2017-11-12 13:43 | https://mastodon.social/@trwnh/98991746572627131

problem with diaspora*'s aspects (and by extension, Google+ circles which aped it) is that it's a bidirectional metaphor for a unidirectional relationship. you're supposed to pick who can see a post, but they might not even follow you. I would understand if instead it functioned and was advertised as a way to split your timeline into multiple timelines. As is, sharing to aspects/circles/etc. is needlessly confusing.

although having a way to tag/categorize your own toots could come in handy as well, if you post about multiple disparate topics. it's a nightmare to maintain one Twitter account per interest/community.

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2017-12-17 09:55 | https://mastodon.social/@trwnh/99189033326279405

unrelated thought: been trying to hash out a solution to the "multiple accounts" issue with social media. namely: why/when do people use multiple accounts, and what features can be implemented to reduce the friction in using just one account? would appreciate feedback.

off the top of my head:

- private vs public accounts for trusted people (answered by privacy options on toots)
- multiple interests (not really solved currently; perhaps implementing a tag system and letting people mute certain tags? Diaspora*-style aspects can get complicated)
- separate identity (unsolvable and would be insecure to attempt with one account)

wrt multiple interests, this really is my biggest pain point with ANY social media (coming from someone who has had like 15 birdsite accounts at once)

perhaps not exactly tags, but having a category system like google+ would be nice and perhaps easiest to manage when considering tootboosts. but this also might complicate the issue? nevertheless, it could be optional (default behavior would be to boost to your profile, no categorization involved)

the tag approach would be easiest for your own toots, but the categories wouldn't be too bad and would also allow for separating different boosts