Lots of people asking questions about the fediverse over at /r/fediverse
But there's not many current users over there to answer them. If you still have a reddit account and are willing to help some folks out, please consider doing so!
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"I'm very tech-savvy, but I don't understand how the Fediverse work" - Then continues to write FUD... I'm so tired lol
If Pixelfed can reach 186k monthly active users in a week thanks to IG users, than I'm really not sure how tech savvy that person is indeed
A huge barrier for some is picking the instance and figuring which community they should follow.
Is it though? No one waited around and avoided email because they weren't sure which provider to use. Just make an account and go... if you hear or see other features that you want, then move.
Some instances filter which content comes through, which might concern some people. And email services offer different features these days, so people might assume the same of fediverse instances as long as we’re drawing that comparison.
I can't see downvotes and a lemmy.world admin threatened banning me for my half of a sarcastic spat.
Instances definitely matter.
Idk I think the sign up phase could be simpler. A default instance and clear short documentation upon sign up would help. I say this not for me (nerd for 30 years) but just got my partner to switch and they were resistent due to the account creation process. Maybe it's just the extra dimensions of "picking an instance" but it is a thing and a blocker for engagement.
"Lemmy has 42k monthly active users
Feel free if you have any questions"
Why those two? https://sh.itjust.works/post/31492067/16218879
You're missing the point. My comment is about induced friction causing people to walk away.
Which default instance when LW is slow for some people in the US? https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/36299751
And you can't recommend an American instance to Europeans as applicable laws are different
I'm sure there's technical things to consider here. I'd leave it to the app dev to work that out. The point being that removing that choice by default might yield more users.
Yes, I recently created a Pixelfed account and I definitely balked at the "pick and instance" step. When I joined lemmy (using connect) it didn't ask me to pick an instance to create an account with and eased me into the idea of the fediverse. As a reddit refugee that only left because of morals, I absolutely felt like a fish out of water but I persisted. Others don't wish to persist with something confusing or different. One one hand, that's fine with me, I don't want to share a platform with people like that anyway. On the other hand, if it's not at least a little popular and easy to swallow for new users, growth will be impacted.
they dont know it works like email tho, thats the initial hangup, also it already has issues like lemmyworld blocking piracy instances
No, but a ton of people got AOL and Prodigy email addresses at first because they got an email address with their account.
I do think apps should default to lemmee or shitjustworks and then have an option for more savvy user to pick something else in the corner rather than giving them the option to pick immediately
Jeroba would default to .ml because the devs also admin the instance.
When it came to email, we didn't care about the system becoming too centralized. They were all run by large companies that had the resources to keep things running for a long time, so no need to consider how long your email will survive. Most people didn't even know they had options. If someone you know made an aol email, then you also made an aol email. The content you receive is exactly the same regardless of where you sign up. No need to think about who federates with who, or how the instance gets moderated. Email is email.
I guess I had practice from picking MMO servers all these years.
Picking MMO servers, really? Which MMO is that? I'm genuinely asking - I've never played many MMOs, but every one that I've known has had a single persistent world.
That's how it's done with more recent ones, but older ones always had servers.
WoW for instance
Then they're likely just auto-assigning you to a server, likely based on geographic proximity.
"Lemmy has 42k monthly active users
Feel free if you have any questions"
Why those two? https://lemmy.world/comment/14616442
I slightly prefer mlem even tho its similar, arctic is the cleanest with the least issues displaying things imo, at least on iphone
The main appeal of Voyager is that it's available on both Android and iOS
forsure that makes a lot of sense
I have a question.
How, if possible, can I log in to say, discuss.online above, with this account.
Or do I need to make a second account over there.
I am using the jerboa app at the moment if that helps.
Also, related, is there a way to just, use my Mastodon account, and drop this one completely?
You can't log in from your lemmy.world account, but you can interact with it through lemmy.world as if you had an account there.
You can interact with Discuss.online communities clicking this kind of links: [email protected]
Another example: [email protected]
A community with a few guides: [email protected]
You can't use a Mastodon account to log in to a Lemmy instance.
How, if possible, can I log in to say, discuss.online above, with this account. Or do I need to make a second account over there.
You can view/comment/vote on all of the content there while logged into lemmy.world. As an example, you should be able to click this [email protected] and participate there. or [email protected].
Also, related, is there a way to just, use my Mastodon account, and drop this one completely?
I am not a fan of "microblogging", so I am not 100% certain. I have seen a lot of posts/comments from Mastodon on lemmy instances, they are the people using hashtags.
Kbin and Mbin are Lemmy-like systems that also hooks into microblogging much easier, so you might be able to do a one account thing there much easier.
Again, not certain because microblogging is not my jam.
It seems you can't interact using Mastodon, but you can follow Lemmy with Mastodon. Mostly just wasn't sure because in some ways the Fediverse seems more connected and more into the idea of "follow everywhere", but also it seems like its not quite at "one account everywhere."
For the second part Reddit also have the same issue.
Reddit has a recommendation algorithm to do most of that work for you.
A huge barrier for some is picking the instance and figuring which community they should follow.
Figuring out which communities on which servers to subscribe to is way more important than figuring out which server to post from.
no, it does matter, because of the "local" feed.
I am in favor of creating something intermediate between "local" and "global". For example, it should also show you a few posts of "neighboring" servers, but not so much from servers who are further removed.
But that effectively goes in the direction of creating a recommendation algorithm, which is a notoriously difficult topic, because everyone will complain about the results.
To get to that point you have to have selected an instance and then learned how it all works so IMO that’s less of a barrier for entry than it is a barrier for use
It is the "problem" of how accessible everything is. I know plenty of genuinely amazing coders who have no idea how an operating system (let alone the hardware it runs on) works because they don't need to know. EVERYONE has stories of people who don't understand directory structures because they grew up on google drive.
And it REALLY does not help that the average fediverse evangelist can't shut up and just give a simple answer.
In the Warframe space? What I and others have noticed works REALLY well is to tell the person trying it out "At the end of a mission you are going to get like 40 currencies. Ignore that shit, it doesn't matter". And in fediverse stuff? The answer is just to say "It is like having an email account at gmail or hotmail or whatever"*. It doesn't matter. Just go to join-lemmy.org or whatever and pick one of the top servers after doing their questionnaire".
Instead we have "Well, you need to understand federation and why it is so important. Read this white paper and then come back to me and I'll suggest a few youtube videos that explain what you are having trouble with"
*: The fact that I couldn't think of a good email provider that normies use IS the problem.
There should be a link, that redirects you to the registration page of a random (maybe based on geo ip) Lemmy server. Just don't mention to the user that they have a choice of servers. Just have them register and get on. Later, while using the Fediverse, they will learn how it works and be able to understand what it means to choose a Lemmy server yourself.
Anything else is just too complicated for the average person, I think. Hell, I think domain names other than lemmy.xxx is confusing some people.
Hell, I think domain names other than lemmy.xxx is confusing some people.
This. Techies know custom domains are a thing. A LOT of people are going to look askance at anything that isn't among the most common TLDs. I mean, lemmy.zip is kinda funny. But it also screams "don't click me, zip files from an unknown source are dangerous!"
...and now I'm having intrusive thoughts about exe being a TLD. I'm-a go lay down until the voices stop.
random (maybe based on geo ip) Lemmy server.
Random servers usually give lackluster experiences: https://lemmy.world/post/24220536
Fedi observer does something like this.
Risky click.
Edit: It's unregistered. Which I view as a total failure of the Lemmy community.
It's actually registered, just doean't point to a website. https://www.whois.com/whois/lemmy.xxx
undefined
Domain Name: lemmy.xxx Registry Domain ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY Registrar WHOIS Server: https://porkbun.com/whois Registrar URL: www.porkbun.com Updated Date: 2024-06-04T06:41:46Z Creation Date: 2023-05-31T21:41:15Z
I think they shouldnt even be shown other servers inititslly on the apps, have it in the corner as an optional pick, default to lemmee or shitjustworks since they dont block stuff like piracy, or if you're scared of legal trouble default to lemmyworld
I see that hexbear.net, lemmygrad.ml, and Lemmy.ml are all recommendations there. So there might be a problem with that plan... They hate the West, whereas people in Reddit are FROM the West, and overall even if they join Lemmy, I cannot imagine them remaining here for very long.
I almost quit Lemmy after even just a couple of mere discussions with people on those instances - I sure as fuck would not have stuck around if my entire instance was surrounded by them!
Would YOU join Truth.Social, the Alt-Right network? Well, here at Lemmy, we are the Alt-Left one. It is zero surprise to me at all that centrists on Reddit are not desiring to come to this place that is so highly unwelcoming to them anyone who does not use Linux btw.
I get downvoted in every political discussion here. But at least nobody banned me yet. On reddit they banned me from the subreddits that are supposed to represent my views!
I don't even bother with the largest communities here anymore, which all seem like circle jerk echo chambers to me. Of the top 10 communities on Lemmy.World, I am no longer subscribed to any of them. And then of the next 10, I am only subscribed to Not the Onion and Fediverse.
Just like Reddit, the largest ones have most of the toxicity. The niche subs are way more chill. Unfortunately, being on Lemmy.World you can't interact with any of the content on Beehaw - which has odd moderation behaviors, chief among them being that people must be "nice* whatever that means.
So more niche subs might be to your liking as well. You can't force people to like what you say though, only either tailor your comments to match their viewpoints or else move to where yours are at least respected and hopefully even welcomed.
If they ever do and it's unjustified, feel free to report to [email protected]
Lemmy feels pretty centrist, idk politics are weird plenty of right mfs have very leftist views that they see as right wing views if that makes sense, plenty of left wing ppl going off emotion too. I feel like on lemmy no one tweaks if you agree with one of trumps actions while hating 99% of them, elsewhere like on reddit they'll pile on you for considering they could have one good point,like yeah maybe cartels should be designated terrorists good job there
You can test that assumption at your convenience by making a post or even just a reply in [email protected]. I don't think it will turn out like you hoped.:-)
My point is that it highly depends which community you say something in. The more niche the more likely that is to be true but the popular ones seem full of people just waiting to dunk on people's poor judgement - ChapoTrapHouse even explicitly says that right in the sidebar area!:-P
they should really only suggest lemmee or shitjustworks, not a fan of any that block stuff like piracy
"Lemmy has 42k monthly active users
Feel free if you have any questions"
Why those two? https://lemm.ee/post/53298989/17673980
Warframe
Just checked about https://dormi.zone/, good to see it's still around
I know plenty of genuinely amazing coders who have no idea how an operating system
Such a person cannot be an "amazing coder".
Generally, I don't believe it's actually an issue with complication. There's just a resistance to change. That said there's still significant onus on those invested in the fediverse to make sure It Just Workstm
I miss a lot of the niche communities of reddit that still had engagement. Lemmy doesn't have all that I used to have, but I decided to join anyway. Not everyone will do that, and like you said that makes the resistance to change even stronger.
It's fine to use both, most people do
Yeah if you want to that's fine. I choose not to.
You are not alone.
Town and cities subreddits are probably going to be the last to move
thats kind of how it starts, individuals have different thresholds for migrating. its fine for it to take time. =)
I thought it was sh.itjust.works
Wow, that's a dumb argument. I don't have the slightest clue how it works, but I'm here!
IKR.
Call me a gatekeeper but it's not secret arcane knowledge for a privileged few.
You just sign up the same way you've done anything ever.
I mean... people who understand how the fediverse works... have already made the move.
So what? You don't have to understand how something works to use it.
This guy thought so..
He was wrong.