Despite being a huge fan of the #Fediverse, there is a certain part of its culture which has annoyed me from day 1 and still does:
The way, many people reply to posts.
1st: Even though many posts come in clearly marked parts, people start responding to one of the first posts without waiting for the thread being complete.
Of course: Part of that is due to technical reasons: Most clients do not support creating threads and to publish them in one go.
1/3
©Kisaragi Saya
I am still looking for one that is capable of doing so.
2nd (even more annoying): Most people respond to posts without looking at already existing answers, so people can read 20 times "You should use GNU/Linux" instead of only once and, even if they do, many rather reply directly to the original post instead of adding additional input to an existing discussion including the people who have already added their wisdom.
2/3
3rd (minor annoyance): People responding privately when the matter in question is or might be very much of public interest.
So: If you feel like adding your comment (I'd love that!), please:
• Respond to the very last post of this thread!
• Take into account what others might have already written!
• Include them into your reply (if it makes sense)!
• Under no circumstances send me a private message!
3/3
@mina regarding your second point: depending which instance you're on and how "deep" federation is, you might only see a few answers (or none at all) and not everyone is aware of this or would even take the time to click on "show original post" and then check for answers there.
And some people just love making a point for the umpteenth time.
I mean: If you don't see other answers, you're obviously free of blame.
Some people even manage to reply "followers only" to a public post.
@mina oh, yes, gotta love those.
If you don't see all answers, you're obviously off the hook.
Most people without or higher character limit tend to drop unreadable blobs.
I despise that.
@joaopinheiro I write long posts on misskey (very seldom) or my blog. If people are happy where they are and only occasionally go over the limit, that's fine for me. But I understand that it can be annoying. @mina
@mina Some thoughts…
1. Mona for example can split long messages into threads. So you can write massive amount of text without bothering about its length which Mona will then split for you (like this one). It allows you to preview the split before positing, but I’m not sure if split positions can be changed manually other than by creating a new paragraph. At least I didn’t find out until now. 
… (1/3)
2. There is no concept of a “thread” in Mastodon. Answers generate branches in a tree which some clients do not show chronologically, others seem to do that. The result is always a tree, even if it may consist of just one single branch. It still is a tree. A chronological thread with answers being appended at the end is just one special case of the tree. (2/3)
3. Some people post a thread in x single posts not being linked to each other, making each thread post appear as a single standalone non-chained post. A thread is created by chaining them together – by the poster. Each post should be an answer to the previous post. That’s how posts are “properly” linked to create a thread.
Hope this helps. (3/3)
Btw., the “post number” like “1/x” is only an information for the reader. It has no technical impact whatsoever. That means, putting a posting number into the post’s text will *not* make it a threaded post and no Mastodon client can detect it as a threaded post.
@mina@berlin.social regarding clients to support threads. If I’m not mistaken, Mona (for iOS) splits posts automatically during creation of a post into threads.
iOS is unfortunately not an option for me.
Anyway, I do use the browser most of the time, especially for longer posts.
But thanks for the input.
@mina@berlin.social I can feel you. Most folks starting threads with 1/x and don’t tell when x has been reached. But honestly I think either one uses an instance that limits a post to 500 chars, then it’s not made for threads. Or if one often likes to create long posts, then seek for an instance that allows for that.
Most people actually do mark their last post with 5/5, even if they started off with 1/x.
With your second point, I don't agree.
I consider instances which character limits to be very suitable for threads.
People with higher or no character limits tend to ramble endlessly. Not good for reading!
Smaller posts allow for breaking up an idea into digestible pieces.
Okay, guilty.
I recently replied to a post "Followers only", and even worse, I replied to you privately in the past.
There are topics in the Fediverse that I wouldn't address publicly because I've found that it would provoke some of the people here endlessly. And I don't want that.
I only mention them to my followers or to you personally because I trust you....
I'm not good in taking attacks, the more aggressive the worse. 
@mina Well, Mastodon was neither intended nor designed for „overlong posts (in threads)“ (there are weblogs for that). Therefore, you cannot blame (nor re-educate) the system, nor its users, nor a „culture“(?) for not following some non-existing rules you imagine for such cases. #MyTwoCents
You're right.
Mastodon is the Fedi's *short* messaging platform, and I actually think that the brevity of its messages (and ease of use) is the main reason for its popularity within the Fediverse.
However: sometimes, you've got to say more and threads are the way to do it.
There's a whole discussion on this topic below the OP.
--
I don't imagine rules. I just state what I think is common sense.
The world would be so much better, if everyone just accepted that I am right. 