Just an occasional reminder that disabling replies is the #1 requested feature from Mastodon.

@renchap @stefan I am grateful for everyone pouring their thoughts and energy into making AP/Mastodon the best it can be in a complex world with complex social and societal environments where every change has multiple and sometimes opposing effects. I am looking forward to experiencing the continued evolution of Mastodon!

@julian @stefan A reply isn't really pushed into the fediverse exactly, it's just delivered to the followers of the person replying. And most of those will ignore it unless they also follow the OP.

If it's not okay for you from a trust and safety perspective, you can always just not do it and leave the feature only for those for whom its fine or preferable.

@shironeko Ignoring them still keeps them visible to others though.

I mean look, not much more here to add, we're discussing the top most upvoted feature request. I think we can trust that people need this.

@mina Yes, exactly.

But even with the best moderation in the world, having to wait for someone to come to your rescue while the abuse piles on, I can imagine that being off-putting enough.

Have you come across this explanation of the "Sucker-punch Problem"? It's illustrating a bit different point, but I think also explains really well why people having tools to defend themselves is important.

https://lgbtqia.space/@alice/115499829288185416

@amberage @Edent @julian

@nini Yes, this is a common argument against reply controls, but I honestly don't get the issue. If this is how some people want to use social media, so be it. I don't feel the need to reply to everything I read online. If I see something that bothers me, I can always report it.

Plus, maybe some people don't want replies, but will allow quote-boosting? Maybe that works better for some, this is really more about giving people the freedom to decide.

@renwillis Well, if you think of Mastodon as a "micro blog", and blogs can have their comments disabled, or approved individually, or only allowed for people with privileges, it does kind of make sense?

@manankanchu I think it's a good comparison. Just like I don't owe anyone space on my blog, I also don't owe anyone my time or my audience in my replies here. Or if I print my own newspaper, I don't have to publish every letter to the editor that I receive.

"requiring hundreds of thousand to take action"

As opposed to hundreds of thousands posting the same condescending responses?

You see something that's breaking your server's rules, you report it and move on. You see something you don't like or agree with? You can just move on. Not everything posted online requires a response.

I think this just comes down to people wanting to set their boundaries, and we should all learn to respect that.

@stefan Choice is not bad, just seems a very blunt instrument.

@nini I hear you, but I have seen far too many people leave because of issues that would've been solved if they had more control over their replies.

And then they tell their friends and those will never give the fediverse a fair chance.

I think people are willing to put up with a lot. Bluesky doesn't let you edit your posts. There is a lower character limit. Translation features are just a link to Google Translate.

But people feel safe there.

I don't even care about the fediverse "growing". I just want people who are already here to feel safe and welcome.

@stefan My objection isn't towards implementing it's a big issue for those who want it and people have their reasons for having the option to control who can interact with their toots besides harassment like just not wanting a reply to a recent toot they made or limiting it to their mutuals. I just feel like it could work in tandem with stronger moderation as read-only toots make me feel despondent, like people don't feel safe but it is just one tool after all.

@stefan

I would love that.

Also, Mastodon is (somewhat) behind the times on this one. GoToSocial already has similar settings, and one might even argue that they're more powerful than simply turning replies on or off from the compose box, depending on what "powerful" is supposed to mean. I actually don't really care, though; there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to have this, and the "toggle switch" at the same time; it's not like they're mutually exclusive (or should be).

I'd rather have both.

@nini Oh absolutely, I think we need both tools for "self-defense", and better tools for moderators as well.

Have you seen the latest Mastodon roadmap by any chance?

https://joinmastodon.org/roadmap

> Moderation tools
> Looking at ways to make moderation easier, e.g. shared block lists.

Sounds promising!