#ThoughtProvoker

Noting a small likely unintentional side effect of the ability to edit #Microblog posts on the fediverse..

It enables would-be influencers to use that as a growth-hacking tactic in their arsenal. Whereby editing a post some time after it was published, will serve to remind all people who interacted with it before (by receiving the 'edited' notification). And for those who only favorited another stimulus and opportunity to boost the post as well.

#SX #SocialCoding #ActivityPub #Microblogging #fediverse #SocialWeb

@smallcircles it's hyper annoying when people do this.

It has at least a few times caused me to take action, unboosting, unfollowing, or muting.

Forgivable for typos and grammar goofs, but not to be used for engagement engineering.

@laprice yes. Though it is not always clear what was the reason for the edit.

(Update: Now I edited because I too hurriedly reacted just to the first part of your reply, and repeated your point, which I now removed from the text )

But there are other (ab)uses I see from time to time. Some people use editing to turn their post into something of a real-time live blog, e.g. where they update who just presented at a conference. That is very annoying, and I would call it an anti-pattern, an undesirable side effect.

@laprice

A client sotware might add extra friction to discourage the anti-pattern, e.g. by requiring the formulation of a reason for the edit with a minimum amount of chars.

Also this reason might be #ActivityPub federated. After all a 'federated edit' is something very different than an edit in your personal notepad in a local file. There are more abusive patterns that relate to editing. Thus enforce provisioning a good reason for edits.

(Update: Now I edited to add an important extra point to the post. And this is indiscernable from a growth hacker tactic. Plus if one isn't a growth hacker, and ones toot becomes popular - "goes viral", I hate that term - it is attractive and tempting to keep it all together in that post.)

This will make editing generally be less accessible, more unfriendly UX-wise, but there's something to say for having "Minimize post edits" be a best-practice on the social web.

@smallcircles I actually think the software is fine; and I like that Mastodon at least enables a view of all edits.

I think the social norm is enough.

@laprice yes, I agree. Unless the abuse takes on proportions where it becomes a real deal and the social norm is not followed. We aren't there now, but should large-scale uptake of the fediverse come, it will lure influencers and drag influencer culture along. The practices we all know from the usual suspect corporate networks, to pollute our fedi environment.

@laprice

If that happens then:

Small side effect --> Big challenge

(Update: Now I might do another update to change "Big challenge" into "Wicked problem" as that may be more apt.. oops, I made an edit and only provided a reason but no text change

Which is interesting phenomenon in and of itself where it comes to Social coding and Social experience design.