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If I shared a nude photo of myself, for example, I could add a notice that reads “naked pale white man”: anyone who wants to, for some strange reason, still view the photo can click, while everyone else would be spared. It is certainly a useful function in the case of nudity, but it is also used on Mastodon for any content that could potentially elicit a strong reactionsuch as those related to mental health issues or family trauma.
Compared to the beginnings, the system has evolved, and today it has become a way to post about things that most people don’t care to read, without submitting them to all of your followers. This way, if a person who doesn’t usually write about politics decides one day to do so, she could insert a notice that anticipates the nature of the post to users. It will then be up to the people who come across it to decide whether to read it or not.
For many people, Mastodon became a hospitable place in the late 1910s, which was particularly difficult for many marginalized communities. The purpose of the platform is just to be a place where you can feel at ease, and not the argumentative hell that other social media has turned into. The content reporting tool helps ensure that it stays that way, then try to respect it. See how people use it and try to do the same.
One more thing: if you upload imagesbe sure to to add a Description. This will help blind people get an idea of the content, and is generally considered good practice.
Handling trolls
While the Fediverse isn’t free from harassment, they also exist tools to fight them. The first thing to know is that there are entire servers dedicated specifically to trolling and harassing people on other servers. Most of these are blocked by the more popular instances, so if you use one of these servers there is no risk of running into them. But if it happens to you, you can block and report the user in question to the moderators of your server, who usually respond quickly. Keep in mind that a single user can block even entire servers.
Move away from the dictatorship of engagement
The Internet shouldn’t have become what it is now, which is a service we use to access a handful of social networks. The web was once a relatively decentralized place, where people with different interests congregated on different sites. I’m not saying it was better – we know what a mess the old internet was – but at least it was authentic.
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