An open letter to @staff
I already submitted this to Support under "Feedback," but I'm sharing it here too as I don't expect it to get a response, and I feel like putting in out in public may be more effective than sending it off into the void.
The recent post on the Staff blog about changing tumblr to an algorithmic feed features a large amount of misinformation that I feel staff needs to address, openly and honestly, with information on where this data was sourced at the very least.
Claim 1: Algorithms help small creators.
This is false, as algorithms are designed to push content that gets engagement in order to get it more engagement, thereby assuring that the popular remain popular and the small remain small except in instances of extreme luck.
This can already be seen on the tumblr radar, which is a combination of staff picks (usually the same half-dozen fandoms or niche special interests like Lego photography) which already have a ton of engagement, or posts that are getting enough engagement to hit the radar organically. Tumblr has an algorithm that runs like every other socmed algorithm on the planet, and it will decimate the reach of small creators just like every other platform before it.
Claim 2: Only a small portion of users utilize the chronological feed.
You can find a poll by user @darkwood-sleddog here that at the time of writing this, sits at over 40 THOUSAND responses showing that over 96 percent of them use the chronological feed*. Claiming otherwise isn't just a misstatement, it's a lie. You are lying to your core userbase and expecting them to accept it as fact. It's not just unethical, it's insulting to people who have been supporting your platform for over a decade.
Claim 3: Tumblr is not easy to use.
This is also 100% false and you ABSOLUTELY know it. Tumblr is EXTREMELY easy to use, the issue is that the documentation, the explanations of features, and often even the stability of the service is subpar. All of this would be very easy for staff to fix, if they would invest in the creation of walkthroughs and clear explanations of how various site features work, as well as finally fixing the search function. Your inability to explain how your service works should not result in completely ignoring the needs and wants of your core long-term userbase. The fact that you're more willing to invest in the very systems that have made every other form of social media so horrifically toxic than in trying to make it easier for people to use the service AS IT WORKS NOW and fixing the parts that don't work as well speaks volumes toward what tumblr staff actually cares about.
You will not get a paycheck if your platform becomes defunct, and the thing that makes it special right now is that it is the ONLY large-scale socmed platform on THE ENTIRE INTERNET with a true chronological feed and no aggressive algorithmic content serving. The recent post from staff indicates that you are going to kill that, and are insisting that it's what we want. It is not. I'd hazard to guess that most of the dev team knows it isn't what we want, but I assume the money people don't care. The user base isn't relevant, just how much money they can bring in.
The CEO stated he wanted this to remain as sort of the last bastion of the Old Internet, and yet here we are, watching you declare you intend to burn it to the ground.
You can do so much better than this.
Response to the Update
Under the cut for readability, because everything said above still applies.
I already said this in a reblog on the post itself, but I'm adding it to this one for easy access: people read it that way because that's what you said.
Staff considers the main feed as it exists to be "outdated," to the point that you literally used that word to describe it, and the main goals expressed in this announcement is to figure out what makes "high-quality content" and serve that to users moving forward.
People read it that way because that is what you said.
*The final results of the poll, after 24 hours:
136,635 votes breaks down thusly:
An algorithm based feed where I get "the best of tumblr." @ 1.3% (roughly 1,776 votes)
Chronological feed that only features blogs I follow. @ 95.2% (roughly 130,077 votes)
This doesn't affect me personally. @ 3.5% (roughly 4,782 votes)
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Stupid idea that I thought up half asleep
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who got you pregnant when you two were teens (17)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who got yelled at by your father for getting you pregnant and band him from seeing you again
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who immediately went through all stages of panic. Got his ass beat by his father, before getting his shit together and start providing
Baby Daddy Ghost! And you were force to married
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who sent his first paycheck to you without even saying a word
Baby Daddy Ghost! And you fought because you two were scared
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who was there in the delivery room and was too stunned to speak and just nod along to what the nurses said, stared at his baby daughter until the nurses took the baby so she can lay on your skin.
Baby Daddy Ghost! who didn't let you drop out of school because he knew you had a bright future.
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who went into Butchary so you could go to college (your parents were more opening and caring and help baby sit your daughter unlike his)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who come back from work and cradle his daughter and sleep with her.
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who went into the military for his own purpose which you agree he should go into. (did college through the military)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who spend that summer saving Tommy and be more of a family man
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who divorce tokep you safe after his family was slaughter and move you into a rural place in England and keep a low profile when visiting you and his daughter. (remember he’s consider dead, visit at night and don't really leave the house to continue to deception your a widow)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who spends all his time off with your young daughter on his off time, (sends most of his money to you even if you have a good job he want to provide and your money can be use as fun money.)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who becomes more authoritative figure once she becomes a teenager and has to vet every man or woman she dated.
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who only tells the task force once they saw his personal phone’s lock screen (photo of his daughter on her birthday changes it yearly) brought her around and turns out she's a volleyball player (got some of simon’s height)
Baby Daddy Ghost! Who gets a little sentimental seeing his daughter playing volleyball in the national youth lead
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