Fediverse

we need more hornyposting and leftist infighting

Probably more NSFW instances? We barely have one.

We need more cat forums.

As a new user (I started using PieFed 2 months ago), the UX can surely be improved, but I feel like the main issue is relative to how users are supposed to use the fediverse: I still don't have a clue on how the fediverse works and how to use it properly.
And I'm motivated in learning to use it.
But for someone who isn't motivated, it's a huge "no thanks, goodbye"

Ready for a bunch of teens coming in and trashing the place? No.

From a technical standpoint: No.

I'm on probably my dozenth account now. The majority of my jumps are because the instance I'd chosen became unstable, had long and/or frequent outages, or just died and went away completely with no warning.

Even the biggest instance I've ever joined, lemmy.world, choked whenever there's a large exodus from Reddit or a lemmy upgrade or a bug farts in Belgrade.

The instances with fairly open enrollment will likely break under the load. The smaller instances with ridiculous sign-up requirements and/or a need for manual approval of accounts will discourage people from using Lemmy at all.

And because of those technical issues...

New instances will pop-up quickly from determined Redditors, because the stuff that's already around can't keep up. Then those new instances will become the heavy hitters. The ones we have now will be vulnerable to atrophy and becoming insular. The overall Fediverse will be vulnerable to the silo effect, diluting its value to folks, as it will basically be RedFed versus OldFed.

From an end-user standpoint: Also no.

The "culture" would shift practically overnight. I've already seen that happen. When I first got here, people were actually kind to each other. Users stood up for others and disparaged others for being hostile, aggressive, overly negative, etc. Then we had the API-calypse surge. Now those radically kind days are long gone. It happened fast. I tried to keep it up in my own small little corner, but even I don't do as good a job as I should.

While the Fediverse may be "strong" overall, the individual pieces are too fragile to handle a significant Rexit onslaught. If even a small fraction of all Reddit users came to the Fediverse en-masse, this place as we know it would be gone.

We could certainly keep trying to improve accessibility from a technical standpoint, like trying to make it easier for new accounts to hit the ground running. Basically, focusing on good defaults. I've heard people emphasize things like suggestions and starter packs based on simple interest questions for instance. UX is often heavily influenced by what apps you're using for access however.

To be honest though, when I hear this kind of question, I always end up thinking "quality over quantity". I feel like we need to remind ourselves that bigger doesn't always mean better, particularly online. Particularly when the question is about attracting Redditors. Reddit is a cesspool, and cesspools often attract and breed noxious organisms.

The point is, it might be best to keep focus on raising awareness and promoting what the Fediverse is to those who might be receptive rather than trying to contort ourselves to suit the wants of those to whom the Fediverse's appeal is lost. Do our best to be more accessible from a technical standpoint. Then just put out the welcome, open the door, let those masses yearning to break free come, let the rest be.

An exception to this argument is the objective of furthering the cause of federation itself more broadly, but this is a different concern and a completely different discussion.

When I switched during the API blackout, the first issue I ran into was just a lack of content. That's definitely been resolved since. I think at this point it just comes down to how well they can pick up on the concept of the fediverse, and picking an instance.

Only way there is a mass rexit is if the bot accounts get fed up and leave.

Can't say I'm looking forward to swarms of bot accounts descening on Lemmy

Well, from a technical standpoint I am more prepared as an instance admin compared to Summer 2023. We're running on powerful dedicated hardware after all.

Lemmy seems in a great spot. I hope people give it a chance

User experience.

It is frustratingly bad for people just wanting to sign up. The idea of creating a single account, tied to a single instance that may or may not be federated is a confusing concept when most places online now are centralized. Then you have to choose which instance you sign up to, then depending on the instance you may need to go through an application or some other hoops to finally have a working account.

Then you may later find out your instance is not the community you thought it was, may be un-federated from other communities you had wanted to engage with, or the instance just shuts down one day, you loose your account and have to start all over again. That frustration and confusion is enough to turn away most casual and less techy users.

Also, there are lots of apps to pick from, but never a de facto one. While not necessarily a bad thing (in fact it can be generally good!) it does not help with the issues laid out above.

I've been SLOWLY getting into the Fediverse for a little over a year now. My biggest gripe has always been discovery and availability. I feel like there is a lot more effort required to find people/communities I am interested in. Then if/when I do find them they are often not very active.

So yeah I'll say what everyone else is saying that UX needs some work. I used Lemmy for a while last year and just couldn't get used to the interface, I'm not Feddit and like this interface more. But it could use some work on mobile imo.

Rexited a long time ago. We must encourage (sensible people) to move to Lemmy and Piefed

I don't want people from Reddit here.

The fact that half of Twatter moved to Bluesky instead of Mastodon is a blessing.

ActivityPub is by design a data harvesting goldmine, the fact that it flies under the radar is the only saving grace.

Sign up is still a confusing, exclusionary, inaccessible mess. So, no.

Let's hope this time there won't be a "boycott is over" moment.

how can we be ready this time?

I'm here to chew bubblegum and sass noobs; and I'm all outta noobs.

Is reddit blocking VPNs now? I don't use reddit anymore, but sometimes I search something on the web and like it or not, redditors in niche communities have good answers to uncommon questions. Definitely better than can be found on quora or other places.

But it doesn't let me view them, supposedly because I'm using a VPN now...

If that's the case, fuck spez and all corporate sellouts. Reddit used to be a mecca for freedom of association...