We have many ways to share ideas today. We can:

• Text
• Email
• Pen a letter
• Post on a microblog (Mastodon/X/Pixelfed/etc.)
• Write a blog post

But not all of these methods inherently create a conversation or dialogue. When I write a technical blog post, I don’t expect a reply. Similarly, when I toot on Mastodon, I’m fine if no one favorited the post. As such, (micro-)blogging differs greatly from texting and calling someone and is instead much closer to recording a postcast or uploading a video – a one-way transmission of information.

Ploum wrote about how he views the ActivityPub protocol as a conversation, and as such servers should not filter posts based on whether they have a picture. Now I’m not on Pixelfed, so I do not have a stake in this issue. However since I view Pixelfed as a microblogging platform, I tend to see it as more of a one-way transmission of information rather than soliciting a response from my friends. This view would put me in the category of folks that view AcitvityPub as a “content consumption platform.” Though I find that term derogative¹.

Now should Pixelfed filter posts based on whether it contains a picture? I’m not sure. But if I was on Mastodon and I specifically @’d someone on Pixelfed, then I would sure hope that either they received that message or I was shown an error.

So if we’re not having a conversation with these (micro-)blog posts, what are we doing? Some of us are trying to teach, keep a public journal, or share our perspectives. Some of us don’t even want responses². Though I find that many of us do:

Blog posts become invitations that never expire - Dries

When I send a postcard to a loved one, they don’t need to reply. However, I send it because it’s an acknowledgement of our relationship and it’s an invitation to reach out.

Similarly when I write a blog post, by default I’m only transmitting information. However, any of you readers can choose to promote this from a transmission to an exchange. From a communication to a dialogue.