@futurebird @meganmariehart
I'm on social media to watch other people socialize .

But as a general lurker, I like to use likes as a "keep it up!/hell yeah", and boosts are basically the same with an added element of "I hope more people see this too"

@mirabilos @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart Does it mean that if I post something without a hashtag, let's say in English it won't have a huge difference than if I post it with the hashtag? Or if I post with hashtag people who follow it will find it so there will be more engagement with the post? If hashtags are only like filters here, it means that this is the same like in Telegram where they are used to categorize posts in a channel and it doesn't make huge sense in using them then.

@meganmariehart

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.

@warzazel Boss people like numbers. Me try make numbers so boss people like Fediverse.

@meganmariehart

I could be mistaken, but I see Fediverse interaction as more organic/direct. A post without hashtags is a cross between screaming into the void (low follower count) and addressing an audience (high follower count) with your content ultimately being spread by word of mouth (Boosts). Adding a hashtag would be the equivalent of posting on a bulletin board or presenting to a special interest group. Those who want to know will be able to find your post easier.

I don't think it's advertisements that are disliked but the unscrupulous use of tracking data and the bombardment of information which we neither asked for nor want. The latter is the primary use-case for "influencers" in my experience.

@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.

@Sevapopov @mirabilos @ketmorco @meganmariehart If you post something with the hashtag #science it is always boosted by the science bot. same with #news and a few others. If you search for a hashtag, you will find a whole lot of posts and people. If you follow one, posts featuring it will land in your feed. I gues what they are saying is that it won't be absolutely everything, but it is still a good tool.

@mirabilos @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart Does it mean that if I post something without a hashtag, let's say in English it won't have a huge difference than if I post it with the hashtag? Or if I post with hashtag people who follow it will find it so there will be more engagement with the post? If hashtags are only like filters here, it means that this is the same like in Telegram where they are used to categorize posts in a channel and it doesn't make huge sense in using them then.

@meganmariehart @sonjaschuh01 that tool cannot give a complete answer because it cannot see everyone’s follower lists (they can be set to be not shown to others)

@futurebird @meganmariehart cat!

@futurebird @meganmariehart 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...

@meganmariehart @warzazel the problem is that they will still need to drop that reliance on numbers very fast after joining, and learn to interact (both on own and others’ posts) quick. Not sure if that causes more disappointment then.

If it’s not the bosses who do the Fediversing though it can help. Bosses see numbers and give okay, and people actually trained to DTRT do the actual communication.

@meganmariehart @wulfric no, hashtags are also screaming into the void but with categorisation (see one of my other replies)

@Sevapopov @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart only if the bot (or someone on its instance) follows you, otherwise it cannot even know of the existence of the post. (See other reply, I need to zzz again, too much allergy for longer discussion)

@foobarsoft @meganmariehart that is very sensible.

I have others whom I follow who, frankly, do hashtag abuse. And inline is bad for screenreaders (and even sighted people).

@Sevapopov @ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart only if the bot (or someone on its instance) follows you, otherwise it cannot even know of the existence of the post. (See other reply, I need to zzz again, too much allergy for longer discussion)

@ketmorco @farbel @meganmariehart @Sevapopov hashtags do not broadcast anything though, they serve as a selection filter of your instance’s global feed.

Meaning, someone on your instance has to follow the poster or someone who boosted the post, otherwise your instance will not know it and has no (literally no) way to find it in a search.

Instances tend to also load thread context, and public posts when you click on a profile. So, by joining in on discussions under posts (both your own and others’) you begin to build the reach that is necessary for the hashtags to even begin to work. (They also don’t always work for unlisted posts.)

So, hashtags are much less important on the Fediverse than elsewhere, due to the lack of a central registry.

@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.

@meganmariehart @metalbrawler

@iwein @GeePawHill @meganmariehart @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.

@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.