Stop Palantir taking over the NHS
I've just signed this petition. Will you add your name and share too?
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions…
I've just signed this petition. Will you add your name and share too?
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions…
2026-02-13 20:58:44
2026-02-13 20:58:44
2026-02-13 20:58:44
74280862
2026-02-14 08:46:00
2026-02-13 19:24:03
2026-02-13 19:24:03
74266157
Just been outside, happened to look up at the clouds and I couldn't see them!
There were some little pinpricks of light, does anyone one know what they are?
#weather #sky #Lancashire #UK
2026-02-13 13:26:51
2026-02-13 13:26:51
2026-02-13 00:08:09
74136834
john lomax reshared this.
God give me patience, because if you give me strength I'm going to need bail money.
reshared this
hypebot, trending_bot, ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce), DoomsdaysCW and john lomax reshared this.
2026-02-13 22:16:41
2026-02-13 12:06:54
2026-02-13 12:03:36
74205251
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to Christo. London, England.
Labour took our freedom to protest away and want to fight the High Court judgement re Palestine Action. Never vote Labour again
reshared this
john lomax and Patrick Hadfield reshared this.
I hope all those who have been unlawfully arrested and imprisoned are lawyering up.
Not sure how the UK legal system works in such cases but I imagine there is plenty of grounds for compensation.
Here’s to #PalestineAction
2026-02-13 17:55:45
2026-02-12 22:57:44
2026-02-12 22:57:44
74129218
in reply to john lomax
in reply to Tuta
Unknown parent
@Tuta
Hi, I have a paid account and I would like to share my calendar with my wife who will have a free account.
Is this possible, or does she have to have a paid account?
Thanks
@Tuta
Hello! :) Calendar sharing is only available for paid plans, so she would also need one.
Thanks for the reply, will have to find something else!
True!
Why didn't I think of that?
(please don't answer it will probably offend 😉)
Why didn't I think of that?
(please don't answer it will probably offend 😉)
2026-02-12 22:00:46
2026-02-12 20:09:48
2026-02-12 17:28:04
74095437
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to No Gods No Masters
reshared this
Al ⁂ and john lomax reshared this.
look how efficiently he's been working! What a work ethic! 🤡 
2026-02-12 18:21:27
2026-02-12 18:21:19
2026-02-12 17:44:19
74084237
john lomax reshared this.
How can you say you don’t like ceratops if you won’t even triceratops?
reshared this
john lomax reshared this.
2026-02-12 21:47:14
2026-02-12 15:50:42
2026-02-12 13:21:31
74036889
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved
One of the important things about combatting & resisting authoritarianism is the logging & publicising of its actions;
so very happy to include a link here to the ICE-list wiki; a log of incidents & agents for the use of any US follower seeking to get to grips with what is going on with the attack on democracy & the US population.
Also includes logs of ICE vehicles...
Our faith in social media can be (partly) restored!
wiki.icelist.is/index.php/Main…
h/t @grrlscientist
This entry was edited (Thursday, February 12, 2026, 1:23 PM)
reshared this
Kim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷, DoomsdaysCW, AM💙🏴, trending_bot, hypebot, ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce), john lomax, Hannah Steenbock, joene 🏴 and HTPC NZ reshared this.
Haven't checked all of these for currency yet, but:
boycottcitizens.org/ice
icelist.is/
wiki.icelist.is/index.php?titl…
immigrantdefenseproject.org/fo…
resistancedirectory.com/links/…
nilc.org/resources/know-your-r…
Don't Be a Sucker
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.US National Archives (YouTube)
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved reshared this.
2026-02-12 08:18:12
2026-02-12 08:18:12
2026-02-12 08:18:12
74007410
It may be Thursday, hump day is over, now you can start to relax!
Wednesday, finally halfway through
2026-02-12 15:50:58
2026-02-11 22:48:13
2026-02-11 21:00:39
73940168
john lomax reshared this.
reshared this
john lomax and Aaron reshared this.
2026-02-11 10:50:14
2026-02-10 22:44:54
2026-02-10 22:29:23
73753783
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to stux⚡️
in reply to stux⚡️
in reply to stux⚡️
in reply to stux⚡️
in reply to stux⚡️
Unknown parent
Not only does adding alt-text to your media help people with disabilities help to enjoy media it also grows the #Fediverse
When people search for media on search engines the chances are higher they end up on something on the Fedi with alt text added
So indirect adding alt text also spreads our network even more!
So.. ADD ALT TEXT♥️ A brief or extended description of the media posted, super simple and you help a lot of people!
*only applies to media when your account is indexed by search
reshared this
john lomax, Dgar, hypebot and bituur esztreym reshared this.
ALL media I have ever posted myself has alt text, you can check me on that 
I try to make sure boosts also include this!
I currently falter at checking boosts.
Everyone should spend a week using Toot CLI to really bring it on home.
I found something useful for AI … using the “Mona” app on iPhone, AI adds the alt text for me … coz, while it may be a “simple” task, it can be a time sink trying make it correctly useful,
that is a good point, will try to do that 
@joykill The Mona alt button is super handy! It does needs checks and corrections but still
It’s so much better for descriptions, one of the few things LLMs can be good for
2026-02-10 18:57:17
2026-02-10 18:57:17
2026-02-10 18:57:17
73722305
How bloody ridiculous!
A restaurant near Preston wants wants planning permission for TWO helicopter pads , as one of their customers turns up with a friend in seperate helicopters!
#Preston #Lancashire
BBC News - Broughton restaurant wants helipads for 'regular customer' - BBC News
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze0gy…
2026-02-10 17:55:25
2026-02-10 17:55:25
2026-02-10 17:55:25
73710952
Just found this on loops
Story of Sisyphus by Tom Waits (Made-Up Karaoke Challenge Ft. Ross Bryant)#gamechanger #DropoutTV #RossBryant #Karaoke #music #fyp
2026-02-10 12:10:41
2026-02-10 12:10:41
2026-02-10 12:10:41
73663612
For those of a certain age (from the UK), who had children in the late 70's mid 80's, do you remember this theme tune
inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=JYOnDjP… TV Theme Song (with Lyrics)
inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=JYOnDjP… TV Theme Song (with Lyrics)
2026-02-11 15:22:10
2026-02-10 11:34:35
2026-02-10 06:37:53
73634222
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to Megan Marie Hart
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Unknown parent
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BOOST OR QUOTE THIS!
Trying to find out how many people see a post without hashtags. Thank you!
(edit: Why, you ask? Long thread coming up … 1/7)
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 9:00 AM)
reshared this
Jon, Roknrol, trending_bot, JonChevreau 🇨🇦, Paul 💙 28 💔 💚, hypebot, David McMullin, Hannah Steenbock, AJ Sadauskas, Colin the Mathmo, stux⚡️, john lomax, Bob Downie, Jens Finkhäuser, Jim Jones, Kim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷, Simon J Ashcroft, Gillinger, Ether Diver, Lydia T. Pott and AJ Sadauskas reshared this.
Swear to god, hashtags mostly just annoy me. I follow people. They boost people. I pick and choose from their boosteds.
@GeePawHill
But for some IT IS easy to follow certain Hashtags they are interested in.
But for some IT IS easy to follow certain Hashtags they are interested in.
@GeePawHill I discovered the most interesting people by subscribing to hashtags. I would never have found specialists for lichens by boosts of people only. It's great if you are interested in more nerdy issues.
@GeePawHill super convenient for negative filtering though. Some super nice folks out here also post stuff I shouldn't look at. If it's tagged, my filter protects our friendship, and that's worth it to me.
I saw this and I don't follow you
I never use hashtags on Mastodon since I forgot that they were used in Twitter. They are not used in Telegram. In case of Russian mastodon there are 2 bots that boost your posts if they are written in russian. I have no idea how they are boosted if they are written in English and how, let's say, a person would find somebody to follow in Mastodon if he only registered and wants to find something to read and interact with.
@Sevapopov I use hashtags because I and others follow them to find specific content. Some people block things like the name of the president to avoid seeing it. They are my favorite tool.
Very first post on my "trending" feed, so quite popular, E guess.
@Goodlucksil Isn’t that wild? I did NOT expect that. But that’s perfect for my purpose. I’ve edited the post to explain why I made this request. Thank you!
saw you. I mostly forget to use hashtags. I follow a few.
I see it. But I boost or quote only things which have value.
@simon_brooke Fair, thank you for your reply!
challenge accepted 
Maybe I'm very strange but my metric for a post "doing well" is replies not likes or boosts.
A good post spawns a million threads and subthreads.
However, I'm on social media to ... socialize (crazy right?)
People who view social media as a publicity tool don't reply to posts, they don't even read their own replies. It's like they aren't even here.
Sad that on places like X/twitter replies were seen as a negative: a sign that people were angry at you. Dysfunctional.
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 11:38 AM)
reshared this
myrmepropagandist, David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*), David McMullin and Irenes (many) reshared this.
@futurebird
I can see it either way. We are like little neurons, making our little decisions as we go. Probably doing the best we can, considering.
I can see it either way. We are like little neurons, making our little decisions as we go. Probably doing the best we can, considering.
@futurebird Now, that’s an interesting perspective I hadn’t considered! As a performer, my main use of Mastodon besides playing games is to post “Look at what I will be doing“ and “Look at what I did” 😂
… and “Look at my cat,” of course.
… and “Look at my cat,” of course.
@futurebird
(I favourited and boosted this, but given the content of the post, I feel like that could be interpreted as a passive-aggressive attack. It isn't meant to be, I have nothing of value to add to this, but I completely agree with the sentiment expressed.)
(I favourited and boosted this, but given the content of the post, I feel like that could be interpreted as a passive-aggressive attack. It isn't meant to be, I have nothing of value to add to this, but I completely agree with the sentiment expressed.)
As someone with a large™ following, do you have any recommendations for dealing with notifications?
I've heard several times that creators that seem to be pretty good have trouble dealing with all the replies on Mastodon, specifically.
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 12:49 PM)
Also, probably very few people will find this interesting, but the latest campaign in not another D&D podcast lampoons this kind of social media influencer with a Social Media Warlock (derives her power from her social media following.)
@futurebird 100%, getting many likes is in some sense satisfying, but one engaged reply is gratifying.
Great way to put it! And I agree with both of you. Obviously it's a personal preference, but a like/favorite/boost can mean anything.
I'd rather know:
Did the person really like this? How much? What did they not like? How can I improve?
@futurebird
I, too, like replies more than anything else. Though I often find I have nothing productive, useful, or fun to say. So the favorite button is just "i liked that" and the boost is "my friends will like it too".
I, too, like replies more than anything else. Though I often find I have nothing productive, useful, or fun to say. So the favorite button is just "i liked that" and the boost is "my friends will like it too".
@futurebird
"Maybe I'm very strange but my metric for a post "doing well" is replies ..."
Me too.
Some if this is valuing dialogue.
And at a slightly different angle I'm getting interested in "What we know" as in "we the folk here and now". So "what is our common knowledge or combined knowledge?".
@futurebird
That’s just how I feel too. What I like here are the conversations. I’d rather exchange ideas with a few interesting people than generate large impression counts. I’m in no way opposed to promotion—I hope this medium also gets my music out there too. But it means more to me to know a few people listened and had thoughtful responses—or that one performer would like to play it—than that thousands passively know it exists.
@meganmariehart
That’s just how I feel too. What I like here are the conversations. I’d rather exchange ideas with a few interesting people than generate large impression counts. I’m in no way opposed to promotion—I hope this medium also gets my music out there too. But it means more to me to know a few people listened and had thoughtful responses—or that one performer would like to play it—than that thousands passively know it exists.
@meganmariehart
@futurebird yeah a good conversation is desirable
@futurebird completely agree with you !
That being said I don't reply that much even on here because I never know what to say (and maybe because years of other platforms have ruined the way I connect with people online)
That being said I don't reply that much even on here because I never know what to say (and maybe because years of other platforms have ruined the way I connect with people online)
@futurebird agreed. To me, a post that elicits even one relevant reply is more "successful" than a post with a zillion likes and no replies. This medium is built for conversations, not just broadcasts. I sometimes start following someone with posts on a topic of interest, but then unfollow them again because they're 100% broadcast. Missing the point of an interactive medium...
I think about “engagement” differently on Mastodon. Before the Elon-gation of Twitter I had more than 12k5 followers there (I left at that point!) Here I have fewer than a quarter of that number, but I feel far more engaged. People scrolling past one’s Tweets without even glancing at them counted as being ‘seen’ — a meaningless statistic!
@KimSJ I feel the same way about engagement statistics, they’re useless to me! Mastodon is great and fun without them. However, I was thinking that maybe for someone who hasn’t made the jump yet, some numbers could be an incentive, just because they are so used to them.
@KimSJ
I'm kind of mixed. I'd rather have 10 comments than 100 boosts, but I'd rather have 10 boosts than one comment.
I don't know what that says about me.
(Nobody actually asked why, but I imagine someone must have thought it.) Curiosity is one reason, the other is a recent offline discussion about whether we are hindering a more wide spread adoption of the Fediverse because we dislike advertisements. It’s possible that brands and “influencer”-type people aren’t getting the kick they’re used to from the Fediverse because there are no metrics showing how many people have seen a post. Perhaps it’s different with your own instance – I don’t know!
2/7
2/7
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that people would want to test the waters by creating an account on an established instance before committing to setting up their own, even if they have the necessary knowledge and funds. I think people have become accustomed to the insane numbers on commercial social media: millions of views, thousands of likes and hundreds of comments. (I have never been part of this; my profession is too niche. Classical music accounts for just 2–5% of music sales,
3/7
3/7
… and opera is primarily a live art form, so its market share is so small as to be essentially unmeasurable. I never bothered to find out how many people I reach vs how many interactions a post gets. I really couldn’t care less!) Brands and “Influencer”-minded people, even people just used to commercial socials testing the fediverse might feel like it is not working for them and leave again, so I was wondering about the *potential* reach of a toot.
4/7
4/7
I feel like I get more meaningful interaction (and perhaps even ticket sales!) from a Mastodon post about an upcoming show than from posts on other social media platforms. But a “feeling” dosen’t help when trying to convince people to join. Or to get active. My current theater @staatstheaterdarmstadt is on here since 2022 – zero posts! I would like them to get active or even set up their own instance. I think every theater should have its own instance! It can’t be more work than FB and IG.
5/7
5/7
All theaters have websites. I’m not tech-savvy (my husband takes care of that for me), but it seems to me that if you have a website and domain, setting up a Mastodon server can’t be that hard. Perhaps it’s even possible to run it as an outlet only, then they wouldn’t have to deal with moderation. I think every publicly funded entity should have a presence on the Fediverse instead of commercial social media. (Or at least in addition to.) My experimental toot is meant to create an example …
6/7
6/7
… to demonstrate that Fediverse posts are worth the time and effort. Perhaps there is also an argument for a feature request: maybe there should be audience metrics for toots?! Though I imagine that could be difficult due to Federation. Again, I have no idea if one already gets numbers and insight by running an instance.)
Perhaps we can move beyond numbers in the long run, but for now, I fear people enjoy them even if they gain nothing from them. Kinda like a game highscore, I suppose.
7/7
I run a corporate page on other socials because I can advertise.
I just don’t know how many people (I think a number approaching zero) would follow an Australian shed and cladding company.
@staatstheaterdarmstadt Before getting them an own instance, let them fill their account! Without communication, no followers.
Mastodon prepares an entry for newcomers where they can find local instances instead of the one big. They can move at every moment.
My experience with social media (I work professionally with these): With much less followers you get much more interaction and relations to your audience in the Fediverse. But only if you are communicating actively. The ratio
Mastodon prepares an entry for newcomers where they can find local instances instead of the one big. They can move at every moment.
My experience with social media (I work professionally with these): With much less followers you get much more interaction and relations to your audience in the Fediverse. But only if you are communicating actively. The ratio
@staatstheaterdarmstadt Even if you don't want actively post you could have your RSS feed go into your Mastodon account. Then you just need to check notifications for comments and toot-toots.
I'm a novelist. I enjoy Mastodon as a water cooler experience with people in my various communities, with hastags being useful. Not interested in trying to flog my books here, or seeing any others who do so.
@metalbrawler I wanted to test the potential reach of a post without hashtags, basically just for the sake of discussion. My home theater has a Mastodon account since 2022 but never posted anything! Perhaps I can convince them to get active if I can show them a posts potential, and maybe other theaters and artists will join. Fingers crossed!🤞
Thank you!
Thank you!
Saw this in the Trending section.
Edit: oh, my instance only had your first toot. The other 6 appeared only once I replied here. Kinda ignore.
Original: could you edit this toot when you're done? I'm interested, but if I bookmark it, it'll just go into the how-come-it-has-not-toppled-yet pile of to-reads :-G
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 9:12 AM)
I once run an experiment similar to yours. I asked people to boost a toot with a URL to a webserver I controlled, no hashtags either. It got <3k boosts. Yours will probably get similar numbers. At that point, IIRC, the Fedi (or was it just Mastodon?) was ~2M accounts, so it reached ~15% of the net. I wrote abut it here:
grulic.org.ar/~mdione/glob/pos…
1/
The mastodon effect: meta discussion
Yesterday1 I did something that I don't know how to qualify. At the beginning I was just playing a silly thing where I registered a new domain on a dynamic domain service. I set up Apache on my home s.:: Marcos Dione/StyXman's glob ::.
But hashtags are the best way to reach people. You mention a theater. They should post with hashtags of their region of influence (city, province, etc), the type of œvre (opera, music, etc) and maybe a couple more. They should sniff around until they find the right ones. I wish there were tools for that, hmmm...
2/
@mdione I've just finished reading your blog post. Very cool, I wish I had read this before making my notifications useless (and they are now!) It seems that the Fediverse is not the best place for spontaneous experiments! I’m not sure if the idea was so bad that I should delete the post, or just wait! Think I’ll wait 
social.growyourown.services/@F…
Had several questions about how the main "Home" feed works on Mastodon. Here's what it shows:1. All posts from all accounts you follow in chronological order, newest at top
2. All posts shared by accounts or groups you follow
3. Posts that use hashtags you follow in chronological order, newest at top...and that's it, there's nothing else on your Home feed. It doesn't push anything else at you, it doesn't hide anything from you unless you ask it to. No algorithms, no ads.
eh? What’s going on? What’s happened? Where am I? Do the plants need watering?
never "quote"d before. Thanks.
BOOST OR QUOTE THIS!Trying to find out how many people see a post without hashtags. Thank you!
(edit: Why, you ask? Long thread coming up … 1/7)
That's a great question! It's interesting to see how different strategies impact reach. I'm really curious about your findings—what have you noticed so far? 😊
@maharanisantoso Waaaaay more interactions than I expected! Most of them have been positive, but I also had to learn that bursting out of my own comfy bubble exposed me to not-so-nice people I didn’t even know were on here.😸
Why do you use THE IMPERATIVE FORM IN UPPERCASE when you post something?
Do you know the word "please"?
Do you have to SHOUT orders to strangers when you conduct an experiment?
I can't see your post and am way to what ever to read all the rest of your 🧵 ..
😎
Not sure what you want to achive.
Yes we do have some federation statistics in at least some of our backends. friendica servers for example display the amount of platforms, server and people they found in the fedi.
Than there is the part that we don't like the standard fashion influencer who treat us like sheep to heard or cows to milk.
Of course there are business models to think of, but there are a whole lot of middle men that need to jump on the train. An important part of the enshitification talk by @pluralistic is about all this. No clicks you can buy, no algorithm you can buy, no data you can buy to groom your victims.
Like to say, we created this for us and people like you.
❤️
@jesuisatire Fair! Thanks for the reply! (I’ve been wondering about the reach of a post outside of hashtags, and whether this could be used as an argument to encourage theaters to join the Fediverse. My current theater is on Mastodon but has never used the account!)
I usually forget to use hashtags, and my posts don't get a lot of views. Of course anecdotes are not data.
@Megan Marie Hart well the more people you get in contact to the higher the possibility some of them are ungood .. 
I didn’t see this and I never do what I am told.
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 12:27 PM)
rubbish, especially young people.
What's missing in the Fedi are local connections when you depend on real visitors. Hashtags don't work satisfactorily for this. Our groups are only boosting bots. One reason why the museum for which I unofficially do storytelling is officially on Facebook and Instagram: it is that that's where the real visitors are.
I can only encourage people to focus on communication rather than numbers. But this requires people power within the institutions.
What's missing in the Fedi are local connections when you depend on real visitors. Hashtags don't work satisfactorily for this. Our groups are only boosting bots. One reason why the museum for which I unofficially do storytelling is officially on Facebook and Instagram: it is that that's where the real visitors are.
I can only encourage people to focus on communication rather than numbers. But this requires people power within the institutions.
@NatureMC
Plus, I would like to add, it takes time to build your audience since you don't get any "help" by inbuilt algorithms. On the other hand, you don't need to try and understand how the algorithms work
I think we will see more people joining open platforms in the long run. When you're socialised with the numbers game, it can be hard to re-learn and focus on the interaction.
Plus, I would like to add, it takes time to build your audience since you don't get any "help" by inbuilt algorithms. On the other hand, you don't need to try and understand how the algorithms work
I think we will see more people joining open platforms in the long run. When you're socialised with the numbers game, it can be hard to re-learn and focus on the interaction.
Like many others, I saw your boost without any hashtags.
I usually forget to use hashtags and often end up shouting into the wind. But it is ok, I’m as introverted on-line as in person. A large response would likely overwhelm me - 😀
Good luck convincing your group.
I love what your end game here is; getting theaters involved in the Fediverse. I suspect that the metrics you're asking about are available to those running an instance. Otherwise, how would "Trending" be established. I think you need to talk to someone running their own instance. I think a good place to start would be fedi.tips/
Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediversefedi.tips
I see your post, Megan.
seeing is overrated, how many people can feel a post without #
I often use em. But sometimes I don't often because I can't think of a suitable one for the post being composed.
the underlying protocol of Fediverse is not dependent on any tags. strictly saying it does not have tags at all. it works like email and delivery depends on user addresses ;like username+servername. if a connected user reposts or comments some post in Fediverse, there's a chance that his followers get a copy if the original post too, so posts spread across trhe different servers on Fediverse.
some platforms (like Mastodon) allow subscription to tags and some filtering on tags. others do not offer that features. but tags often may be used in seatch engines on servers and people may sort out messages with tags for easier search.
some platforms (like Mastodon) allow subscription to tags and some filtering on tags. others do not offer that features. but tags often may be used in seatch engines on servers and people may sort out messages with tags for easier search.
@iwein @metalbrawler Yes. I play Oxygen Not Included, and I post threads about my play. I do add the tag, # oxygennotincluded, so my followers can filter it.
@h5e interesting use case yeah.
Maybe this works with content warning already, and we could theoretically simply use another tag symbol (if it's not recognized as a hashtag, it meets your desires)
For example &fediFunctions is very filterable to avoid post like this and it's not recognized as a hashtag. We do need to change habits for it, and that's hard.
And it can easily annoy or inconvenience people as well. Not sure what a screen reader does here, but I'm pretty sure it's not great.
@iwein @GeePawHill @metalbrawler I kind of wish for hashtags that aren't searchable, but usable for this purpose (I guess plain words would do, but that feels a little less directed). I do not *want* my posts to be findable by some hashtag, but this is a good use of them.
can’t find the thread 🤷♂️
I'm not sure what this is asking.
Am I seeing *this* post that I am replying to without hashtags? Yes.
Am I seeing *this* post that I am replying to without hashtags? Yes.
@geonz Okay, my bad, not idealy worded. I explained my intentions in a reply thread later on. (In short, I want to convince people who are still fixated on numbers to join the Fediverse.)
TL; DR what?
@warzazel Boss people like numbers. Me try make numbers so boss people like Fediverse. 😸
no, hashtags are also screaming into the void but with categorisation (see one of my other replies)
LoL. There's a post that should have been a blog. I get bored with threaded posts and give up. Sorry
I’ve seen and I don’t follow you. Boosted by someone in my feed.
I've read your original thread and many of the replies (including some of the rude ones).
I'm sincerely curious about something, though, and if you've said I missed it. Is there a downside to using hashtags that I'm not seeing? Maybe not a hashtag soup, but just, say, "# opera" at the end?
@naga Other than it eating into the character limit, I can’t think of any real downside. However, if someone were to set up their own instance, they could adjust the character limit if they regularly need more space for text.
not boosting or quoting, but responding for the count
About the only time I use hashtags is for my Darkover writeups (I do not call them reviews):
* (hash) Darkover so people can find, subscribe - or block! them
* (hash) bookstodon so the Bookstodon bot catches and boosts them.
If the English of a post is littered with Blue Words, my eye will usually skip over it as I've come to expect such posts to be unusually self-important.
Frankly hashtags annoy me.
The idea is good. I can see using one or two.
But 99.9% of posts seem to use either 0 or 40. And at that point it’s just massive visual noise that adds nothing for me.
If they were out of band they’d be better.
I, selfishly, don’t have a lot of interest in making things better for people who want to just spam them on every post to try and get engagement.
This entry was edited (Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 5:44 PM)
@foobarsoft For posts about performances I usually add 'opera' and 'operaSinger' so people can filter me if they want the browser but not art. Then the work we’re performing, the composer, the city and if I have enough room the region. If I just blurt out a random though, I don’t tag them.
Like many others, not boosting or quoting, but commenting here to add to the count. I've now seen this boosted into my feed by two different folks I follow.
Your post was boosted into my feed by someone I follow. For what it's worth, I think the thing people trained on other social media struggle with about the Fedi is that it's not instant. A post on the Fedi doesn't "go viral" and blast through to everywhere in nothing flat. It burbles on for days, sometimes months, as gradually daisychains out from where it started. So they feel they've had no reach or no interaction, when really they just stopped counting too soon!
@virtuosew That’s a very good point! Sometimes, I get likes and boosts on posts that are years old. I guess theaters that want to publicise upcoming performances would have to post more in advance. The ability to edit posts has helped me a lot when there have been cast changes. I also quote my own posts when I want to add something to a performance I have already posted about.
@h5e not 100% sure... I feel you're onto something. But I'm not going to figure it out I think. All good here 🎉
@metalbrawler
It’s harder to abuse hashtags here, because if you spam hashtags people care about they will just block you without a second thought… but that makes the right hashtags super valuable because you can quickly engage with your specific community.
It’s harder to abuse hashtags here, because if you spam hashtags people care about they will just block you without a second thought… but that makes the right hashtags super valuable because you can quickly engage with your specific community.
2026-02-09 17:49:56
2026-02-09 15:39:47
2026-02-09 14:35:13
73507475
john lomax reshared this.
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to I am Jack's Found 404
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
preparing for their Olympics debut
and...
preparing for their Olympics debut
#WinterOlympics #WinterOlympics2026 #SpeedSkating #Sports #Olympics
This entry was edited (Monday, February 9, 2026, 2:38 PM)
reshared this
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) and john lomax reshared this.
i am concerned about what the toddler will do with that staircase when the tv is showing the luge competition
😅
A future Olympian!
I love the hands-behind-back!
2026-02-09 13:39:19
2026-02-09 13:39:19
2026-02-09 13:39:19
73499703
How is 'Joe Blogs' is EXPECTED to say blah blah blah announced on the BBC as #BreakingNews, he hasn't said anything yet?
2026-02-08 18:02:22
2026-02-08 18:02:22
2026-02-08 16:17:01
73342714
john lomax reshared this.
Every day it's becoming clearer and clearer:
Gorton & Denton is between the Green Party and Reform.
And the Greens have plans to lower bills, protect the NHS and rebuild our public services.
reshared this
Sadderp 🇮🇪 🇪🇺💚, Børge and john lomax reshared this.
2026-05-20 12:21:49
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2026-02-06 06:49:01
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john lomax reshared this.
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in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Jenica Lake เหล็ถเลถ
in reply to Jenica Lake เหล็ถเลถ
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Mim54
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Gepke
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in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Each Weaver aka Fred
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
Unknown parent
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in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
Unknown parent
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Sharp Leaves
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to Matt Hardy 3.11 for Workgroups
in reply to john lomax
in reply to Matt Hardy 3.11 for Workgroups
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ProjectFearlessness
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in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to GuidoIsekenmeier
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in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to HeatherMJ
did anyone want to hear a #Shakespeare speech castigating nativist cruelty against #immigration?
of course such a speech exists: bigoted malice against #immigrants is not new. the wicked have long yoked the ignorant and indecent for power
it refers to a real event: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_May…
it is called "The Strangers' Case" speech
from the play "Sir Thomas More"
here delivered by #IanMcKellen from memory
on "The Late Show With #StephenColbert"
#Shakespeare
#immigration
#Immigrants
#Gandalf
#stephencolbert
#IanMcKellen
#magneto
#fuckice
#ICEOUT
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 7:10 AM)
reshared this
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce), Franz Graf, Erik Wesselius, Linda Sgoluppi Artist, hypebot, Patrick Hadfield, Jim Jones, Flaki, Steve, trending_bot, GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺, Forest witch lady (La Donna), john lomax, Karl Voit, Liam Proven, bituur esztreym, Democrats Abroad, HighlandLawyer, Quixoticgeek, Beverley, iwein, Jens Finkhäuser and Debbie Goldsmith 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 reshared this.
My God. What a genius move, to have such a powerful performer bust out that monologue on the fly during an intervew. Hats off to the camera operators and director as well, who shot it so well. The in-house audience will probably remember that experience forever.
Thanks for sharing it!
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 11:27 PM)
reshared this
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) and Beverley reshared this.
my mom once had a dream that she was going door to door to ask for food with her young children in tow, turned away, back to the streets. She *almost* understood for just a moment what it would look like to be immigrants in an unkind land.
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
to my mother’s credit, she did teach herself Spanish after this experience. She may never question her religiousity or nationalism, but her belief in loving everyone like Jesus did is what prompted her decision to learn Spanish after that dream.
@MamaLake your mom has a heart
historical note:
this play had many authors, constantly revised
historians believe for this speech lines such as
"For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes
Would feed on one another."
and
"but chartered unto them?
What would you think To be thus used?
This is the stranger's case,
And this your mountanish inhumanity"
are directly attributable to Shakespeare's hand
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 7:53 AM)
reshared this
Patrick Hadfield, Forest witch lady (La Donna) and Beverley reshared this.
how nothing ever changes and bigotry remains the same banal evil it always was. Such a good reminder that we could all be the unwanted‘immigrant’ given the right circumstances
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
@mim54 There have been countless evil people throughout time who know the power of scapegoating in order to elevate themselves and exploit their followers. You'd think the ones who call themselves Christians would remember their savior's plight.
I'm speechless...he, those words twists the heart....
Too bad Sir Thomas More was executed by Henry the VIII...The current world emperor would likely do the same
I really like such historical perspectives. I also like the part of Plato's Laws where he says that the rich shouldn't have more than 4 times what the poor have otherwise social unrest will follow. He said it more than 2000 years ago.
Reminds us that progress is not inevitable, but is a constant struggle. In some ways, we actually regressed compared to some previous civilizations
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
Ian McKellen, national fucking treasure
men book reading with that voice $
The full interview with Sir Ian is here on YouTube, in proper landscape format.
(Prior to delivering the soliloquy, he goes on a tangent involving the tune "Some Enchanted Evening" by Rodgers & Hammerstein, which is also well worth watching.)
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
I watched in awe. Actors who make me believe I understand Shakespeare are amazing. Ian McKellen is a treasure.
apparently he knows it so well because he performed this in 1983 for bbc radio
i can't find a recording though, it's all locked up behind various access and rights nonsense
how wonderful to have a new recording then! =)
@geppiegep
There's also this one that is more recent.
youtube.com/watch?v=DceEunnTA3…
#IanMcKellen #ThomasMore #Shakespeare
- YouTube
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.youtube.com
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
There's number of examples of Ian pulling out this speech since then, yours is a good example
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 9:53 AM)
@geppiegep This is why I still teach Shakespeare to my students, even though one complained at first that he was a "dead white guy from a long, long time ago," and why I make certain we watch a performance and not just read it.
thank you fot sharing this !
Mate, saw this and loved it. Such quality and in this seemingly most forgetful age, we would do well to listen more, to longer form and read in greater depth. THAT’S how we become better people. Simple understanding and balance, over quick and heady choices
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
Nothing in humankind is ever new, the mechanisms universal…
And a most excellent lecture and presentation by Ian McKellen!
Simply marvelous.
400 years ago.
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:02 AM)
doesn’t the app have a message box ??? I don’t get it. 🧐🧐🧐🤔🤔🤔🤔
@freddex i don't understand. What app. What don't you get
You can't take your eyes off him, and almost forget to breathe.
@freddex but why are you replying to my post
But yes there is a box for you to write then post a message
Go to your profile and click the pen icon
You can also view your timeline there
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:29 AM)
this is also a great reminder of why conservatives hate history and art, history to teach us this evil of hatred of others has always existed, and art to stir in our soul that it can and should be overcome. Great share, Ian McKellen is an amazing man
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) reshared this.
400 years ... and it's always the same ...
Great Great Ian McKellen.
Beautifull and simple message.
Great Great Ian McKellen.
Beautifull and simple message.
Stunningly good performance by Ian McKellen.
Sensitive content
Hear Hear!
i found it on reddit
but that reddit account, the account you mention, all such accounts, including mine, deserve no credit
the credit belongs to "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert"
Thanks for your reply, that's more than reasonable. I'll remove my comment, and that being the case, thank you for sharing such a treasure with everyone here (and wading into such a tedious cesspool as reddit to do it.)
no problem!
This entry was edited (Friday, February 6, 2026, 1:24 PM)
Brilliantly done
I'm still trying to figure out how the woke mind virus travelled back in time?
@jayflo there were rumour about a chap in the Middle East 2000 years ago but not sure what came of it.
Ahh, yes, I have heard mention of him!
like this
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) and Matt Hardy 3.11 for Workgroups like this.
Americans are marvelling how a speech about welcoming immigrants could be written so long ago, in the 1500's.
Honestly, in the Old World, this is nothing. We have stories like these from thousands of years ago. They were all written down in a thing called The Bible. You kids should read it.
Honestly, in the Old World, this is nothing. We have stories like these from thousands of years ago. They were all written down in a thing called The Bible. You kids should read it.
@ProjectFearlessness Hadn't thought of that. Even the Old Testament God was somewhat pro immigration, providing immigrants were prepared to integrate.
@ProjectFearlessness @JustinMac84
Leviticus 19:34 "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt"
Leviticus 19:34 "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt"
Beverley reshared this.
@HighlandLawyer @ProjectFearlessness There's another bit somewhere else about aliens if they're prepared to learn your ways, something like that.
Perhaps the bible thumpers are just that and never READ all the bible
like this
ProjectFearlessness and Boooh Izumi 🫀🕸️🎃🦇 like this.
Truly, there is nothing new under the sun...!
Weirdly Jesus talked about this also, and he actually endorsed mercy and kindness instead of violence and thievery en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_…
not exactly an expert on this, but the argument Shakespeare (enlisted as an expert in getting mob scenes past censorship) puts into a fictionalised More's mouth seems basically to be that it is really only bad to attack the 'strangers' because the king has granted them hospitality. Thus to attack them is to run against the king's word, who was ordained by God. So the speech basically argues in favour of obedience to a ruler perceived to be the natural leader of his subjects...
So not at all sure if we would want to subscribe to this... The sentiment yes, the logic no...
that's only half of it
ian breaks it down before he begins the speech:
more appeals to 1. law,
then appeals to 2. humanity
yes, the appeal to law is dumb, you are correct
but the appeal to humanity is still in the speech
and that's what matters here, and what people are celebrating
This entry was edited (Saturday, February 7, 2026, 4:03 PM)
What a great actor to deliver a speech like this from memory
This should be played in Parliament to every MP, particularly anyone involved in the Home Office
I think that this should be played, daily, to the invisible MP in Clacton (and the rest of his ilk)!
like this
⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) and HeatherMJ like this.
2026-02-01 18:59:16
2026-02-01 18:59:15
2026-02-01 18:59:15
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Ashwin Dixit
in reply to Erik Uden 🚩 • • •I'll smash out of prison if needed, and set all others free.
Kataphract
in reply to Erik Uden 🚩 • • •Khleedril
in reply to Erik Uden 🚩 • • •