Boost (Mastodon)
Mastodon's equivalent of a retweet — forward someone else's post to your followers unchanged. Formerly called "reblog". Because Mastodon long lacked quoting, boost was the only sharing tool, which shaped a gentler sharing culture.
Distinct from a favorite (which is mostly a bookmark/appreciation and doesn't spread). No algorithm: a boost = the post appears chronologically for your followers, full stop. Because quote-tweet (with a comment) was long absent, "dunk culture" was reduced — you couldn't easily spread something to mock it. Eugen Rochko's design choice. Mastodon added quoting in 2024, which some feared would import Twitter's toxicity. Boosting + chronology = no virality optimization, which is both Mastodon's strength and its growth brake.