Facebook: Friends are always mutual, and require a request. You can choose which posts are publicly available, and which are for friends.
Twitter: All posts are public, unless you have set your account to private, and then followers will need to request.
Mastodon: Private or public accounts. Every post has one of four privacy levels, which can't be changed later, and there is a multidimensional matrix that describes what posts can be seen by what users from where at what time.
@impiaaa I thought this was a joke post
@impiaaa Do you believe Mastodon was better when:
a) it was all-public
b) it had the extra "unlisted" option that was account-wide
c) it had the extra "unlisted" option granular for posts
d) it had the extra "unlisted" and "private" options granular for posts but private posts didnt leave your server
e) i am tired of making this list
@Gargron Sorry, sorry, I'm not trying to start anything. I know the rationale behind many of these options and issues. I just wish they were either more consistent, better documented, or somehow more obvious. I'm glad that, as a Twitter alternative, someone can mostly just sign up and get going and not worry about it.
@impiaaa There absolutely is a consistency in it. Consider these elements:
- Mention of someone
- Follow relation
- Local/federated/hashtag timelines = public timelines, i.e. not-home-or-profile-timelines
A direct post goes out only to mentions. A private post is a level above: mentions AND followers. Unlisted is a level above: mentions AND followers AND your profile. Public is a level above: mentions AND followers AND your profile AND public timelines.