Hackers' Pub

Syntax	Description	Examples
`"` keyword `"`	Finds the string within quotes, including spaces. Case-insensitive. (Escape quotes inside with `\"`)	`"Hackers' Pub"`
`from:` handle	Finds content written by the specified user.	`from:hongminhee` `from:hongminhee@hollo.social`
`lang:` ISO 639-1	Finds content written in the specified language.	`lang:en`
`#` tag	Finds content with the specified tag. Case-insensitive.	`#HackersPub`
condition condition	Finds content that satisfies both conditions on either side of the space (logical AND).	`"Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
condition `OR` condition	Finds content that satisfies at least one of the conditions on either side of the OR operator (logical OR).	`#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" lang:en`
`(` condition `)`	Combines the operators within the parentheses first.	`(#HackersPub OR "Hackers' Pub" OR "Hackers Pub") lang:en`

Stefan Bohacek @stefan@stefanbohacek.online

2/9/2026, 5:27:27 PM

Public

@evanEvan Prodromou Yes, perhaps I could have phrased the original question better.

My thinking was, currently, a follower can reply to a followers-only post, with a followers-only reply.

So their followers can reply back to you, without seeing the original post, potentially deducing and further exposing personal information contained in the original post.

This is a dilemma I myself have sometimes, when I see a followers-only post. Sometimes it just makes sense for me to reply directly, eg. health status updates.

If I replied with a followers-only post saying "good luck with the heart surgery", all my followers will deduce that Alice is having a heart surgery.

Evan Prodromou @evan@cosocial.ca

2/9/2026, 5:45:39 PM

Public

@stefanStefan Bohacek I think you're tying yourself in a lot of knots to not accept that what people want, when they get replies to their followers-only posts, is to have those replies visible to their followers.

When you see a followers-only post, the default audience for your reply should be the OP's followers.

I'd like to make it clear that this is possible with ActivityPub, and it's the way other social networks handle this feature.

If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116041917348180180 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)