Someone on Reddit asked what was the point of using Mastodon. Of getting no responses. Of going through the hassle of using hashtags.
I replied:
For the community.
I was on Mastodon for years, and nothing happened. Virtually no responses. Then I listened to advice and started using hashtags - both for my own posts, and for searches.
It made a HUGE difference. I found all sorts of interesting posts and people to follow. The culture was *nicer* - people are much more well-behaved and friendly than they are on Reddit or Twitter. Within a month I found myself spending more time and having more satisfaction on Mastodon than I'd had online for decades.
I can't speak for anyone else. But Mastodon is a growing, lively, intelligent community. There's no algorithm, no ads, which is *incredibly* refreshing. And since it's part of the Fediverse it's linked to many other services - such as BookWyrm, which is a great decentralized replacement for GoodReads.
Not to mention that Mastodon isn't owned by some money-grubbing bastard, and never will be - because it's decentralized.
Jeeze. I feel like I'm an escaped slave sneaking back into the old plantation to tell the slaves that life can be better when you're free! 🤣
