A poll: how do you feel about the general idea of starter packs (or some equivalent) on fedi?

Barktic Fox :therian:

@thenexusofprivacy I don’t think any kind of direct message from the creator would be needed. It could just be an extension of the existing follow notifications (or follow requests, if packs are opt-in). I’m always leery of having automated systems commingled with normal human channels of behavior, so an auto-composed post or DM just feels icky to me.

Something else to continue on from my other reply to this conversation that I just thought of: if someone has manual follow request approvals enabled, that should probably be used as a signal that the person doesn’t want to be included in a starter pack.

The Nexus of Privacy

@alahmnat it’s a great point, I hadn’t thought of extending the follow notification- thanks!

Newsmast Foundation

@Soments21 CC: @thenexusofprivacy

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Julian Fietkau

@mastodonmigration @thenexusofprivacy This question makes me ponder the differences between starter packs and opt-in lists (e.g. Academics on Mastodon) again. On https://directory.hci.social I have a bit under 200 people, and it allows for follow CSV import. Maybe if the goal is to network an academic field, that's a use case for longer lists? I certainly wouldn't want to exclude anyone, and have always given the advice (especially to newcomers) to follow liberally and prune when needed.

The Nexus of Privacy

It's a great point. For an academic disciplinelimiting the list size is going to be exclusionary -- and apmplify rich-get-richer dynamics (because a shorter list will include the best-known people) and in most cases diversity issues.

And I don't think this is particularly unique to academic disciplines, I see the same dynamics in other scenarios as well. But I also see @mastodonmigration's points, it really is a quandry!

@julian

mav :happy_blob:

@thenexusofprivacy
I genuinely don't get the mass appeal of starter packs, why do I want to follow 200 people at once? No. Never.

I'm pretty disappointed with their implementation on bsky, being able to use a list as a "starter pack" would be a lot more productive IMO. We already have lists and they're much more productive.

The Nexus of Privacy

@mav I don’t ever do a follow-all but I find them very useful. Oh look, here’s 30 experts in decolonization. Here’s 45 critical AI theorists. Etc. it’s true that it’s not that different from a public list, and the spreadsheets for academics (etc) play a similar role with a very low-tech UI for those who know about them, but I do think it’s a useful concept

The Nexus of Privacy

@mav also specifically in the Bluesky context people are trying to recover/expand their Twitter networks, and folllow all can make sense for that if it’s a pack from somebody you trust

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy Since the software does not know what's a personal account and what's an organizational account, this could be an option in the user account with multiple states:

1. Never allow
2. Always allow
3. Require confirmation

You should also be able to remove yourself later if you're getting overwhelmed with interactions.

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy There should also be a list in your settings to opt in/out later

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy As a server admin, I can define a list of follow recommendations - this is already a type of starter pack, but with any possibility to opt-out for the accounts listed.

This is of course only a possibility for niche servers.

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy @mastodonmigration @julian Maybe there could be 2 categories of starter packs: A "Starter" pack with a short list of accounts and a "Directory" that aims for a long list.

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy @alahmnat That's a great idea - make the starter pack a fedi account

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy @graue I'm against using the nobot hashtag. I have this one in my profile because I want to be able to pick my particular bots. I'd be fine with being added to a starter pack.

GunChleoc

@thenexusofprivacy @mav I think the onboarding issue here is discoverability of the directories themselves. If you've been here for a while, you know where the directories are, but newcomers will benefit from something that gets presented to them by the software itself and that they won't have to go looking for - especially if they're not tech nerds or academics.