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As a kid I was often on super hostile message boards so the random shit talking isn't anything new, but the "terminal poster with a following" aspect certainly is, along with having no "local to the group" mods.

you don't need software for void-howling 🥲

Well, on bluesky you can't force someone to unfollow you, so... I guess people with thousands of followers have to delete their accounts and start over (losing post history and evidence that they didn't just join) or accept that they can't have conversations?

This is a pet peeve of mine. Don’t want responses but just a place to vent or share then get a diary. Or a blog. You’re on a social media site designed around INTERACTION. By posting your inviting response. Don’t be a dick when you get one.

Thank you! I am here because I want to be social. I have no desire to be the town crier, who shows up, yells a few things, then moves on. Let's talk. Let's engage. Heck, maybe we will even like each other or at least find each other interesting.

Isn’t that kinda the point of it all?

"Didn't ask" lol

I love interacting with people on social media. Otherwise, it's just like driving down a road with a billboard every five feet.

I am all for actual engagement. It’s the “Hi Beautiful, let’s talk” shit that is weird to me. Uh, I’m railing about inflation, sir.

This is so real, and it's a huge part of why I respond so rarely these days. I used to be a prolific social media poster and commenter (back on The Old Place), and I got tired of people acting like I was trespassing by interacting with their posts. Now I'm more selective.

I love when people want to have a fun and normal conversation, but so may replies are people just sort of repeating jokes but worse or hollering their own content that’s tangentially related at best

You just reminded me of a guy who went ballistic on me back in my Twitter days because I retweeted something he'd posted.

maybe this is just an evolution where "social media" becomes doomscroll only, and the interactions are returning to the small, closed chatrooms like on discord? (i would understand but hate it, i can't seem to click with discord at all)

This site having a threaded reply view makes it so much nicer to use.

I’m very, very old and still kind of want social media that feels like the discussion boards of ancient times.

My poasts are mostly shower thoughts that arent relevant to any of my homies irl (burned out on disc postcovid). If someone engages thats dope, but ill only respond if its smth that reengages me too

Previously I couldn't engage because of my job (won't say more). Just 1 data point for you

There being big accounts like yours who are interested in replying to and sometimes reskeeting replies from the 🧐Hoi Polloi🎩 is also a very good way for folks to see and find new smaller accounts they might want to follow. And then our number go up and we enjoy dopamine lol

Omg I like this place too for that

Some people actually complain if you don’t say something they like! It’s public, it’s intended to be symmetrical, and if you don’t want to hear others’ opinions don’t post it.

Nowadays I'm a lot better at just letting conversations happen *without* me but some of my best days are cause of good engagement on social media. Where I learn something, or am corrected, or just have a nice chat. It's wonderful!

Hypothesis: A lot of people come to social media to follow celebrity accounts, and those celebrities *can’t* meaningfully engage with replies—if the celebrities are even the ones posting (and not their staff). So that’s what “social media” means to them.

The advantage of being a small, but not suspiciously small, account is that conversations are still possible. It’s really nice.

There are dozens of us, Faine! Dozens!

It made your Klout score go up?

🎶 i’m bluesky famous (the worst kind of famous) the kind of famous no one gives a shit about the kind of fame that gets you laughed at in public and no sane person could care less about your clout 🎶

Probably the same people who downvote me on Reddit when I ask a simple question. I am here to ask for help, in case someone in the subreddit for this niche special interest has a genuine answer! Posting is not "clout chasing" or "karma farming", FFS.

People dont wanna be cringe, I am told.

I suspect a lot of folks that have pulled back from directly engaging with strangers on social media have done so because of the increasingly hostile engagement patterns encouraged by other social media sites. Not to say that there aren't still assholes here, just that the format doesn't foster it.

feels like people are more in their feelings and society has become even more self-centred so people reply on the basis of what they want to say not what they want you personally to hear because who cares about you there is no you really. although I've also been getting this off men irl for 30 years

Here I will note again that annoying as Bluesky can be, I feel confident when I say that this website has got to have the highest level of literacy and thoughtful engagement of any decent-sized social media network on the Internet as of this writing. Which is also scary to think about.

It seems to me there's a much more pernicious pattern: bean soup comments. The thing about bean soup comments is that it's a response as if the thing being responded to was said directly and personally to the respondent, and not posted for a nonspecific audience.

I do find myself talking less with strangers here because, like you say, so many responses are just illiterate — weirdly phrased reiterations of what I just said or unnecessarily hostile in tone. It doesn’t feel “social,” it just feels like bots. Like we automated the “Debate Me” bros 😬

Yup. It was one of *those* Bluesky days yesterday. bsky.app/profile/mole...

i call that "furbying" and i would like this to catch on

Guilty. Sorry.

Sometimes I wonder if this is the result of the Whole Language Learning pedagogical fad (well covered in the "Sold a Story" podcast), since we really have a generation of kids who were never taught how to read properly, and now they're grown up and are truly not 100% literate

I have had work conversations in this fashion. if I could remember the complete buzzwords list I would be unstoppable

I’d noticed that exact same seems-to-scan-for-key-words thing way back in the 1990s, on Usenet. No idea whether it seems more prevalent now because a greater proportion of people are doing it, or because there are just many more people online, or if it’s something in the design of the networks.

I think Bluesky is where a lot of these people end up

So I guess I'm kind of the opposite of what you're seeing, becoming more active after a couple of decades online. I definitely attribute that to the environment here being welcoming and smart. I like being smart and the feedback loop here is real.

1. I read pretty batshit insane quickly which helps a lot (I actually do log out of Bluesky all the time) and 2. Thanks to Trump 2.0 destroying multiple industries I used to work in at once, I don’t have a job. Though I was using Bluesky the same amount far as I can tell when I did have one.

You and me both, but I think we're a lot more chill than we used to be. Maybe that's getting old, maybe it's maturity?

It's probably a good thing. Nobody should be as online as I am.

It's because you're a true Poaster Faine.

I feel like Bluesky is the cocktail party chatter i'm missing irl.

I reply or post occasionally, but spend way more time scrolling and liking just because I usually don’t have much to add.

I suppose that was inevitable with large-broadcast sites. Even a large forum was not large enough to make it monetizable.

Same! Maybe it’s poor impulse control but I can’t not.

I really think a lot of it is growing up in the sweet spot of pre-algorithm social media/forum posting and seeing interactions as genuine people instead of fandoms getting served your posts.

It's the difference between engagement and performance. I find a lot of folks in socials today use it for performative reasons - such as audience building for profiteering or ego-gratification. I'm an old school engager - always happy to have a chat. Not here to find agreement or win an argument.

What's the point of a network if not engaging? You really can't learn or experience anything if you're in broadcast mode only.

Something that occurs for me personally is the surveillance aspect. I'm in a Stanford study. How can I possibly remain authentic knowing some dude in lab coat is standing over us with his hand on his dick dreaming up ways to use our interaction against us? Flippant cynicism tinged broadcast it is.

Thank you for saying this. Because yea, I’m a big commenter but not such a big poster, which has been an adjustment with Bluesky. It’s nice to know that you do like the engagement, because many absolutely do react like you showed up in their living room unannounced 😅

whatever, they just don get it lol

i just like to post pictures I make (mostly bugs n nature) and occasionally I have an opinion. I answer most, unless Im indisposed or the stuff feels to me like one side is being like obviously not in good faith or crsnky/havin bad day) no wifi atm so less vacay pics lol

I’ve found Bluesky even more interactive than Twitter was (and I was very interaction-forward on Twitter). I also have a number of friends who feel this way. Seems like a your mileage may vary scenario.

I use social media because I have a terrible time talking with and meeting new people. I have described my social media use as "a homeopathic dose of social interaction." I should use that crack to open the door wider.

Do not kick the cracker barrel at the railroad depot museum it is very heavy

I stopped following someone I otherwise liked after I engaged with their post to ask a clarifying question out of interest in the topic only to receive a condescending response for not already knowing. Like, excuse me for talking to you like a person on a social media app…

idk. it’s hard to say.

Dang I’m so glad you said this. I’ve had people follow me I guess out of industry obligation, and then go fucking feral when I try to chat in a normal way.

Me too. That said, I think as it is today I do believe social media provides an overall negative to our society.

Well, yeah. They're chasing clout, us peasants are just supposed to like, subscribe, and agree.

People always wanted to be heard. They didn't want to converse. They lose projective power then, or the perception thereof.

Was a lot of fun

No, no, I'm not saying there's anything wrong about preferring all your follows to be reciprocated! But in a system where they have to be, I'm not going to interact with people very much, because I can't read them without reciprocation, you know?

The main issue is that it can be quite hard to tell who falls into which camp, which leads to people getting surprised and mad at you for, you know, replying. (Those accounts could just turn off replies, but…many don’t seem to).

I also come on social media to chit-chat and be social, so every once in a while, I go through my following list and unfollow anyone who is no longer following me back. My assumption is, these people aren't interested in interacting.

I'm fine if someone unfollowed me because I have a few interests that I can be a LOT about but I can also talk about other things intelligently. So I can get someone enjoying me chatting on the conversation on their posts but not wanting to hear about the 2026 Mariners' bullpen woes.

Oh hey this is awesome, thank you!

I mean, sometimes there are good reasons for that though. Like, I try to rein in being a "reply guy", but well I'm a guy so if I'm replying to a stranger's posts then they have every reason to be suspicious of my motivations.

tired: senpai noticed me?? wired: HOW DARE YOU NOTICE ME

Yeah I thought the social part was kind of the point but uh, definitely seems like it isn't for some and I find that very odd!

I picked up a new hobby a few years and that's when this hit me. Trying to find a community of like-minded folks was impossible. One creator made it seem line they wanted to, but turned out they were just looking for a place to get other people to give them content ideas to monetize

Indeed. The OP is a standout exception to this trend.

I double/triple check any of my responses now and then delete without posting most of the time because it seems to upset people. Upsetting people gives me anxiety.

Im so glad to see someone else say this, ive felt this for a long time.

Oh shit I hope ain't nobody recieving this shit I purge out into the wastes I'd be hosed man

I asked one my favorite posters a genuine but challenging question and was immediately blocked. The first time my feelings were hurt on the Internet in years.

I've seen this a few times, people saying not to interact if you aren't mutuals/don't know each other If so, why not use a WhatsApp chat or something like that?

you made/make bsky feel like there is actually a 'social' in social media platform! /i really appreciate it

I've also noticed some people being utterly confused when someone agrees with them. They've been conditioned to think any interaction is going to be adversarial.

I feel like Bluesky is the one exception because you really can't get anything out of this place unless you do it. Facebook is just me seeing random videos these days.

Its used derogatorily to reply to sarcastic or disengenuous people who reply without contributing to the conversation, but because its how things go on the internet its created this perception that any and all replies are reply guy replies

I thought it was a guy who replied solely to be obnoxious...

Rude of you to post and thereby put your post into my feed because I follow you. Next time be more considerate of the sole appropriate basis for all of your decisions: my feelings.

Is that why you are following 20k+ accounts? Anyone following that many account I would assume is selling something or collecting other peoples data for some purpose. You're just being social?

Well for me it IS a broadcast first medium, bc no one replies to my posts, hyuk hyuk hyuk hyuk. Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week

Some things should not be professionalized. On the other hand, some Reply Guys do really weird me out.

Wasn’t that the exciting part of social media for many at first? Like "I can't believe <insert name of well-known person> replied to me!"

The natural conclusion of the vilification of reply-guys?

I was in undergrad for communications back then, and it's weird to think about how almost everything I wrote for class about the cultural benefits of social media just read like I was on another planet compared to now.

Yeah, I saw someone a few months back freaking out about “dogpiles” and such. Dude had like six comments.

see also: turning off replies *and* quotes (I can actually see why some people do this tbf; I've only once had to deal with the hate mob and it was unpleasant)