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Mastodon , thedecentralized option to X , is going to adopt a controversial feature article from the weapons platform formerly know as Twitter : quote posts . The company on Friday shared the progress it ’s making on the carrying out of the feature article , which has divided users over its potential to be used for online abuse and bullying .
Critics have long reason that the increase of quote tweetshelped ruin Twitter , release the networkinto a more toxic on-line biotic community .
Some Mastodon users feel powerfully that quote posts do n’t belong on Mastodon , as the lineament is often used to “ dunk ” on another person ’s post , which not only breed negativity but can also result in avail spur a flowage of abusive replies to the original post ’s author — specially if the Dunkard is a eminent - profile soul with a pot of following .
However , other Mastodon users need to see quote posts added , as the feature makes it easier to reference another soul ’s post and its content when make water a response . Plus , quote posts would lend the web more in phone line with its competitors , admit X as well as newer rivals like Threads and Bluesky .
Mastodon noted inits web log postthat it ’s mindful that the feature is both a “ source of concern ” for some and “ extremely call for ” by others .
“ Many the great unwashed simply do not want their content to be reframed by others ; or they may retrieve that if it is reposted , they receive unwelcome attention , ” the Mastodon blog post says .
The organisation applied for agrantto assistance fund the growing of quote position back in 2024 after earlierdiscussionsaround the characteristic . Now , the team is sharing its progression , specially in terms of how it hopes to mitigate substance abuser complaints .
For starters , Mastodon says it will allow users to ascertain whether their posts can be quoted at all . This would protect people from being the recipient of undesirable attention or mean replies to some extent . ( Though , arguably , people could still screenshot someone ’s military post to circulate it more generally if they mean to troll the user . )
In increase , user will be notified if someone quotes them , and they ’ll be able-bodied to withdraw their post from the quoted circumstance at any time . This latter selection could help in the case that someone ’s quote office goes viral , and the original poster start to get too much tending or even abuse , force them to reconsider whether they want their post to be quotable at all .
Beyond the voltage for maltreatment , Mastodon says there are also technical challenges around the implementation of quote posts , as there ’s not a standardized way to establish the feature of speech in ActivityPub , the fundamental protocol that power Mastodon andother federated apps .
Some third - political party Mastodon client also already offer their own version of quote posts , but they do n’t include the features that Mastodon wants to add for additional user control and privacy . As a result , Mastodon iscollaborating with othersto create a spec that would allow all Mastodon apps and clients to get at the same functionality .
Quote posts will also affect other parts of Mastodon ’s code base , the announcement states , include the ActivityPub - palm codification , the public API , the World Wide Web exploiter port , the moderation control board and capableness , the administration panel , and the prescribed iOS and Android diligence .
alas , Mastodon ’s announcement did n’t share how much longer it will be before the feature is added or any sort of timeline for public release , only saying that quote posts “ will still take more clock time to develop . ”
