Interesting revelation from #gargron in recent interview on server choices for newcomers (https://www.theverge.com/23658648/mastodon-ceo-twitter-interview-elon-musk-twitter)
“However, I think that possibly going forward, we might rework the onboarding user experience into **presenting a default option as well as an advanced option, where all that stuff with choosing a server would basically be hidden away from the people who get intimidated by choice**.”
@fediversenews @hosting #fediverse
“However, I think that possibly going forward, we might rework the onboarding user experience into **presenting a default option as well as an advanced option, where all that stuff with choosing a server would basically be hidden away from the people who get intimidated by choice**.”
@fediversenews @hosting #fediverse
Can Mastodon seize the moment from Twitter?
CEO Eugen Rochko on running — and growing — a decentralized social network gaining an influx of users in the wake of Elon Musk’s Twitter meltdown.Nilay Patel (The Verge)
vagabond
in reply to maegul • • •Nate Gaylinn
in reply to maegul • • •But how do you pick the default(s)? This sort of decision can have a huge influence on the evolution of the network. There's also a big range of experiences on the Fediverse, so helping folks find a good fit matters.
Maybe a quick survey? Like, which of these hash tags do you want more / less of?
maegul
in reply to Nate Gaylinn • • •But realistically, the whole instance thing is fraught from a UX perspective IMO. They can be simultaneously meaningless and important. In some ways, federated instances are a nice-to-have safety structure where most of the time you don’t want to and indeed don’t have any need to care too much about it.
Ron K Jeffries social
in reply to maegul • • •Federation is the basis of having a very decentralized social network. There may be other approaches (my mind is open to alternatives...) that preserve the benefits of the fediverse such as avoiding the possibility that a billionaire can buy control of the entire system.
maegul
in reply to Ron K Jeffries social • • •But from a UX perspective, it’s mostly friction and confusion. Broadly, IMO the fediverse is still “laying down pipes” and not yet refining UX.
Cynthia Morse Linton
in reply to maegul • • •maegul
in reply to Cynthia Morse Linton • • •His suggestion though leans perilously toward centralisation though, which is already within the “centralisation” of the fediverse inside mastodon.
RolloTreadway
in reply to maegul • • •Not saying that there's nobody who legitimately finds it confusing, of course that's the case for some. But if you're repeatedly told 'Mastodon is confusing', then you'll be more inclined to give up immediately.
Kevin Davidson
in reply to RolloTreadway • • •It’s an excellent way for anyone with a pro-Twitter (or anti-Fediverse) agenda to spread FUD.
I don’t know how to counter this, but suspect some other language or form of words is needed.
maegul
in reply to Kevin Davidson • • •But getting down to basics, you’re given a choice (which instance). There are many ways to not understand that choice, even beyond the basic idea of why the choice exists in the first place (ie decentralisation).
What are all/any of the consequences of picking one over the other?
maegul
in reply to maegul • • •Why do some say it doesn’t matter and yet they all advertise themselves as unique in some way?
Moderation and blocking seem to be a major difference between instances, but how do I find information about that?
Compounded by a lack of knowledge about the “culture” of the fediverse, a newcomer is forced to make a choice they don’t understand.
vagabond
in reply to maegul • • •The best instances are small with mod teams you get to know, the rest is mostly #mainstreaming lies/misinformation, I only half joke ;)
maegul
in reply to vagabond • • •jaz 🏴
in reply to Ron K Jeffries social • • •The second largest Mastodon server was bought recently
https://www.theblock.co/post/196940/mask-network-acquires-mastodon-server-pawoo-net
Mask Network acquires Mastodon server Pawoo.net
Yogita Khatri (The Block)🅺🅸🅼 🆂🅲🅷🆄🅻🆉
in reply to jaz 🏴 • • •jaz 🏴
in reply to 🅺🅸🅼 🆂🅲🅷🆄🅻🆉 • • •DanaBlankenhorn
in reply to jaz 🏴 • • •AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈
in reply to DanaBlankenhorn • • •Federation works while access is everyone to everywhere, but new users might not even realise they are being cut off if 'the bigs' go their own way.
jaz 🏴
in reply to AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈 • • •AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈
in reply to jaz 🏴 • • •But like Twitter and its ongoing problems the big 1M+ instances need a revenue source to survive.
Becoming a walled garden is one of their options.
maegul
in reply to AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈 • • •Supporting the structure of the fediverse is a duty we all have. Donations, smaller instances, diversity: Up to us.
Pinky Floyd
in reply to AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈 • • •i have a deck about this, i can't handle the coding involved.
https://cloud.payfrit.com/index.php/s/65wQKWWe5CJPqcH
new fediverse app.odp
Payfrit CloudMichael Wray
in reply to Pinky Floyd • • •Price > 0 will divert many users back to Facebook etc., but I vaguely enjoy this concept.
Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to Michael Wray • • •deefdragon
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to deefdragon • • •AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •Dave
in reply to AlisonW ♿🏳️🌈 • • •Pinky Floyd
in reply to Dave • • •especially the hassle of "doing something on MY instance vs. doing something on YOUR instance"
Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to Pinky Floyd • • •Kevin Davidson
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to Kevin Davidson • • •Qazm
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •I wouldn't say it's a technology problem. We can emulate fully distributed systems quite well with current technology, as some competing networks are already doing. (Lightweight TURN/relay servers, or meshes like Tor with its hidden services, function very well as roaming transport.)
The reason they fail and the main issue that makes the desire for (transparent as-if-)individual personal instances incredibly short-sighted is that moderation can't be automated while allowing low-friction access to individual users. It can't be democraticised using an automated system either, since that can always be gamed if it's accessible, because digital identifies are cheap (unless you tie them to real-world legal identities, which has worse problems).
If you ignore that, you eventually end up with either more spam than through completely unfiltered email once the network is large enough to be an attractive target, or a service that has zero user discoverability beyond mutual manual adds (e.g. friend codes on Switch; there are no friend requests there) and semi-manual introductions by a mutual common contact. The latter would technically work for some applications, but it would at most be a slightly smarter blogging platform with limited commenting rather than anything resembling a social network.
Kevin Davidson (Friendica)
in reply to Qazm • • •Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to Kevin Davidson (Friendica) • • •MikeK
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •I did try some work on this around 2008.
IMHO, the only way trust networks work (FoaF) is if a breach of trust by someone you have vouched for rebounds on you.
There has to be a downside.
Villages work like this.
#trust #fediverse
Ben Pate 🤘🏻
in reply to MikeK • • •@mkarliner @metalsamurai@venera.social @jaz @Ronkjeffries @AlisonW @DanaBlankenhorn @MetalSamurai@mas.to @kimschulz @Qazm @fediversenews @ngaylinn @apples_and_pears @pinkyfloyd @deef @loktai @maegul
Kevin Davidson (Friendica)
in reply to Ben Pate 🤘🏻 • • •They tend to fall either by weight of numbers (a sock puppet army join wearing a friendly face mask) or by subverting someone already within your web of trust. (Of course, this happens in meat space all the time as well, people end up joining cults or getting ripped off by "friends")