Posted by John Scalzi
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/16/the-official-john-scalzi-social-media-faq/
https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55320
Many moons ago I wrote a primer here for how I used social media, but time has passed and how I use social media has also changed a bit. So I decided it might be useful to have a new and updated Social Media FAQ, detailing who I am, how I use social media, how I manage both my presence in those spaces, and how people get to access me there, or not. This FAQ is meant to be useful but not necessarily exhaustive, and will be updated when necessary or desirable.
Let’s begin!
First, who are you?
I’m John Scalzi. I’m best known for writing science fiction novels, although I do (and have done) other things as well. Here is a brief biography, and here is a bibliography of my work.
Why do your social media bios only read “I enjoy pie”?
I mean, I do enjoy pie.
Yes, but you have other things of interest about you.
Sure, but I’m okay with people deciding they want to follow me on social media for the quality of the material I place in those spaces, and not for other reasons — and it turns out quite a few people follow me on social media without knowing anything else about me. Then they are surprised that I have a life outside what they see there.
You have a lot of followers. How did you manage that?
One or more of the following: I am notable outside of social media, so some people follow me because of that; I’m interesting and amusing on social media, and frequently reposted because of it, so people often find me because of that; in the case of Bluesky, I was an early adopter (I joined when it had only 46k users), so I have some momentum there because of that. I didn’t and don’t go out of my way to get followers on social media; people follow me or don’t.
If I follow you on social media, will you follow me back?
Maybe but you shouldn’t expect me or anyone else to do that out of a sense of quid pro quo. Most of the people I follow on social media are people that either I know from elsewhere, or are people with whom I’ve interacted on social media and found interesting and fun. The best way to get me to follow you on social media is to be a good follow in your own right. If it bothers you that I won’t automatically follow you when you follow me, I’m okay with you not following me.
What do you post on social media?
I post random thoughts, stuff about my professional life, some social/political musings, lots of pictures of my pets, some pictures of my spouse, and now and then musical compositions I’ve created, plus other various stuff. The percentages of what I post vary depending on the site, and some sites I’ll forgo certain types of content entirely (for example, I almost never post political content on Facebook or Instagram). It’s a mix of thoughts and interests and concerns. I do it because it’s fun for me and as an introvert who lives far away from most of the people he knows, it’s a convenient way to get a manageable dose of socializing.
What are your politics?
In this era of political discourse, and in the context of the United States, I am rather to the left and have a strong dislike of the policies and politics of the US right.
I don’t like that!
That’s your prerogative but I’m not obliged to care. If you don’t want to see my political content in your social media, I suggest you only follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram. Otherwise it will show up.
How about I debate you on your politics on social media instead?
Yeah, I don’t do that now. There was a time that was fun for me, but it stopped being fun, both on a personal level and as a matter of general social media discourse, a long time ago. Also, there’s the matter that most of those who actively want to “debate” online are less interested in substantive discussion than they are trying to hijack an audience of followers and then attempt to gish gallop their way through them. So I don’t argue or “debate” on social media anymore, and if someone makes a nuisance of themselves about it in my comments, I’ll hide their comments and/or block them.
But if you don’t debate me, I win!
Okay, you win. Congratulations.
Do you block people often on social media?
These days, more than I used to. Much of social media is populated by trolls, bots and chuds, and they will come into my comments, especially but not exclusively on posts about social or political topics. What they want is attention, and I’m not inclined to give it to them or let them extract attention from others. I now subscribe to the policy of “don’t engage, just block” when these sorts show up – no argument, no snarky comment before punting them, just a quick dump of their ability to comment then or on future posts.
Bots, trolls and chuds are easy to block, but I also block others who in my opinion seem disproportionately out of sorts about something I’ve posted, whose first contact with me is rude, angry or otherwise obnoxious, those who decide that my comment threads are the perfect place for their largely unrelated soapbox or merchandise, or who I otherwise suspect would have a happier social media experience if I wasn’t in it. I block on vibes at this point, basically, and in return I actively encourage people to block me too, if they find me obnoxious or otherwise interminable on social media. I’m not offended! I’m not for everyone!
I don’t want to be blocked by you. How do I avoid that when talking to you on social media?
Mostly, just be nice. Also, remember that “the failure mode of ‘clever’ is ‘asshole,'” which is to say that you should consider whether the bit of snark you’re thinking of offering is going to land like you hope it will, especially if you are interacting with me (or anyone!) for the first time. When I see a comment I think is over the line, I will often try to see whether the person offering it has a history of obnoxiousness in their comments, or if they are just being momentarily clueless, but honestly I don’t always have the time, and sometimes I’m not in the right mood. These days in those cases I will simply err on the side of “block.” Likewise, if your first interaction with me (or anyone else) on social media is to be rude, or to criticize or be the “well, actually” person, you will come across as tiresome and pedantic more often than you might imagine. You need to ask yourself if that is what you really want to accomplish.
In general, remember that while you can comment on anyone’s post, no one is obliged to have the reaction you intended, or to give you the interaction you hoped for. Also remember, bluntly, that most social media services have millions of members, and that you probably won’t be missed if what you say to someone ends up meriting you a block. I personally stop thinking about those I block within seconds of doing so. I never think about them again!
But what if I really disagree with something you said and want to tell you?
Then you have the choice of being angry and/or obnoxious to me about it, and getting to tell me about it in my comments or via tagging exactly once, or being measured about it and possibly being able to talk about it, or other things, further. Your choice! Alternately, disagree with me however you choose to and just don’t be in my comments or tag me about it; these days I don’t generally wade into social media discussions that I haven’t been explicitly invited to.
(Note well that I do occasionally search my name to find professional mentions (reviews, etc) and will sometimes see discussions about me thereby; I’ve made it my policy these days not to engage with them, although if someone in the discussion seems especially annoyed with me I might decide to free them of any chance of seeing me again on that social media service, and block them. Some people are offended by this, but, eh.)
People are (obviously) allowed to disagree with me, or dislike me, or otherwise think negatively about me or my work. Including you! Live your truth! But if you’re going to bring that to my social media door, try not to be awful about it, or that door is going to shut in your face.
What about free speech?
You are free (within the constraints of a social media site’s user agreement and moderation policy) to say whatever you like. Neither I nor anyone else, however, is obliged to listen. People seem to be rather intentionally “confused” about this recently. I am not.
But.. but… echo chambers!
One, “echo chamber” is the card obnoxious people slap down when they want a free pass to irritate other people without consequence, predicated on the false premise that no one actually exists outside that single instance of social media, and two, if I choose to live in an echo chamber on social media, that’s my business, not yours, thanks.
I have an important subject I want to talk about and I’d like you to amplify my post. Will you?
Possibly but unless I know you directly and/or can verify what you’re asking me to amplify is not in fact a scam, probably not. I am selective on what I repost to my followers and I don’t have a lot of time to verify that what I am being asked to promote is real. Mostly these requests are ignored, or if they’re placed in my comment threads, hidden from general view.
This is not to say I don’t repost and amplify posts! But those tend to be ones that I find personally intriguing, and I tend to repost them without solicitation.
I think you should talk about [subject you think is important] on social media and/or I find your silence about [subject you think is important] on your social media telling.
That’s fine but I talk about what I choose, and don’t talk about what I choose as well. If I choose not to talk about something, it might be because I don’t know enough about it, or feel that others are better qualified to discuss it, or have decided that it’s something I prefer to deal with offline rather than online, or believe there is no useful way to talk about it online without ramping up an outrage machine, or it’s something I don’t, in fact, care much about, or any other number of reasons, singly or in combination. You are free to be disappointed! I understand. However, that does not oblige me to comment on it more than I choose to. Alternately, you may wish I would shut up on a certain particular topic. In that case you are free to mute/block/unfollow me.
I want to DM you about something. May I?
I don’t typically let people direct message or otherwise privately message me on social media services, unless we are mutually following each other, and even then it’s not generally my preferred method of communication, especially for business-related discussions. If you need to reach me, use my email.
You seem to have a lot of rules.
Yes, I do! Although they are mostly guidelines. I can’t make you follow them, all I can do is mute/block you if you run afoul of them. The thing is, I’m on social media to have fun — to see friends, to chat with people new to me, to have a good time and to occasionally speak my mind about things I think are important. Sometimes in order for social media to be enjoyable, it has to be managed, otherwise the opportunities for others to make it less fun and enjoyable increases. Everyone has their own rules and guidelines they follow on social media. These are mine! They may not be yours, and that’s fine. You do your social media in the way that works for you.
Where can you be found on social media?
Here is the current list of places I hang out online, and what I tend to post on each service. It’ll be updated as I go along.
— JS
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/04/16/the-official-john-scalzi-social-media-faq/
https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=55320
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