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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Some Twitter users flying the coop hope Mastodon will be a safe landing
Few people outside computer programmers or engineers had heard of the social network Mastodon before Elon Musk2 bought Twitter.
Now, Twitter users queasy3 about changes to the platform are signing up for Mastodon accounts in droves. Mastodon now has nearly two million users, up from under 400,000 before Musk closed the Twitter deal on Oct. 27.
The surge in popularity has surprised even Eugen Rochko, who founded Mastodon in 2016.
"What I always wanted to try to get over as a hurdle4 is the idea that, no, there's not enough people in there, so I can't really use it. Or it's for nerds," he said.
Now he's pulling all-nighters to meet the growing demand.
But Mastodon is not the most intuitive social media platform. Mastodon is open-source software, meaning anyone so inclined could set up a server to host users and connect to other servers, making for a decentralized network.
"Nobody is in control of the entire network," Rochko said.
"It is, in effect, more democratic," he asserts, because the operators of each individual server can set content standards based on the preferences of the communities they're trying to serve.
But he admits many new users get hung up on choosing which server from thousands to join.
"I tried to explain Mastodon to my fiancée's elderly stepdad once, and I think I managed to do it," he said.
John Wilker is one of the many Twitter users now casting about for alternatives. He's tried Mastodon before, among others.
"I joined a Mastodon [server] that was all about science fiction and fantasy writing. And I'm like, 'This is great. These are definitely my people!'" he said. "But then no one else is there."
Breaking up with Twitter is hard to do, many users find
Wilker, who joined Twitter in 2007, credits the platform for helping5 him launch his career as a science-fiction writer. But he's gotten fed up with it before, like after the 2016 elections, then again in 2020.
"It would always come down to just like, OK, this feels like the ratio now is turning more towards doomposting, mean-spirited hot takes on things. That was usually when I'd start to look" for alternative social platforms, he said.
But he says it's been hard to replicate6 elsewhere the combination of the community he's built over the years on Twitter and the tools to customize his information feed. It's not for lack of trying. He said he signs up for most new social networking sites that come along, but he keeps returning to Twitter.
Twitter is more than a social network, says Karen North, a professor at University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism7.
"People come to Twitter because they want to be part of a community of people crowdsourcing information and opinions," she said. "It's really a place where journalists go to get a heads up on a headline, get a quote by the source, build their stories and talk to their audiences."
But that is changing. Shortly before Election Day, the Associated Press warned its journalists to consider Twitter and other social media platforms "also function as arenas8 of information warfare," and to approach all posts with skepticism.
Twitter, under Musk, has overhauled9 its system of marking verified accounts with blue checkmarks. Now, some blue checkmarks still indicate that the company has confirmed a user's identity. Other blue checkmarks simply signify that the user has a monthly subscription10, leading to mass confusion.
Meredith Clark, a communications professor at Northeastern University, is writing a book about Black Twitter. She's sticking with Twitter because it's central to her research. But she knows users who are looking around for options feel torn about leaving. While more popular social networks like Facebook and TikTok serve some of the same needs as Twitter, they are not the same.
"No other social networking platform has the same sort of tools that make connection possible the way Twitter does," she said.
Even before Musk took over, she said, Twitter didn't do a good job of protecting Black and other marginalized users. She worries it'll get even worse for them under Musk, who is known for his belligerence11 and trolling of those who disagree with him.
"The question is whether they want to deal with the kind of harassment12 that has definitely spiked13 in the last few days and weeks, whether they want to be there when, say, the chief chaos14 agent in charge, [former President Donald Trump15,] is allowed back on the platform," Clark said.
Musk has said it was a mistake for Twitter to ban Trump shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. At the time, the company said Trump broke its rules about inciting16 violence.
North, of USC, says many people will stay on Twitter simply because of the time and effort it takes to set up a new community on another site. But she notes users' shifting allegiance over time is also part of the evolution of social media.
Young people migrated from Facebook to Instagram, she said. "Then they got frustrated17 with Instagram and they went over to Snapchat. And before that, everybody left MySpace, and before that, everybody left Friendster. And it's hard to remember that Friendster and MySpace even existed."
A chance to rethink what social media could be
If a critical mass of Twitter users desert it for Mastodon or other alternatives, it could be an opportunity for a do-over of sorts for social media networks.
"Let's ask, 'What does it mean to build an intentional18 social network around timely, accurate, local knowledge?'" said Joan Donovan, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and co-author of the new book "Meme Wars." "Rather than start from the premise19 of, 'We're just going to be the tubes that push information around the Web and no one's going to be responsible for quality.'"
Donovan says imagine if we could keep the parts we like: easy online community building and fun memes, for example. And lose the parts we hate, like the disinformation, compulsion, and breathless chase for likes and eyeballs.
Sponsor Message
As for Wilker, the sci-fi writer, he says he's ready for a break from his relationship with Twitter.
"We've definitely taken it to places that aren't great for society or our mental well-being20. So maybe we could figure out a social media that isn't so toxic21 or favorite-driven," he said.
But when it comes to quitting Twitter altogether, he says he thought of it. Then, he thought again.
"No, I have no plans to go anywhere. No plans to wholesale22 walk away," he said.
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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queasy
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| adj.易呕的 | |
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hurdle
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| n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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replicate
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| v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的 | |
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journalism
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| n.新闻工作，报业 | |
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arenas
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| 表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场 | |
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overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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belligerence
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| n.交战，好战性，斗争性 | |
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harassment
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| n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱 | |
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spiked
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| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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inciting
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| 刺激的，煽动的 | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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intentional
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| adj.故意的，有意（识）的 | |
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premise
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| n.前提；v.提论，预述 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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toxic
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| adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的 | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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