Mastodon Rolls Out Quote Posts With Protections To Prevent ‘dunking’

Mastodon, an unfastened source, decentralized replacement to X, is rolling retired a somewhat arguable characteristic by adding quote posts, which will motorboat adjacent week. The feature, which allows a personification to quote personification else’s station and re-share it pinch their ain consequence aliases commentary, has contributed to a civilization of “dunking” connected X, wherever users often deride different group by responding pinch snark aliases insulting humor.

To reside this concern, Mastodon says it’s implementing quote posts pinch information controls.

These protections are designed to let quote posts to beryllium utilized responsibly, to “expand discussions, make caller connections, and amplify underrepresented voices,” nan level states.

Image Credits:Mastodon

Mastodon gives users respective ways to power really their posts tin beryllium quoted. For starters, nan level lets users determine who tin quote them done a mounting wherever you tin alteration your defaults. Here, you tin group nan permissions for who tin quote you by choosing betwixt “Anyone,” “Followers only,” aliases “Just me.” Additionally, you tin power nan visibility of quote posts by mounting them to beryllium visible to nan public, to followers only, aliases a mounting called “quiet public,” which makes nan quotes nationalist but removes them from Mastodon’s search, trends, and nationalist timeline.

Users will besides beryllium capable to override their default settings connected a post-by-post basis, if request be, by navigating to nan “Visibility and relationship settings” wrong nan composer screen. This would beryllium useful if you cognize you’re astir to opportunity thing arguable aliases thing that could pull unwanted attraction from those pinch opposing views, for instance.

Image Credits:Mastodon

Plus, users will person power of their posts moreover aft they’re quoted, nan Mastodon blog station astir nan caller characteristic explains.

When personification quotes a post, nan personification being quoted is notified successful nan app, and they tin take to region their original station from nan different person’s quote post. This is accessible done nan Options paper (the 3 dots icon). From this location, users tin alteration nan quote settings to reside immoderate early quoting of their station going forward. They tin besides artifact users to forestall them from seeing and quoting their posts successful nan future.

Support for quote posts will first get complete nan week up to nan larger Mastodon servers astatine mastodon.online and mastodon.social. It will past go disposable successful Mastodon’s 4.5 package update.

To quote a post, you’ll find nan caller action nether Mastodon’s Boost (similar to X’s repost/retweet feature). Because nan fediverse, aliases unfastened societal web, is simply a web of servers moving different software, quote posts whitethorn not instantly look everywhere, and immoderate platforms whitethorn not update to usage the method specification enabling quote station support correct away.