Chris Trottier on Nostr: But you know what’s especially harmful with this whole notion that “Mastodon has ...

But you know what’s especially harmful with this whole notion that “Mastodon has no algorithms”?

The follow-up statement that everything you see in your feeds is “your choice” because there’s no algorithms.

No, it’s only your choice if you can choose what people are going to say. Which is a completely absurd notion. And it’s tantamount to victim-blaming when something objectionable appears in their feed.

If that were true in any sense, there would be no spam on the Fediverse, no harassment, no blocklists needed.

But even as a server admin with maximum power over what I see on a daily basis, I still can’t control my feed.

This idea that “Mastodon” gives you power to see everything in your feed because it “has no algorithm”—absolutely bullshit of the highest order.

And if you think I’m pissed because people actually lecture me with these exact talking points—I am.

It’s crazy how “no algorithm” places an unbearable burden on victims of abuse, implying that anything they see in their feed is their fault because they “chose” it.