Discussion · bonfire.cafe

RE: https://jaz.co.uk/2026/05/12/there-are-a-million-fediverses-some-of-them-are-louder-than-others/

Once again, Jaz lays out a fantastic vision for Fediverse design. Chronological feeds are better than rage-bait algorithms, but they give give loudmouths too much real estate.

- Design for people, not protocols
-Community, not one person’s stream of consciousness
- Community notes (from trusted sources) on divisive issues

Read his posts and support his work!

https://about.iftas.org/donate/

It’s time for #Fedidev’s to figure out how to get this done.

#fedidev

nathan@ublog.hurel.me

@nathan@ublog.hurel.me · 3 hours ago

@benpate@mastodon.social 💯
Algorithm isn't a bad word when it designed for people and not against them.
Chronological feeds are just a consequence of the protocol. The end user deserves a better experience.

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social · 3 hours ago

@nathan

Agreed, which is why I said "rage-bait algorithms" as a shorthand for what you get on Twitter, Facebook, and the rest.

But we should recognize that just the word "algorithm" is quickly getting co-opted by popular culture (similar to what happened to brand names like Kleenex, Xerox, and others) to mean "dirty rage-baiting, extremist-generating, privacy-ignoring Internet-surveillance code that controls what I see and who I hate."

Kevin Ashworth

@kevinashworth@mastodon.social · 57 minutes ago

@benpate @nathan
I don’t like the rage-bait algorithms but sometimes they serve up trending hilarious things. I hope we can get an opt-in version of that on Mastodon.

Also, I temporarily mute accounts that quantity-post and I wish there were a better way.

Ben Pate 🤘🏻

@benpate@mastodon.social · 50 minutes ago

@kevinashworth @nathan

Yes, sometimes they do make for great entertainment.

"Rage bait" is just a placeholder for a wide range of issues. More and more, I'm concerned about how we turn over so much individual autonomy to algorithms.

It's the difference between getting help from a computer (setting your own mutes) vs. turning over your life to one like the far-future people in Wall-e.

(And yes: I know Wall-e is ironically a movie by the for-profit Disney corporation)