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@cyle / cyle.tumblr.com

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cyle

first of all, my name is pronounced like "kyle", just spelled with a C.

if you find yourself here, on my blog, reading this pinned post... know that you’re in for the following content if you follow me:

  • hand-wavy meta-commentary about tumblr (because i work at tumblr, though disclaimer that any opinions about tumblr expressed here are my own and not Tumblr Official Opinions)
  • direct commentary about tumblr (i work here! though again, repeat disclaimer that any opinions about tumblr expressed here are my own and not Tumblr Official Opinions)
  • shitposts of my own making or of someone else’s making -- most likely this is what you're gonna see
  • photography of mine or someone else’s
  • my own bleeps and bloops
  • art of some kind
  • conversations with bots on tumblr
  • very rarely, my own thoughts
  • very rarely, politics and finance stuff

and probably other things i’m forgetting.

⚠️ NOTE that if you are thinking of sending me an ask about some issue with Tumblr you're experiencing, please submit a Support request instead.

#pinned post#about this blog
cyle
intellichad

a group of zebras is called a dazzle. if that doesn’t brighten your day, i don’t know what will.

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tsunamiwavesurfing

how the fuck is that supposed to pay my bills?

cyle
snappysprinkledog
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snappysprinkledog

Tumblr is known and also spoken of by its user base for its high proportion of lgbt+ users, but I'm curious as to if the lgbt+ user base is actually as large as though or if its just confirmation bias, so...

For fun if you want put how you identify in the tags and the part of tumblr you'd say you're here for

cyle
candygothjester
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cyle
halfmoth-halfman asked:

hello!! i hope you don’t mind me asking, but i’ve seen a lot of very rude and hateful posts about how users should reblog things instead of liking, with a lot of debate surrounding whether or not reblogs are “better” for the tumblr algorithm and sharing content than likes or whether or not likes also help push posts in the algorithm. is there a definitive answer for this?? or is there at least an answer to how exactly likes function, if they do anything for a post and it’s circulation or if it’s just a fun little button to let someone know you liked a post??

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cyle answered:

there is a definitive answer to this, i feel like i've answered it a dozen times or reblogged posts with commentary to help dispel this myth.

likes absolutely help, even more than reblogs in some cases. the argument that "reblogs are better than likes" rests on a few assumptions, but one of them is that every one of your followers will see your reblog. that's simply untrue: most people using tumblr do not catch up with every post on their dashboard. they look at some of them, and maybe come back the next day to a whole new set of posts in their feed.

this is why "Best Stuff First" / "the algorithm" was created: to optimize what those first-seen posts are. the way we "rank" those posts via the algorithm (not just for the dashboard, but for "For You", for recommendations, etc) uses a number of signals. the loudest ones are reblogs and likes! i don't have the exact weights, but i'm fairly certain a like is more or equal weight as a reblog.

i think a lot of this misconception stems from the fact that we've never made "what do likes do" clear in the tumblr interface until recently. the only way you'd ever see "what a like does" is via the notes view or via your own Likes list -- so it makes sense people won't know that their likes were used for so much more.

but now we have "Based on your likes" and "Liked by..." recommendations on tumblr, so you can directly see the result of people using likes. but it's actually always worked that way! we just didn't make it clear.

so please, spread the word that liking a post is valid, it's a perfectly fine function of tumblr, and it does help surface content across the platform. reblogs are still super important -- but they're not "the right and only way to use tumblr" or the only way content spreads around the platform.

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wheel-of-fandoms

Other than the part where no one uses "for you" or "based on your likes", but sure. Well, I suppose maybe the tiktok immigrants do...

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macmanx

Please don't confuse "I don't use this" with "no one uses this."

Respectfully, you are allowed to not use any algorithmic Dashboard feature, that's why they all have on/off settings, but many many [tumblr] users do make use of the algorithmic Dashboard features.

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cyle

exactly this. there are millions of people on tumblr. trying to make assumptions/generalizations about what all of them do, or even what most of them do, is impossible if you're just using tumblr, even if you're using it every day.

i was a daily tumblr user before i joined staff, and i thought i had a handle on "how people use tumblr"... i even studied tumblr academically in college... and then i learned that my assumptions were all completely wrong, once i could see behind the scenes at a more macro level with data.

to use an analogy: you wouldn't assume that everyone in a city of millions of people all behave the same way. that's ridiculous. there are different needs, different ways of doing things, different ad-hoc solutions, etc etc. while there can be similarities, there are more differences.

cyle
schakira asked:

hiya :3 i don't know where to report these kinds of bugs, so i'm sending it to you cyle. sorry in advance but i discovered that you can press the spacebar button indefinitely and have an empty invisible space that leaves the boundary of the post

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that's a fun one, but you can file this the same way you file any bugs: via the Support form. you can get to that via "Help" in the account menu on web, or in the settings menu in the apps.

cyle
oli
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imaginarycircus

Remember calming cat? Remember when tumblr was this color? If you don’t that’s fine. I just feel old and alone.

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should-be-sleeping

You’re never alone. There is always calming cat.

cyle
intellichad
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memorycycle

dmv: can i have you birth certificate

me: i dont have it but you can trust! 😁✌️

dmv: ok! 😁✌️here is your license

me: its so small and cute! 😳

dmv: just like you! ☺️

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mantaradio

can't get an algorithm like this on twitter

cyle
blowery
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britcision

Guys I have spoken to teens on this website and it never occurred to me before but

How are the kids finding us these days

Y’all seeing the memes and posts on other platforms and just following over? Are we “cool” again? I’ve only been back since mobile was a feasible option but I find this fascinating from an anthropological perspective

I’ve got a decade on most of my cousins and I doubt any of them have even heard of tumblr but they’re hitting 20s now so have we looped back around?

Guys is tumblr retro????

Please do not tell me your actual age just give me the vibes

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cyle

great look into our dilemma

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