Old Mastodon hands: we have a lot of new folks coming in. They're going to have questions. Be patient and explain things if you can. Try to remember what it felt like when you came here for the first time. Be welcoming.
New Mastodon users: you're joining a community that's been evolving its own culture for several years and has developed its own ways of doing things for valid reasons. Be patient and try to understand how things work. Pitch in & contribute where you can. We're glad you're here.
meta
@larand I've certainly been trying, but I'm rapidly running out of energy and patience, and I don't think I'm the only one either...
Unfortunately many of the newcomers (including those who should know better) don't seem willing to do the work of "lurking quietly for a while to get a sense of how things work before claiming that things should change" that I did when I joined here (as did many others, of course).
Like, I'm happy for new folks to find a place here, but not if it threatens the safety of existing communities :/
meta
@larand What I'm most concerned about are macro-level changes, honestly. There's been a ton of new folks pushing the idea that "defederating is bad", and likewise trying to wear down the moderation policies on existing instances. Both are threats to federation as a defense mechanism :/
meta
@joepie91 Even there, it's ultimately up to instance admins. If people want to federate with everyone, even the baddies, we can choose not to federate with *them*. And nobody can force an admin to federate or not federate.
What we may end up with are different spheres of the Fediverse, and I would argue that that is entirely within the intent of federation to begin with. One's fediverse can be as small or as large as one wants.
meta
@joepie91 I get it. It wears you down. But I'm seeing some of the new folks start to catch on, and I'm hopeful. These things have a shelf life, and eventually it will calm down a bit.
We do need to be prepared for the further change that's coming. I think ultimately it will be positive, and if nothing else, we have the tools to determine who we federate with and who we don't, which is one of our great strengths.