Mastodon normalizer: Difference between revisions
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{{Project|status=beta|url=https://normalizer.webflux.us/}} | {{Project|status=beta|url=https://normalizer.webflux.us/}}'''Problem statement:''' Social media amplifies the loudest voices more than is necessary. In real life, we know that a person who speaks often and loudly might be full of good insights, or they might just suffer from an excess of hot air. Either way, we aren't obliged to give this person all of our attention just because they're loud. | ||
There is rarely any way to deal with this, no alternative between full volume and blocked, to allow us to better hear the quieter voices. | |||
== Experimenting with normalization == | |||
When @futurebird@sauropods.win mentioned the fun idea of a [https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/109971101661561998 customizable timeline] allowing us to check in on our friends' latest posts, I was excited to see how it might be applied. I'm happy with the results so far! You can login to the [https://normalizer.webflux.us/ demo service] using your own Mastodon account and instance. | |||
Preferences currently look like this: | |||
[[File:Preferences for normalizer v0.2.7.png|center|thumb|Preferences pane]] | |||
The main innovation is the "orthogonal" view, which gives each author equal vertical space in your timeline, regardless of how many posts they write. | |||
[[File:Equal height.png|center|thumb|Equal height for each author]] | |||
If you like the idea, please feel free to borrow [https://gitlab.com/adamwight/mastodon-normalizer the code], help with the project, or reimplement it on your preferred platform. | If you like the idea, please feel free to borrow [https://gitlab.com/adamwight/mastodon-normalizer the code], help with the project, or reimplement it on your preferred platform. | ||
If one topic or author is much more prolific than another, then the louder channel will tend to draw more attention. This problem is often framed as "signal to noise", but the phrase doesn't quite describe the same problem and would be more accurately applied to spam-filtering. Here we're looking at something more nuanced which we'll call "loudness normalization" in which the voices may be equally important, we simply want to give each voice a fair chance to be heard. | If one topic or author is much more prolific than another, then the louder channel will tend to draw more attention. This problem is often framed as "signal to noise", but the phrase doesn't quite describe the same problem and would be more accurately applied to spam-filtering. Here we're looking at something more nuanced which we'll call "loudness normalization" in which the voices may be equally important, we simply want to give each voice a fair chance to be heard. | ||
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As social media readers, we're instinctively aware that each voice has its own style, conciseness and frequency of posting. We might naturally gravitate towards the bright colors, loud text, frequent posters, and to push back we protect our attention through various strategies: muting the spammiest accounts, automatic filtering, skimming aggressively, and so on. (It's also interesting that these strategies have audio analogies: multitrack mixing, noise reduction and fast-forwarding, respectively.) | As social media readers, we're instinctively aware that each voice has its own style, conciseness and frequency of posting. We might naturally gravitate towards the bright colors, loud text, frequent posters, and to push back we protect our attention through various strategies: muting the spammiest accounts, automatic filtering, skimming aggressively, and so on. (It's also interesting that these strategies have audio analogies: multitrack mixing, noise reduction and fast-forwarding, respectively.) | ||
The basic normalization suggested by @futurebird is implemented in my demo as the "Check in" mode, and it works by showing exactly one recent post from each account you've subscribed to. | The basic normalization suggested by @futurebird is implemented in my demo as the "Check in" mode, and it works by showing exactly one recent post from each account you've subscribed to.[[File:API_Console_-_VU_Meter_Bridge,_API560_10_Band_EQ,_API550A_3_Band_EQ_(2017-01-05_19.45.22_piqsels.com_en).jpg|thumb|It's all about the volume]] | ||
== Dimensionality == | == Dimensionality == | ||
[[File:Alcudia,_detalle_de_saetera,_sección_norte,_02.jpg|thumb|225x225px|Feeling lucky?]] | [[File:Alcudia,_detalle_de_saetera,_sección_norte,_02.jpg|thumb|225x225px|Feeling lucky?]] | ||