My experience with the Fediverse has only been through Mastodon, through which I struggled to find a community I really gelled with. Either it was supper overwhelming with meme posts or NSFW, or it was too chill to the point of nothing. Or, it was hyperfocused like FOSS/Linux and became uninteresting after awhile. May try again, but I think I will explore the other fedisites like Plemora or Calckey to see if I like it better.
I love the pace of a forum. I grew up primarily with GameFAQS and some lucid dreaming forum, and honestly it was very formative in teaching me how to write and use critical thinking skills, as well as how to respond to a variety of temperaments. I stopped participating in online forums awhile ago, and while I loved Reddit as a resource, I never felt inspired to participate. In the same way, there are an incredible number of forums dedicated to a certain topic, and are extremely valuable, it would be annoying to make an account for all the things I am interested in.
I like what lemmy is becoming. Glad to find system that makes interacting with people enjoyable.
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Yeah same here, Reddit is my mindless scrolling app of choice, not Twitter, so when I tried to use Mastodon I just kinda stood there not knowing what to do
I love being able to read and immerse myself is specific communities and whatnot, and specifically I love Reddit for the discourse, people posting in a community, replying to posts, and replaying to those replies, and so on
So Lemmy has just become my jam, so happy that Reddit has an open source federated alternative now, even if they reverse their API debacle I’m still gonna keep using this app
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I never understood why people were so into Twitter, from my perspective it’s like a new media version of press releases - big name people harp about whatever they harp about and I read about it elsewhere if it’s relevant to me.
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It is not (just) for narcissism: it can fill a niche similar to RSS. When I was using Twitter, 90% of the posts I read were from companies or projects announcing news and updates. It also had a built in comments, so you have a single, shared discussion/q&a space in the same app.
Obviously, the biggest advantage it has over RSS (and Mastodon, so far) is critical mass. More creators have Twitter accounts than RSS feeds and for those that have both, the Twitter account is always more active.
And for me at least, Twitter is almost exclusively read-only for me. There are some people that tweet stuff that I like to keep up with, but trying to engage there is super toxic. Reddit/lemmy is way better for actually talking about stuff with people. There is toxicity but it’s easier to ignore/downvote than Twitter, somehow.
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That’s a great way of looking at it! (First post ever)
Seriousl though, waking up I looked at Reddit, going to sleep I looked at Reddit. All day Reddit, and too often the same crap repeated but I was not willing to risk sorting by new, just hot, best of, or rising.
I use Inoreader to put in the Top Day or Top Week RSS feeds of various subreddits. (Just found out I can do the same here on Lemmy.) It helps keep my usage from getting addictive like I’m trying to squeeze blood from a rock, and it keeps me from seeing the same posts over and over again. I see all the important stuff. Once. When the feed runs out, it runs out. I really enjoy it.
Neato! That is probably a lot healthier than checking in every 30 minutes looking to see if something changed.
I will try it. Thank you!
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People are very chill here. However, we are all going through the same thing… we are trauma bonding over the loss of a loved one lol. As the site grows I am sure the vibe will change.
Yeah kinda, though I think the UX is indeed definitely better than modern reddit, focus on the relevant stuff, and do it well (fast, and simple design).
But unfortunately the richness of information of most subreddits is still kinda missing, but hopefully this will settle over time (and I hope that the sheer mass migration from reddit will not kill/ddos the main instances).
I for one am extremely excited to see what Lemmy’s first mainstream-news-tier controversy is going to be 🤣
someone “actually famous” is gonna join in and will inevitably get bullied off. that’s the textbook Fediverse Experience™
i’d throw a RemindMe! here but i don’t think anyone has set up a bot for that here yet
How does one make boys for lemmy?
Edit: looks like there are libraries to help with that. E.g. https://github.com/SleeplessOne1917/lemmy-bot
I mean commie hating (targeted on the main devs) will certainly be part of it in right-wing-media ^^
lol, yeah! I hated posting an even slightly unpopular opinion on reddit. Just downvotes and insults returned.
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Good point. As much as I want to love RSS, I do not like. I always find awkward somehow.
Maybe I just need the right app, but nah, I prefer the news when someone I like is excited about it.
I’d say this type of layout that focuses more on long form textual content is better for tech savvy people who are likely to stick with the fediverse than the twitter clone that Mastodon was.
Mastodon has benefitted from news articles and the sheer novelty of an alternative to Twitter, even before Elon Musk bought it out.
Lemmy probably won’t have the same fanfare, especially given the stigma Reddit has, like it was a secret to have an account, or talking about it betrayed you as some weirdo or pervert. Whatever, Reddit never seemed to have the same social acceptance as Twitter or anything Facebook owns.
I think it is good to have a community that is self-filtering. Let’s keep the IQ high on this one (with the exception of me, of course!).
This! I’m glad to see many tech-minded folks on Lemmy, but it doesn’t have the same neckbeard self-importance that Reddit seems to be known for
Power tripping in a niche on some corporate owned social media website will never be impressive.
So true… I think the worst thing about interacting with people on Reddit is getting downvoted to Hell if you say something sarcastic without “/s”
There it is. Some people are incapable of reading into context, and take everything so seriously.
Anyways, fuck that noise. I do not need social media to be some stupid zero sum game where I try to win by racking up points that do not matter because there is no prize.
@DidacticDumbass @vhstape wait, what?? So what am I supposed to do with all this karma??
the nice thing about the fediverse is that you can still interact with the other platforms if you so choose, so you aren’t limited! I’m glad you found something that works for you and i hope you have a great time :)
Thank you!
I love that you can follow PeerTube channels from Lemmy. This user influx on Lemmy could mean big things for PeerTube.
Can you explain? how do we interact with mastodon here for example?
People from Mastodon can subscribe to Lemmy communities and once Mastodon adds groups later this year the reverse will likely also be possible.
I assume this is because of adhering to ActivityPub standards?
Yes, although the standard is quite loosely defined, so things are not always fully compatible and Lemmy (on purpose) doesn’t allow following users like most other Fediverse software.
@stefenauris below posted a more detailed answer, but it’s a bit harder to interact with Mastodon from Lemmy. From kbin it has native operability for mods to define keywords or hashtags for their subs and brings that content in natively, so it’s a little easier here.
sure! most of this functionality is in the search box. You can paste a URL and have it show up right in Lemmy. For example, you can post the URL to my profile, or search for my username and see my posts there (or you should be able to I thought, I just tested it and it doesn’t show my posts but it does offer to send me a message)
Edit: This seems to work better between Friendica and Mastodon, but as development continues between platforms I’m sure it will work even better!
Edit 2: So I just tested it in reverse, I can see a feed of a Lemmy group in Mastodon. I think Lemmy just needs some more development time and love and it will be able to do the same :)
I think I will explore the other fedisites like Plemora or Calckey to see if I like it better.
Servers running these apps connect to the same fediverse Mastodon servers connect to. As does Lemmy. All these apps just give you different ways to view the same social network, so which software you use makes less difference to what you can see than which server you use. Because there is no global view of the network, what you’ll find in hashtag searches or federated timelines in the micro-posting apps (Mastodon, Pler/Akkoma Miss/CalcKey) depends on which accounts are being followed from the server hosting your account.
I’m new to Lemmy’s way of viewing the 'verse, so I’m not sure what the equivalent is here. But I think what @dave describes in this thread about Communities hosted on other Lemmy servers taking a while to show up in searches here is relevant: https://lemmy.nz/comment/28480
mastodon servers usually subscribe to a generic block list, and have sensitive moderators that are even worse than the ones you find on reddit. it creates a boring feed that scares off new users and kills any differing opinions. its annoying that something with so much potential is stomped on like that. im glad i found a good pleroma server. still like the mastodon software better though.
What are about Mastodon, that you like, that Pleroma lacks?
looks cool. not much different i just like the ui
Pleroma supports the Mastodon UI btw.
The biggest surprise for many is that Pleroma includes the Mastodon UI, too. As the Mastodon UI is mostly just another API client, it will run fine on Pleroma. As you can see in the screenshot, you can use it quite well on any Pleroma instance. We bundle it with Pleroma, so you don’t need to install anything new.
i am aware. mastodon-fe on top of pleroma is buggy and unnecessary.
Ah ok. Yeah, I just found out about Pleroma today so I thought it might be good to know.
Okay, this is a lot different than my previous understanding of the Fediverse. I know it all connects, but it is more profound than I realized.
I have a lot to learn! I need to learn how to audit a server to know if I want to be part if it.
I like the idea of each service being a unique lens over the same information spread across the network.
It feels a lot like the internet promised in Lain Serial Experiments than what we ended up getting.
Wait, the fediverse Isabel to cross the platforms? I had not picked up on that. I thought the fediverse was an IAM thing. Is it more of an ESB?
Similarly, I wish Matrix/Element would grow in popularity to compete with Discord, who will also eventually be pursuing and IPO and will allow enshittification to swallow them whole.
I have never liked Discord. It is like IRC with more steps, more surveillance, an excess of security features that doesn’t actually make anything secure.
I should give Element another chance. I think I had it before, but I was confused on how to find rooms.
I found that discord is overrun by immature teenagers. It’s tough to have a mature discussion there
It mostly has to do with the server you join. I’m a part of communities that are filled with immature teenagers, but also ones full of helpful discussions (the 3d printing discord comes to mind)
That makes sense. Discord basically a hub for all things geek and popular culture. As much as I love gaming, I do not form my identity and life around it. I can’t imagine the pain of even searching for a mature conversation on there.
Now we just need Matrix to join the fediverse 🤷🏻♂️
Matrix is federated, but only within itself. The realtime messages would flood the normal fediverse.
Matrix is a company too, expect enshittification there too. Use XMPP if you want actual freedom
Mastodon is WAY better if you follow tags. that said, I am very optimistic of Lemmy, it just needs a quality app.
I’m currently using Jerboa (edit: Android). Seems pretty good but I’ve only been here a couple hours. Have you tried it?
I’m on Jerboa now, and I think it’s got good bones, but it still needs some work. Minor stuff tho, like how setting the overall font size affects pages slightly differently.
I also miss how RIF would open articles/media natively, instead of utilizing my default browser for everything. It’s actually nice using reader view in firefox for some stuff, but the extra loading and app-swapping is a little clunky. I’m sure it’s something I could get used to if I stick with it.
I also need to figure out what pages/instances to follow so I can curate what shows up on my home page. I’m on day 2 here, so a grain of salt is needed for my commentary on a project that I can nitpick, but could not build on my own.
I hope the devs from the third party apps that Reddit is murdering are able to get similar/better jobs elsewhere. Maybe the dev teams whose platforms are now getting flooded with Reddit refugees could use the help.
anyone who isn’t burnt out by the circumstances would do well to get in early on this. I see it in my industry all the time; shittier companies shoot themselves in the foot, and the laborers that made them big in the first place bail to make other startups better.
fingers crossed
And we should donate to all these new places. I’ll have to figure out where to send my money to support this massive migration.
Developers are already working on a way for 3rd party apps to switch over to lemmy. https://sh.itjust.works/post/12678
Do you or anyone know, how does one open the link you shared in their own instance? As in, so I’m still logged in on beehaw and can comment etc. tia
That’s amazing!
The RiF dev is working on an app for Tilde, I hope that works out.
Edit: tilde.net
iOS? do you have a TestFlight link?
It’s Android
Oh dang. Glad to see Android has some good apps coming along, hopefully the iOS community can catch up. The Mastodon client ecosystem exploded back in January, hopefully we can have the same happen here.
MLEM is the one on iOS. And yes, you do need TestFlight for it.
I installed that one… I am not sure if it’s the server load to blame, but it’s not entirely stable right now. I keep getting signed out.
I have it installed, but I haven’t had a chance to use it much yet. Just in the browser now. :)
I love how similar it is to Boost for Reddit, just wish I could stop the white flash on page transition.
@dessalines@lemmy.ml has said multiple times that he based it on Boost
I did indeed. Boost is (was) the best reddit client… was never open source tho.
You know what, I feel like the second part of my name right now. The solution for discovery has always been there. Like, it is the MAIN feature.
Okay, I think I am ready for another Mastodon account. Just need to find the right instance.
I didn’t know you could do that just search #lemmy on mastodon and then go to accounts and see content for days
I didn’t even know you could follow tags, that might actually change how I feel about Mastodon, let’s see!
I for the life of me can’t actually figure out how to get started with mastodon. Like how do i even create an account or find where to start?
It’s similar to lemmy where you first have to pick and join a server.
From there it’s essentially twitter with a larger character limit and the ability to follow hashtags.
@DidacticDumbass reading (and commenting) this from mastodon and I should say: great!
Use the experience you like better!
I never to figure out how to navigate the fediverse from here!
High Five from across the 'verse!
They’re different kinds of experiences.
Forum-type things like Slashdot, Reddit, Hacker news, Reddit, etc. put the focus on the topic or community.
Micro-blog type things like Twitter, Mastodon put the focus on individuals.
If you want to see what your favourite author is posting about, or what your favourite musician is working on, or maybe behind the scenes pictures from a sporting event, microblogging platforms are great for that. Journalists also loved them because they could follow specific other journalists or other key people in the area they cared about, and get direct info from that source.
OTOH, if what you care about is a certain topic (F1 racing, beebop jazz, etc.) then forum-style platforms are better because the focus is the topic rather than the individuals.
This is an important distinction. I follow people on Twitter, while I follow topics on Reddit. It’s also the main reason why Mastodon will never succeed until it reaches the people I want to follow.
Good breakdown! I realized how foolish it is to wish any service be like anything else.
The fediverse is diverse, and the comparison is immature. We should be grateful these alternatives exist at all, because not too long ago it felt like world wide web had been irreversibly overrun by corporations, and resistance was hopeless.
Thank you for helping evolve my perspective!
I didn’t like Twitter for that reason. Often I’d follow someone because I saw some posts they made about something I’m interested in. Then suddenly they’re flooding my feed with stuff I don’t care about and often being really annoying while they do it.
I rarely find someone who I like all their posts. So it’s like do I just put up with the furry porn retweets because this person is a genius who occasionally posts about really interesting hacks?
That’s why I rarely ever followed random people on the microblogging platforms. IMO what it’s good for is following journalists, who treat the platform professionally and mostly only talk about things related to their work, or say famous authors who do some self-promotion, but also sometimes talk about their creative process.
I am a long time Twitter user. Singed up in 2007. Mastodon felt like a superior platform and I’ve been quietly waiting for Lemmy to take off.
Mastodon is exponentially better than Twitter ever was. I just need to rethink what community I want to be with and find the best instance.
mastodon has support for groups but hasn’t worked it into the gui, but there’s other federated event platforms, i forget the name
Yeah, the fediverse is way bigger than Mastodon, so I think I should explore something new.
@DidacticDumbass @arthur Right on! Picking the right instance is everything.
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Either it was supper overwhelming with meme posts or NSFW, or it was too chill to the point of nothing. Or, it was hyperfocused like FOSS/Linux and became uninteresting after awhile.
I’ve never been able to find the meme posts on mastodon, therein lies part of its core issues, federation makes discoverability iffy at best. It hasn’t yet reached mass yet.
I’ve been following hashtags on Mastodon, and that has worked pretty well for me. Still, it’s not the forum layout that I enjoy, but it’s still useful.
Well, that is when looking at the federated timeline, which is basically breaking open the dam and hoping to catch something cool before I drown.
Oh god yeah, I’ve never ventured outside the mas.to local timeline (and a few hashtags and people in the replies). I assume there are vastly more funny local timelines with a few of the more shitposty or lgbt focused ones. Eh oh well.
Unless it is a feature that I never saw, I wish I could subscribe to other timelines/instances. There are a few communities that were exclusive and always interesting.
I suppose the best thing is to be promiscuous with who you follow so you have a healthy timeline.
You can on a lot of the apps, I know the app I use on iOS ‘Ice Cubes’ supports me following another instance, this isn’t the case for the official app/website however.
Haha. Just like third-party Reddit apps, the best experience is never through the website or official application.
if you’re on a major instance the federated timeline should have close to everything not specifically blocked. it’s a flood of stuff tho
Just started here myself, excited to see where this community can go in the future!
I like Mastodon, but I like Lemmy more. That said, I liked Reddit a lot more than Twitter so it makes sense I’d prefer Lemmy. I’d rather follow topics than people, and Mastodon/Twitter are about following people (yes you can subscribe to hashtags on Mastodon, but it isn’t the same).
That said, I still have and use both.
I never liked the UI or design of Twitter. I grew up on image/text boards and migrated to reddit in the late 2000s as it started to take off. I like that the focus isn’t on profile building, or as you said following users, but rather on tagging along with communities that interest and inform you.
I have tried so many times to use Twitter(before Musk) and it never clicked with me. I have been on Reddit for over a decade. I like the idea of the fediverse but will it be able to hit the critical mass needed to actually replace Twitter and Reddit?
You are right. Mastodon is still super valuable and interesting despite its quirks and weird interface implementation.
Insert meme ‘I like you both equally … that means I like YOU much more’ here…
IDK, I never used Twitter and never understood it: why would one ever want to share short messages? What can you express/explain with 160 characters? This is why I see no point in using Mastodon either…
I first started using Twitter when it was new, and it was an easy way for those of us without smartphones to share messages online via those devices. Once I got a smartphone, it was kind of useless to me.
I gel much better with forum format than microblog, mostly I don’t think I have anything worth saying on a microblog. I could see using it to follow people I’m interested in, but I can’t think of too many who fit that criteria. Also, they are all on TikTok. The only time I really used twitter was to get notifications when the ps5 was in stock somewhere.
I get news posts on Mastadon. Like a rss feed from lots of places without me going through different feeds.
