshep
Unknown parent • •Fediverse News reshared this.
https://calckey.social/users/9eeifpc6cu
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •I think I’ve been saying the fediverse needs this since I got here.
Once you take away a shadowy manipulative engagement driving algorithm, and rely entirely on reverse chron and your social network, there’s a lack of structure that is socially off putting and exclusive.
Fusing Reddit like structures with an algorithm free social network can add discoverability and engagement to a social connections first platform/ecosystem.
Topic based structures help you find people, and filtering/sorting features (which I think is a better name than algorithm which clearly now connotes manipulation) help you find what everyone is talking about so you don’t feel left out, while leaving you in control.
I hope federated groups become normal and take off as a major way of interacting in the fediverse, even to the point that instances become less significant.
Twitter_expat ✅(Fedi Resident)
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Nasos Alaiskas
in reply to Twitter_expat ✅(Fedi Resident) • • •oldfartjmb says FREE PALESTINE
Unknown parent • • •Thanks Mathias
@atomicpoet @jynersolives @NaN @fediversenews