jupiter_rowland, 8 months ago

@@reiver The #Fediverse doesn't have a unified #UX. And it will never have one. Because it will never have a unified #UI.

The projects are just too different. They aren't all just #Mastodon plus a few extra features on top. They aren't all just microblogging or, in the case of #Pixelfed, microblogging with pictures. #MastodonIsNotTheFediverse.

#Friendica, #Hubzilla and #Streams are so much different from Mastodon that a unified #FediverseUX wouldn't work for them. (streams) even more than Friendica, and Hubzilla even more than (streams).

Speaking of Hubzilla: On the one hand, it's default theme, the only official theme that's currently supported, is browser hell. It capitulates before Hubzilla's massive feature wealth.

But it takes me three self-explanatory clicks to follow anyone on any instance of any project that's connected to Hubzilla, be it on my Hubzilla hub, be it on another Hubzilla hub, be it on Mastodon, be it somewhere else in the Fediverse, be it on #Diaspora* or elsewhere. Granted, it may take me more because there's a configuration window for each connection popping up, but it takes me always the same two clicks to get there and a third to confirm it.

Still, I wouldn't wish for Mastodon to adopt this UI, also because it wouldn't even work on something as simple and frugal as Mastodon.

7php, 8 months ago

@reiver I agree. I'm fairly new here and already experienced the pain-point you are mentioning

vitriolix, 8 months ago

@reiver The fact that FediAct has to exist and has become a required extension for me, a relative power user, says a lot about the need to fix this upstream

https://github.com/Lartsch/FediAct

cschrader, 8 months ago

@reiver I love mastodon, but this is the thing that most badly needs attention. I recently found the safari extension homecoming, which is a decent workaround for the moment.

https://underpassapp.com/homecoming/

reiver, 8 months ago

2/

Here is one of the tasks I ask people to do, when I onboard them onto the Fediverse —

I ask them to create a Mastodon account.

I then ask them to create a PIxelfed account.

I then ask them to make their Mastodon account follow their Pixelfed account. And make their Pixelfed account follow their Mastodon account.

Virtually all of them fail at this! — and cannot figure out how to make these 2 accounts on different servers follow each other.

Here is why —

#Fediverse #FediverseUX

reiver, 8 months ago

3/

All of these people have used social-media before (but have not used the Fediverse before).

They are used to going to someone's social-media profile, and clicking a "follow" button.

On the Fediverse, that works if you are on the same server as the person you want to follow.

But it doesn't work, on the Fediverse, if you are on a different server as the person you want to follow.

You have to do something different —

#Fediverse #FediverseUX

reiver, 8 months ago

4/

On the Fediverse, if you are trying to follow someone on a different server than the one you are on then —

You should not go to their profile page.

You should instead go to the proxy of their profile page on your server.

Yeah, I know, it is confusing reading that — I'll explain —

You don't go to:

https.//their-server·social/＠joeblow

You instead go to:

https.//my-server·com/＠joeblow@their-server·social

And clicking the follow button there, will work.

BUT —

#Fediverse #FediverseUX