#Pixelfed is getting talked about on TikTok as an alternative to #Instagram.
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#Pixelfed is getting talked about on TikTok as an alternative to #Instagram.
Almost every video about it has people in the comments saying "Why do I have to pick a server? What does that mean?"
Either people are just dumb beyond help, or we need to do better at onboarding people to the #fediverse.
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D [email protected] shared this topic
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@jcrabapple the fediverse keeps putting down this issue as trivial, but in the modern world it really isn't.
The email analogy doesn't line up when the expectation of modern social media is go to one website and sign up. Not to mention the choice of identify with the different servers.
This is one of the reasons why Bluesky works. Even if AT Protocol gets federated among multiple services, when you sign up for Bluesky, the hosting server is auto selected to them.
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@jcrabapple People are generally dumb (yes, even us), but I don’t think that label warrants in this case.
It is important to realize that only a select group of people “live” in this tech bubble and are comfortable in there.
For most people, tech is hard, and federated services are not as straightforward as centralized ones.
So yes, better docs and onboarding are needed.
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M [email protected] shared this topic
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@andrewmelder the question is how do we manage the onboarding of new users who have little to no concern or patience for hurdles or friction, and still spread people out so they're not all on the same instance?
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Yeah, sorry @jcrabapple, but I agree with @mahryekuh, and others saying this.
After Musk took over Twitter, I wanted to give Mastodon another try, but with a different username. And since you can't change it, and mastodon.social was closed to new registrations at the time, I decided to run my own server instead of having to pick a different one.
And seeing some of the inter-instance "drama", I don't know, I'm pretty happy with my choice.
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@stefan @mahryekuh No need to apologize to me, I agree. My comment about people being beyond help was hyperbole. I really do think we need better onboarding.
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Stefan Bohacekreplied to Jcrabapple last edited by [email protected]
@jcrabapple @mahryekuh Yeah, I think it might make more sense to switch to promoting specific communities (and stop calling them servers). I've seen a few people talk about this already, and it's definitely an easier sell.
"Hey, join DMV.community! You'll be able to talk to anyone on Mastodon, Pixelfed, and many others!"
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Tamsyn Ulthara 🏳️⚧️⛧🎃🐈⬛replied to Marijke Luttekes last edited by
@mahryekuh @jcrabapple "Just pick mastodon.social for now" would be good advice to most people coming in, IMHO. I've seen lots of analysis paralysis due to the server choice alone.
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@stefan @jcrabapple Mastodon “official” iOS app still won’t tell you if you got unread/new notifications inside the app unless you enable push notifications.
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@boby_biq @jcrabapple I assume someone already reported this? Either way, that stinks, but it's a good thing there's plenty of alternatives!
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@stefan @jcrabapple Oh I was beating this drum for long now, I also not a tech person, so GitHub is Chinese for me. I stayed on mastodon thanks to Ivory and then Mona App. I would have left without them making the interface enjoyable.
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Marijke Luttekesreplied to Tamsyn Ulthara 🏳️⚧️⛧🎃🐈⬛ last edited by
@TamsynUlthara @jcrabapple With an influx of thousands of new accounts, that’s a surefire way to blow up server capacity. But that aside, it would definitely be an idea to help people find a server that matches their interests, or suggest one outright!
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@stefan @jcrabapple But how does this sound like: join mastodon but do not use the official app bc it doesn’t have the same functionality as the web browser access. Also changing the profile settings is..fun. You lend on a page for changing password
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@boby_biq Yeah, the experience could still use some polishing. But honestly, I've tried Bluesky, and for post translation they just link you to Google Translate?? Where is all that money going?
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@stefan @jcrabapple I HATE BSKY’s app it’s a big
Until recently, and until I bought a new phone (!) it looked like this:
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@jcrabapple @stefan Sorry for hijacking your thread, I buzz off. But this is one of those pet issues of mine.
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@boby_biq @jcrabapple Hah, no worries, always enjoy a lively conversation!
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@stefan @boby_biq @jcrabapple I personally think the Bluesky mobile app is quite good. but the translation thing still hits me every time, its so bad. The way @phanpy does inline translation is so perfect I cant use anything else without feeling annoyed
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@jcrabapple @andrewmelder
New user onboarding challenges? Clearly communicate benefits of the platform for potential users. That will motivate them a bit to invest in learning.
