What do we think about [tags.pub](http://tags.pub), the fedi node that appears to create a bot to retoot any hashtag that gets an appreciable number of boosts? It's created a bunch of bots off the back of some of my more popular hashtag abuses.
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@Unixbigot Hi! I'm the main developer of tags.pub. I'm also one of the authors of ActivityPub. I work for the Social Web Foundation, a non-profit created to help make the Fediverse better for everyone. So, no scam.
I think tags.pub is great! The whole point is to make it easier for people to connect to topics they care about here on the Fediverse. I've really enjoyed using it for popular Fediverse-wide tags like #monsterdon or #HashTagGames.
@evan I get it now, i didn’t realize following a tag only gets one the toots that would already have visited your node. Can’t edit the poll post to add a resolution but have boosted a bunch of positive replies. <3
@Unixbigot A healthy skepticism is what keeps the Fediverse fun and free.
@Unixbigot
I'll allow for "Well intentioned, but poorly thought out", because it is plausible that it is running out of some teenager's bedroom.
Sadly, the cynic in me is waiting for the scam to drop.
@rdm @Unixbigot It is not! It's run by the Social Web Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to making the Fediverse better for everyone.
I'm the main author, Evan Prodromou. I'm best known as one of the co-authors of ActivityPub.
The only scam is tricking you into finding more people and topics you enjoy on the Fediverse.
@evan @rdm Thanks, Evan. So pleasantly surprised to encounter another not-evil bot fab. Perhaps some human guidance to dissuade it from creating bot instances for one-off hashtags? I add a unique hashtag to my microfiction toots of the form Title_More_Words_Here and my OP was prompted by noticing that the bot factory had pushed out a bot that will never see another toot with that tag. <3
@Unixbigot @rdm so, the good news is that the resource overhead for a single tagbot is extremely low. We expect that most tags will never be re-used. In the 3 months since we went online, we've seen 330K unique hashtags, and only about 112K have been used twice or more.
