alt Hacker NewsIMHO, any social network that offers an "explore" section (i.e. a feed of strangers' posts) is doomed, independently of whether it is algorithmically filtered or chronologically. I ultimately dropped Mastodon because the "dumb" feed from my instance was already enough to waste my time.
To prove this, just use Instagram or Facebook from your browser with the proper extensions and they'll stop being absolute worthless time sinks
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yeah the instance timeline is basically the same trap with a smaller corpus. the only thing that consistently avoids this is RSS -- you chose the sources, there's no explore, no trending, no algorithmic sidebar. maybe the "social" part was always the problem.
What extensions do you recommend?
I have never used the explore function of any social media app ever. I never want it, I have never found it useful. If I want random submitted content by strangers I go to message boards/forums/etc. That was a great space reddit filled for years, now HN for me.
Social media is at its best when it’s just stuff from people I choose to follow or know.
This feels like the most important comment here. Do other Mastodon users feel the same? The OP Madden me want to try Mastodon.