Simplifying Mastodon sign-ups.
  • running_system@feddit.orgEnglish
    715·
    2 months ago

    “Now when new users join Mastodon from the mobile app, they may see a button to “join” a recommended server rather than the default “join mastodon.social” button that’s currently displayed.” Wow. Didn’t know that mentioning a server adds complexity. The bar is very low nowadays with all things digital.

    • slampisko@lemmy.worldEnglish
      233·
      2 months ago

      I wonder why people see selecting a server as a hurdle when that’s exactly what they’re asked to do when making an email address

      • Scrollone@feddit.itEnglish
        44·
        2 months ago

        Problem is, younger people don’t even do that when they make an email address.

        They just “create a Gmail”.

        The internet has become such a sad place.

      • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
        27·
        2 months ago

        People don’t know what choosing a server entails, because it does matter and a lot of people aren’t exactly helpful when they say “just pick any” or “it’s like email”

        Server choice matters because:

        1. Server might federate with a limited number of other servers;
        2. Server might be blacklisted by some servers which you might want to interact with;
        3. Servers can be running different versions of software, so people might think about security;
        4. Servers can go offline
        5. Server choice can significantly impact how people perceive you. “Oh look, another tankie from ml”

        So, server choice matters and people coming in from corporate shit don’t know how much they need to know to make an informed decision, thus giving up.

        • SabinStargem@lemmy.todayEnglish
          6·
          2 months ago

          Yeah, figuring out Instances with Lemmy took several days for me. Lemmy.world simply wasn’t fit for my purposes, and potentially could have made me tune out the entire Lemmy ecosystem. I was like “this is it?”.

        • pohart@programming.devEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          Yeah I was pretty disappointed when my server started limiting what political servers I see by default. I want it to show up and then choose for myself, not have to sell out every community. Their supposed to just showvup. It’s not like they were nazis or porn even.

        • Vittelius@feddit.orgEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago
          1. Your server is your algorithm. That’s what the local feed is for. If you pick a server that caters to your interest, then the local feed becomes a potent discovery tool. That’s even more true for non-English communities because English language content is probably going to drown out everything else on the all/global feed
      • fierysparrow89@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        2 months ago

        It is simple: nowadays security awareness is drilled in for most of the online population. If presented with a choice people can’t oversee, the default safest option is not to chose. I mean, how many new Mastodon users know any of these servers?

        So, as couter-intuitive or even ironic it may seem, the “problem” is choice. People need to learn that social media is no longer a single entity, but more like email or choosing a bank.

          • leagman1@feddit.orgEnglish
            5·
            2 months ago

            I’ve just “joined” the Fediverse a few days ago. I’m somewhat tech-savy I’d say. I still find a lot of it confusing.

            "Most people don’t conceptualize it like that; they conceptualize it like the postal service. " I think this was and still is in part true for me.

            There’s the term “Fediverse”, which suggests that there’s one continuous “universe” of things. But actually - and please correct me if I got this wrong - there’s just servers connected/interlinked with other servers, which (strictly must, due to how it works) form bubbles/webs or islands of all sizes.

            There are practically no postal service bubbles, because I can send mail to anyone I’d realistically wish. There are different postal service providers, but a “-verse” term would be better applied to postal service (-> “Postalverse”) than to federated servers, imo.

            So ideally as a noob coming from reddit or twitter, I’d like to know what the biggest bubble of connected servers is and where I can enter.

            A thing I haven’t figured out yet is why I can’t find a decent feed feature on Mastodon. On Lemmy there are local/all filters for communities a server is federated with, if I understood this correctly. My mastodon home instance (mastodon.social) doesn’t seem to have a feed, really. There’s a “trending” filter, but it has very few posts - afaik just the ones I specifically subscribed to - and it doesn’t differentiate between local and all federated servers.

            Am I doing it wrong? :P

            I’m expecting to have filters like in Lemmy, where I can just consume anything new, trending or controversial.

          • Fluffy Kitty Cat@slrpnk.netEnglish
            1·
            2 months ago

            I’m thinking we should try and sell people on a particular community first, and let them figure out it interoperates with others on their own time.

        • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          I don’t think so. way too many people approve sensitive permissions and cookie tracking without a thought, and even more just go for a gmail account no matter what

      • OddMinus1@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        9·
        2 months ago

        I initially looked up a few servers, then I chose one with decent size and no prohibitive policies. Less than 24 hours after creating the account I got banned without reason. I appealed. No answer.

        I guessed I was just unlucky, so I found another decent looking server. After creating an account, it took around 2-3 hours and I was banned. I appealed. No answer.

        I guess the username was a bit too random andmaybe looked like it was created by a bot. It had a lot of random letters, but it was my usual username. I would assume an appeal would sort it out. Or atleast lead me to an answer.

        So my third attempt, I chose another server which looked fine and created a user with a simpler username. A few months later, the server shut down.

        So now I’m on my 4th account.

        It’s not like it was a huge hassle to create the accounts, but it’s also not like the system is without issues.

        • Liketearsinrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          That’s odd (but believable), I think every server I ever used required a sign up to be manually approved so if you use one with open registration they may have stricter moderation for new users.

      • kutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        2 months ago

        Well I was used to MMOs with different servers and I thought I’d have to create an account for each if I wanted to be with my friends. I didn’t know Mastodon was NOT a mere Twitter alternative, and I wasn’t familiar with the concept of the fediverse.

      • FarraigePlaisteaċ (sé/é)@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        Because the term is loaded. There are technical implications (who will you be federated with and how do I connect with them?), and it’s jurisdictional (which laws apply when I post here?). Also, for non-technical people, you only hear the word “server” in techno-babble word salad from movies. I don’t blame them at all for being confused.

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 months ago

      The bar is very low nowadays with all things digital.

      People won’t read what’s in front of them and then complain when something doesn’t work.

      I had someone tell me, people don’t read the things he writes.

      That same person then proceeded to not read instructions I had written for something they needed to do and they did it wrong.

      If it’s not a 10s tiktok clip it’s too much nowadays.

    • MrSmith@lemmy.worldEnglish
      41·
      2 months ago

      I see it as a filter.
      You have to be this motivated to join.

      The fediverse does not care about high user number count. It cares about people who interact and fill it with content. If you can’t be bothered to select a server, you don’t pass the minimum threshold required to get your account hosted.

    • hanrahan@piefed.socialEnglish
      11·
      2 months ago

      The bar is very low nowadays with all things digital

      Yes, Apple users be like this.

      I don’t know how people ever figured out how to make a phone call to a friend on a different Telco /s :)

  • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    392·
    2 months ago

    I used to visit the verge all the time, but their paywalls have gotten so aggressive, I just wrote them off.

    • MoogleMaestro@lemmy.zipEnglish
      302·
      2 months ago

      I get it, but also the internet sucks these days and it’s hard to make money on advertising alone. I can’t blame a reputable journal for asking for money to see the articles they publish, and since I tolerate all sorts of patreon business models, I have to be realistic in thinking that this is going to be the only path forward for real journalism. It’s a shame, but it just seems to have worked out this way.

      • U7826391786239@lemmy.zipEnglish
        1114·
        2 months ago

        I can’t blame a reputable journal for asking for money to see the articles they publish

        lol is the verge a “journal”? GTFO bro

        propublica is about as “real journalism” as it gets, and i’ve never been blocked by a paywall with them

        staying in business is the business’s problem, not the consumer’s problem

        paywall = close tab

        period

    • TORFdot0@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      2 months ago

      I get it, but reader-funded journalism is always better than advertiser-funded. But if the reporting isn’t worth paying for to you, I don’t blame you for skipping them. I feel the same way some times. One article might be worth paying for but I’m not so interested in what they report to justify a full subscription.

      • rushmonke@ttrpg.networkEnglish
        32·
        2 months ago

        You’re part of the problem.

        This is all about maximizing profit. Their site is covered in ads as well.

        Please stop defending the people taking your money or showing you ads.

        • TORFdot0@lemmy.worldEnglish
          11·
          2 months ago

          I don’t pay for the Verge, and if I did and still saw ads, I definitely wouldn’t renew. “Maximizing profit” only works, if we fold. If we fold to ad supported journalism, then companies will plaster their sites with ads. The market regulates itself if the consumer is principled enough. The problem is that your average consumer is weak willed and less-than-principled. I’m fine going without even if it ends up being a pointless endeavor.

  • realitista@lemmus.orgEnglish
    28·
    2 months ago

    I’m glad they are taking steps to make the platform more accessible. Especially starter packs are important. This will make a difference if people can be convinced to give it another try.

    • Evotech@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      2 months ago

      Yeah they hired / got on board one of the most senior designers fra earlier google and apple

  • (des)mosthenes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    2 months ago

    any improvements are always welcome; average users have become accustomed to seamless onboarding - primarily on mobile

  • Iksbat@feddit.orgEnglish
    13·
    2 months ago

    Thats good. The entry friction is really the most important thing when trying to get new users.

    • anon_8675309@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      Everything is easy if you can put up with an amount of friction. Most people don’t want to deal with friction.

    • Iksbat@feddit.orgEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      It doesn’t need to be easy, it has to be nearly effortless and no unknown procedure for people to switch. E.g. writing one sentence to get an lemmy account is wayyyy to much for most people.