Do you feel we would lose anything, if more Mastodon servers allowed longer posts? On many servers the limit is 500 characters, which means we sometimes see texts that span multiple posts.
Would more characters be good or bad?
@randahl 100% good. Longer posts get collapsed with 'read more' so they don't appear to take up the entire timeline. On the contrary, a thread of a dozen posts all at once will fill two screens.
Threads of shorter posts are a much worse experience in every way. If people have more to say, then just let them say it.
@randahl I like the 500 character limit because it forces you to express your thoughts in a straightforward manner, which is exactly what microblogging platforms are for (IMO). If you need to write more, just write a blog article. But facilitating the Facebookisation of the Fediverse is not what we should strive for.
@randahl In the old days we managed to say meaningful things in 140 characters. Doubling to 240 characters per tweet late 2017 and after moving to Mastodon in 2021 I still experience the feeling of luxury that a 500 characters limit provides. I love the art of fine-tuning a toot, finding the most concise way to say what I want to say. For me 500 characters is just fine.
@randahl given my extensive use of the CW feature, I would benefit from 600-700 characters as a limit (or CW up to 100 characters not being counted), but find a rather small limit better for my personal needs. It helps keep my thought focused, one thought per post. If I have too much space my brain goes all over the place and makes my posts harder to read for others.
@randahl
I don't need long posts. Just a bit longer than 500 though.
VIvaldi.social has 1337, which is nice.
But why does Mastodon scroll backwards? To copy Twitter? Not great UX with longer posts. You see the bottom of the post first, and need to scroll quickly to the top. Mastodon inside a thread is OK though. Other systems like Slack and Teams get it right.
@randahl@jwildeboer I'm against. The problem with mega-posts versus threads comprising bite-size posts is that it makes it much more difficult for people to sensibly respond to the specific points being made. Threads help your readers with their reactions to your thoughts. Long-format posts are actively hostile to this.
@randahl I already automatically skip past posts that go on and on. Spend the time necessary to be concise, and folllow up with further information. Or don't - but I'm skipping right by!
@randahl The last server I was on had a 50000 character limit, and I thought that was the shit because I could make very long posts if needed to without having to put them in to multiple in a thread format, so I definitely think its good to have a higher character limit.
@randahl A "doesn't bother me either way" option would fit me best here. I tend to make posts < 500 characters but wouldn't mind being able to do a longer blog-style thing at some point.
@randahl When I have something to say, I want to say all of it. I use all the words I need and no more. It is a statement. Length is required for content.
I put it to you; if you are using 1/5 then you two are already using as many words. The same length but it’s inconvenient for everyone.
My excellent host has a scaling limit. New people don’t get many. I have lots.
@randahl People should embrace the challenge of writing a compact post. It forces you to think about what it is you actually want to say and therefore short posts usually reduce the amount of noise significantly. Keep it brief and to the point!