A thing that feels kind of obvious, but I think genuinely confuses a whole lot of people in the moment:
When somebody posts something in their TL, unless explicitly stated otherwise, they’re not talking to •you•. They’re not implying it’s relevant to •you•. They’re not specifically looking for •your• thoughts. If there’s a question, it’s not addressed to •you•. They’re just talking.
If you reply, however, you •are• talking to them.
Different situations. Different appropriate social forms.
One of the primary ingredients of the “Mastodon reply guy” phenomenon, one I think does not always necessarily come from a place of ill will, is a kind of online solipsism. The UIs of social media apps invite us all to think that we’re in the room with •everyone•, that •everyone• sees us, is talking to us.
It’s a bit like the parasocial relationship of the singer who “just knows me” but has never actually met me. This design of this space makes us forget the nature of our relationships.
@inthehands
For Mastodon in particular, there's also a technical implementation explanation: https://neuromatch.social/@jonny/113162314742576737
