I wash my workout clothes on the roughest setting. Probably shortens the life of the clothes but gets the drink out.

Lol my friend got busted for drinking when he was 15 because he shook his dad’s hand.

Things will mostly plod along slowly but then there will be some big event that causes usage to jump in a huge way, but not in the way that nerds like us want to see.

Actually, that has already happened. Linux is the most used OS in the world. But that’s because it underlies Android, and that’s not what most of us mean when we are talk about average people using Linux. We want to see people embracing open technologies and while Android might be open compared to Windows, it’s not open in the way that we want to see.

If Linux on the desktop ever takes off in a big way, I bet it will also be in a way that makes me say “that’s not what I meant…”

Take my canoe out on the nearby lake.

Write little web apps that no one but me uses.

The Bible is more like of you took HP, LotR, and 20 other series and mashed them together.

If you’re clumsy, do a grappling martial art like wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu. After 6 months even if you still suck at that martial art (e.g., me) your nerves and muscles will know how to move shockingly efficiently.

I was thinking along the lines of being given a list of popular algorithms, but if you find an algorithm you like on another instance you can copy it over to your instance. So it is not necessary to write code and nearly nobody would do it, they would just use ones that other people created.

But I realize this is an extremely difficult request so I’m not really serious when I propose it.

Yeah being manipulated by algorithm is a problem. The best solution I can think of is Mastodon adding the ability to choose your algorithm. Not just a list of approved ones since the admins could manipulate that list, but the ability to actually upload some code so you can either write your own algorithm or choose one written by someone you trust.

That comes with a lot of problems like potentially overworking the server so I don’t know if it’s actually a viable solution but it would be nice.

I’m on both Mastodon and Bluesky. To me, Mastodon’s biggest problem is its refusal to have an algorithm to surface popular content. Yes there are problems with algorithms, but I don’t have the time or inclination to read every post in chronological order. A good algorithm would show me popular posts without manipulating me for profit.

Edt: a few people have misunderstood me. I’m not proposing “Mastodon shows me stuff from people I don’t follow,” I’m suggesting “Mastodon shows me stuff only from people I follow, but it shows me the popular stuff first.”