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Favourite counts are nearly always wrong + different depending on what server you're on?

Here's the same post when viewed on four different instances.

It's not just favourites though!

Replies are nearly always wrong too.

Mastodon's strength should be that you can pick whatever server you want.

But currently, your server choice greatly affects the information that you see.

By the way, this isn't a case of servers being slow to catch up.

The post is from over a week ago.

Boost counts are also consistently wrong!

Let's look at another example.
We can see four completely different pieces of information.

And this post is from months ago!

It's not because of servers being 'behind'.

One server even has the whole instance banned, so you get even less information.

The banned instance is mastodon.social, which is the first one that users are referred to on joinmastodon.org/servers

Even if you use your own client, like @elk, you receive different information based on what server you're logged into.

@elk Why is it like this?

Back in 2019, @Gargron said it was a deliberate design decision.

Surely not?

(This comment refers to 'favourites' by the way. But the problem also affects boosts and replies.)

@elk @Gargron I've been trying to learn more about this problem, and I don't understand why it isn't a bigger deal.

The most recent discussion on it is from over 100 days ago.

Here's the issue by the way: github.com/mastodon/mastodon/i

@elk @Gargron I've been trying to learn more about this problem, and I don't understand why it isn't a bigger deal.

But what do you think though? Please let me know!
And if you know how to fix it, PLEASE let me know!!!!!

Boosts appreciated ❤️🐸

@TodePond Likes? I use them as a nod to the author, I don't care if they never went to other people.

I would like to see better boost counts, because on small servers you don't see how many people have boosted a post unless you open the post in new tab.

I understand why replies and boosts don't federate, because ActivityPub is pub/sub model. If you don't follow a person, how would you get the boost count on your server?

They should add 'fetch' API if they wanted to get accurate boost counts.

@Ciantic I would like my client to fetch the correct favourite + boost counts for me. I end up manually 'fetching' the info by opening the original link anyway :)

@TodePond Yes that's right, it can be done in client side.

There are clients I believe that do it.

The bigger problem IMO is that you don't see all replies in other people's posts. It's the same thing, with pub/sub it doesn't send you replies when you click to open a thread, it only gives those that were sent to you by pub/sub... if you don't follow a person that's not tagged you don't see their replies as well.

@Ciantic @TodePond
Indeed, every instance seeing a different set of replies on a post is really not practical.

@karlo @Ciantic @TodePond By the nature of the Fediverse, different servers will always have different perspectives. But with likes Mastodon is deliberately making it even less consistent than it has to be.
@clacke likes do not exist as a feature in honk, so no problems here
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