Search engine indexing: opt-in or opt-out?
Sam Whited
Public
Seen by 100
Hi all,
Right now if you don't want your public posts being searchable in search engines (this does not affect mastodon search, just search engines like Google and Duckduckgo) you have to opt-out of indexing. I wonder if it would make more sense for us to require users to opt-in to this instead (Ie. the default for new accounts is "posts are not searchable")?
I'm hoping to get a quick temperature check to see how others feel about this. Do you think it makes more sense to have posts indexable (opt-out) or non-indexable (opt-in) by default and why?
Thanks!
Dynamic Thu 28 Dec 2023 1:34PM
@Nathan Schneider
That doesn't really get at the question of whether it should be opt-in or opt-out, though.
Dynamic Thu 28 Dec 2023 1:38PM
I hadn't known that the status quo was opt-out. I'll have to think about how I feel about that.
I think it should be opt-in. Many people use social media as a social space without thinking too much about whether their posts are visible on the broader internet, and I think it would be better to work toward a culture where that is something someone should conscientiously decide.
Perhaps even more than feeling it should be opt-in, though, I think it should be something that whatever approach we use, it would ideally be something that is more clearly communicated when we set up accounts, so that people can make informed choices one way or the other.
Eduardo Mercovich Wed 3 Jan 2024 3:28PM
I like @Dynamic proposal: whatever the default is, it should be a clear option that can be taken in an informed and conscious way.
Is it possible to make this option part of the account creation process? Or at least, visible as part of the account configuration?
Nathan Schneider · Fri 22 Dec 2023 5:11PM
I tend to favor searchability because I often use Mastodon as a way to spread the word about things. If I want something to be not searchable, I would use a direct mention.