Ben Parzybok @sparkwatson@mastodon.cloud

How Mastodon’s distributed moderation system works, and why it works well. https://escapingtech.com/tech/opinions/i-was-wrong-about-mastodon-moderation.html

A small piece of business! My collection White Cat, Black Dog comes out from Random House on March 28, 2023. Pre-order from Book Moon & get a signed chapbook of one of the stories. (Cover art by Shaun Tan.) Link below to details & order info:

https://www.bookmoonbooks.com/the-moon-the-moon-or-about-us/white-cat-black-dog-preorders

Feeling a little lost still as new Mastodon user? As a recent Twitter convert, so did I. This in-depth introduction, however, really helped me make sense of all. https://techpolicy.press/how-to-open-an-outpost-in-social-media-exile/ #twittermigration.

I like Cory Doctorow's @doctorow analysis of how social media giants fall.

In short: in the process of *enshittification* (get on it, New Palgrave), network externalities allow the platforms to capture almost all of the surplus and sell it to advertisers etc, leaving users nearly indifferent about leaving the platform.

When a shock hits the system, the switching cascade can be rapid because no one has a good reason to stay around anyway.

https://doctorow.medium.com/social-quitting-1ce85b67b456

"If something is free, that just means you're the product", I say, squinting mistrustfully at the Sun

Understanding #Mastodon gets easier once you get the basic idea that federation between servers can be understood as homeomorphisms across hyperplanes between the Riemannian manifolds of toots, whereas the servers represent countable finite sets of discrete entities.

Some of the cool #SF #Writers that have come onto #Mastodon -- @GreatDismal @scalzi @gregeganSF @neilhimself @cstross @ann_leckie @rudytheelder @annaleen @charliejane

"Humans can not be sat on," the princess read from the tablet.
She gave the dragon a look, returned the tablet to the hoard, and picked up another.
"Being old doesn't equal being wise," she read. "What are these?"
"Lessons I've learned."
"It's a large hoard."
"I'm proud of it."
#MicroFiction #SmallStories #TootFic