Yeah, it helps us making sense of many things, doesn't it. Certainly as regards the current genAI cultural tectonic shift.

I've also used the "I and Thou" idea to make sense of Mastodon! See, eg, here:

https://mastodonapp.uk/@the_roamer/114646867916663363

Or here:

https://mastodonapp.uk/@the_roamer/114439824273622643

Re-reading these old posts of mine I realise how much I love the Fedi, and I remember the absolute liberation I felt when I arrived at these shores in November 2022. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing. Good things can and do happen.

#Buber#IAndThou#MastodonCulture

On hashtags.

They make the Fedi what it is. They are respectful and anarchic.

A post on US politics? My friends who can't process this any more: they can filter it out if I flag it with a hashtag.

I write about an obscure poet? Those who are curious but unaware : they will find my post if I flag it right.

A long-standing line of posts on my dog? I give it a unique hashtag and others can follow up, if they so wish.

Most importantly: we don't sell. We don't maximise finds. Let the world find your post when the world is ready for it. Never make an exhaustive list of hashtags that cover all aspects. 2-4, maximum 6.

Your post with its hashtags is a letter in a bottle, floating in the ocean.

It need not be found. Randomness is good.

Make your hashtags partial. Make them obscure.

The Lady Joan Mastodon once told me: Roamer, use hashtags, they are what will make us win. But use them wisely. Confuse the Great Algo. Trust in chance.

#hashtags #MastodonCulture #JoanMastodon

100% agree. It is sad to see the disappearance of one of the foundational Mastodon conventions.

Not having a #QuoteToot facility means that we always speak _to_the other, we don't speak _about_ them to others. "I and Thou", not "I and They". When I arrived here in November 2022, it was these kind of conventions that immediately made me feel at home. Sad to see it go.

I will try to adopt your policy of calm avoidance, without getting too upset about it.

#noQT#IAndThou#MastodonCulture