Mastodon 4.2
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/
In this massive update we've added search and removed friction. What's not to love?
Lots of small improvements across the user experience, and opt-in search, make this an important release.
@woelkchen @andypiper Consider it a compromise, given how many people were dead set against *any* search.
Consider it a compromise, given how many people were dead set against any search.
But public posts are already searchable because they are public. That's what all public posts on the internet are. They are visible to Google and Bing. Defaulting to not make public posts searchable from within Mastodon just drives people to proprietary search engines.
@woelkchen I didn't say it was logical, but that doesn't stop a lot of people from objecting.
And I agree it just drives people elsewhere.
@SorteKanin Some people object to any feature they have seen be abused on Twitter, whether or not it also has legitimate uses. And as it turns out almost any feature *can* be used to harass. If you want to just have your own little space, search allows bad guys to find you. It of course allows good guys to find you too. Some still do not think that's a worthwhile tradeoff (I don't agree, and I think it's futile, and I support search, btw.)
I’m not on Mastodon, why were people against search?
Probably because they are illiterate about very basic concepts on the internet.