#but unlike other social media sites you can reblog a post but then stick nuance in the tags

[awkward-teabag]

After every (American) election, there's always a bunch of posts going around exposing psyops or pointing out how there were posts on this site designed to get people to not vote blue.

And in the lead up to every (American) election, there's a bunch of posts being reblogged that are clearly either psyops or manipulative posts that tell people it's perfectly okay for them not to vote at all.

Like, there's history going back years on this hellsite where the alt-right intentionally tried to undermine or indoctrinate people so they get/stay in power. History a lot of y'all know of or were even there for and saw go down in real time.

But sure, be uncritical of what you reblog, don't bother looking at the source website, or just put things out there without caveats or nuance.

#i know media literacy is trash these days #and that there's intentional misinformation/no information about elections #but i've seen people who have reblogged things about psyops in the past who both reblog and support current ones #but unlike other social media sites you can reblog a post but then stick nuance in the tags #you can be critical of something while also gritting your teeth and supporting it because the alternative is worse #you can (and should) also be critical of the systems that lead to that in the first place #throwing your hands up and saying there's no point and you aren't going to bother #and it's fine if others do the same #is just giving up and saying it's too hard for you and you don't care about the harm that comes to others #the canadian system is different (though first past the post tries to make it the same) #but you can bet i'd vote for trudeau even though fuck him and his racist ass #if the alternative was pp because while trudeau sucks for many reasons #pp is fucking terrifying to me as a disabled queer person #and i'm lucky in that i'm white and canadian and can pass as cishet so i'd be spared the worst of it #others would not be so lucky #especially when his fans are eager to hate crime people and only hold themselves back because they would face social consequences #also learn what is private criticism you keep to yourself or talk to friends about #and what is okay to talk about publicly #some things you don't fucking say when it will be taken as permission for antipathy or approval by fascists

[thursdayglrl]

NEW TUMBLR USERS: some bullet points on etiquette and how to use the site, wherein I will also try to explain some things and be slightly more nuanced, because subcommunities are not created equal

first thing, which is very important if you're a tiktok, youtube, or reddit expat: you follow PEOPLE here. now, a lot of people will curate their blogs to have only one theme, but that's not everyone. there basically no algorithm, most people turn off recommended posts, and the tags are pretty glitchy, so most people follow blogs, and not as much tags.

on the tag thing: when I refer to tags, I mean the little section of the post that's just tags at the bottom. anything you type in there immediately starts with a #. you can have spaces in them, but not quotations or commas (quotations bring the text in quotation marks into the front of the tags as it's own tag, and commas separate tags). you can use them to organize your reblogs, but most people use them to ramble or comment. if you click the notes of a post, you can see everyone's tags, and the OP of a post + whoever you reblogged it from can see whatever tags you add in their activity (notifications) page. if your tags are funny, they might get screenshotted and added to the post. adding things in the tags, in a lot of spaces, is viewed as more polite and less obnoxious than making actual additions, and having your tags added to a post is like someone saying "no, everyone deserves to see this".

also about tags: adding them in the post itself, like #this, does nothing. note it's not clickable. tags do help with outreach, though, but only with original posts. that is, if you make a post and add a fandom tag to it, other people browsing that tag or looking up that fandom might see it. if you reblog someone else's post and add a fandom tag to it, that's kind of just for you.

on additions (that aren't tags): an addition will stick to the post, ie. if you reblog something with a comment and someone reblogs it from you, unlike tags, that addition will also be shared. similar to stitching a titkok or quote-retweeting, except the ownership of the post (and the credit) don't change. unlike quote retweeting, it's bad form to reblog something to make fun of or disagree with OP, unless you're picking a fight. if you don't want drama, I've seen people just vague (subtweet? do we still use that?) other posts, or screenshot the offending post to comment on it. again, OP gets notified of every interaction. they can also see you disagree in the tags.

addition etiquette varies with context and your relationship to the OP. fandoms, especially smaller fandoms, don't mind additions as much and, depending on the post, discussion and expansion upon what's being said is appreciated. if you're mutuals with someone, reblogging with a comment (depending on the post and the person, obviously) might be seen as friendly. on social justice and activism centered spaces, additions are not always welcome and might be seen as disrespectful or derailing. if the post has a lot of notes, OP probably doesn't care anymore, but don't expect a response. too many inane additions is also seen as annoying, so sometimes people will go back and reblog a version of the post without them.

reblog etiquette also varies. for artists, usually reblogs are appreciated, since it's the only way they get exposure, and spam reblogging from an artist will probably be taken as a compliment (though they might be embarrassed if you reblog old art). do not reblog personal posts/vent posts. if it's something super sensitive and personal, it'll probably be seen as an invasion and offensive. if you reblog someone talking about their day with no apparent reason, it's just kind of weird. some people like spam reblogs, some people will block you for them, sometimes it's just weird. especially if you don't follow them or you're not mutuals.

you might see that gimmick blogs are a thing here, or very specific blogs. unlike other social media, you don't have to make a whole separate account to have two accounts, you can have sideblogs. sideblogs can also be shared between multiple users without the need to share passwords. you can't send asks or reply to a post with a sideblog, though, nor can you like a post or follow someone through your sideblog. that'll still be through your main. sideblogs are often used for organizational purposes, eg. having a blog for each fandom or niche, or having a personal blog and an art sideblog. some people will have a blank main and only use sideblogs, but usually that'll be somewhere in the description or pinned post.

on bios/descriptions and pinned posts: in regards to how much info you put on there, YMMV. depends on which "corner" of tumblr you're in. the links in my bio are a relic from when all the cool kinnies had an edgy lyric and a link in their description, leading to an "about" page (page on their actual tumblr, better seen on desktop) similar to a carrd. most people now just have basics in their description, or something funny in their description and a pinned post with things like pronouns, name, and sometimes a DNI. some people will put nothing in their description and not share any personal information, some people will list fandoms. carrds are not as popular, since you can write however much you want. some people have traded the link int he description to links on their pinned post (eg, link to an about post, a link to their selfie tag, a link to their art)

try to learn the language. so to speak. "moot", "oomf" (and variations), "bestie" are some, off the top of my head, that are not used nearly as much and will get you clocked and sometimes made fun of (even if not directly). also, you don't need to censor swear words. there's no algorithm and tumblr doesn't care if you're a pottymouth, so saying things like a$$ or d1e makes you look silly. on the other hand, there IS a ban on porn, so tags and words that are deemed nsfw are impossible to search (will return a blank page) and posts that are explicit might get flagged and hidden. there's still plenty of porn around, but people have to find workarounds (and your blog might also get taken down if it's a porn blog). also, generally the sentiment here is not very favorable towards being sexual toward strangers (eg, mommy? sorry jokes) or being rude to strangers (eg, calling someone an insult or a slur jokingly). but, again, YMMV.

this is getting way too long, so, ironically: long posts are annoying. if a reblog chain gets too long, maybe take it to DMs. some posts are long on purpose, to jokingly annoy your followers (eg. the famed "do you like the color of the sky" post). some people find it funny, some people find it obnoxious. a lot of people tag long posts with #long post, so their followers can block that tag and not see the post (there is a feature to block tags and words in your settings).

remember that tumblr is not a monolith: best way to learn is participate and observe!

#txt #elliott talks #long post #tumblr etiquette