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This post by @DePemig was eye openning for me: "Mutuals are not friends".
https://blog.gillesdutilh.com/2026/05/mutuals-are-not-friends/
I had naively assumed that if two accounts followed each others they were obviously "friends". This isn't true! Friendica and Facebook have a Friends layer *above* mutual following. This provides more #UX options allowing you greater filtering and interaction options.
@scottjenson Thanks for sharing, Scott!
What do you think? Should #mastodon implement friends-like connections too?
I personally tend to think this should be left to other platforms. Mastodon is good at offering a place where you can #toot.
Other platforms may offer other "roles" for people to play; friends, or colleagues, or connection types we haven't thought of enabling yet.
By choosing a set of roles, a platform sets the boundaries for a particular culture to develop. The UX should facilitate that culture, in terms of functionality and vibe.
@DePemig At this point I would like to continue what you started in your post and talk about what the benefits of of mutuals are versus the benefits of friends I don't think these are fully articulated and so once we know kind of what you get with these it helps motivate the discussion so I'm not going to answer your question but say we should talk more :-)
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