(Controversial) Should lemmy.world close registrations at a certain user count?
To support decentralization and spread, should lemmy.world close registration at some point to prevent a performance overload due to too many users? Of course, if registration is disabled, there could be a hint placed somewhere near that from other instances you can interact with content on lemmy.world just like you had registered on it. There could be a link to join-lemmys instance overview.
Making it difficult for people to abandon reddit and join lemmy at THIS stage would be a bad idea. I think it has to scale.
Eventually if it successfully catches on and becomes the popular option, maybe. But even then I think I’d prefer a (or several) round-robin type options for joining. I think the server names are too exposed in lemmy to be easily understood by the masses. Like I get it but I’m a 20 year dev. Not a person in my family understands.
I’m having the same issues with pages not loading as everybody else - but this is a critical moment for Lemmy. A site like this only works if it has a lot of users - the more signups the better.
I understand that new users can sign up for other instances, and still see and interact with lemmy.world content - but I think adding any barrier to entry at all will potentially discourage a huge number of new users. As a rule, new users have no idea how lemmy, federation, instances, etc work - and telling them they can’t sign up and to consider another instance will probably end with a lot of them just giving up and sticking to reddit.
The server issues will pass, but stunting our growth at such a critical stage might not. It’s bad enough that beehaw defederated at a time like this.
I couldn’t get anything to load in my phone browser half the time either and my updoots never register. Then I downloaded the jebora app and when it disconnects from the server it flashes at the bottom so you know when it won’t post.
Well Ruud who runs .world also runs Mastodon.world which is a fairly large mastodon instance, so he is somewhat of a known quantity and has experience running large Fediverse servers. His mastodon server has handled a large population and donations happen through Open Collective for transparency as well. He also runs Calckey.world though that is much smaller.
Not really. Also by your logic you can't trust anyone ever because there is always a risk they turn bad at some point in the future. All we can do is evaluate what we have in front of us at the moment. Current evidence suggests Ruud is trustworthy, committed and capable of running a large Fediverse instance.
I couldn’t get anything to load in my phone browser half the time either and my updoots never register. Then I downloaded the jebora app and when it disconnects from the server it flashes at the bottom so you know when it won’t post.
I honestly think during the sign up the registration to a server needs to be randomized to spread the load. That and allow the user counts to be global and not just to your instance and you then have user load balancing.
If we could also migrate our data between servers with a backup server option. When lemmy.world goes down, just switch to a different randomized backup server.
The danger in randomizing servers is that some smaller servers not only have less than 99% uptime but are also just run by random regular people who couldn't handle the increased load and/or have no desire or ability to keep the servers running long term. It could maybe work if the randomization occurs from within a vetted list.
Account migration is a feature that has been noted for the future and would indeed be very important since it would essentially make the entire network bulletproof. Being able to move instances and/or link accounts across multiple instances would create the necessary redundancy and reduce fears of choosing a smaller instance as home.
As an immigrant from reddit myself, the multiple instances and where to call my home was the first big hurtle by far. With that, my biggest concern was if the instance I was joining was going to allow me to see everything in the fediverse since instances can be blocked.
Right now I have a kbin and Lemmy account. Because although the Lemmy account I'm on isn't being blocked by anyone, I'm finding it difficult to find some instances where on kbin the same search yields the results I'm looking for.
I couldn’t get anything to load in my phone browser half the time either and my updoots never register. Then I downloaded the jebora app and when it disconnects from the server it flashes at the bottom so you know when it won’t post.
I couldn’t get anything to load in my phone browser half the time either and my updoots never register. Then I downloaded the jebora app and when it disconnects from the server it flashes at the bottom so you know when it won’t post.
I couldn’t get anything to load in my phone browser half the time either and my updoots never register. Then I downloaded the jebora app and when it disconnects from the server it flashes at the bottom so you know when it won’t post.
I agree, I initially focused on Lemmy.world but as I understood the Fedverse better I shifted to a smaller instance. I think we need to let people get into Lemmy, and then people will naturally spread out.
I think Beehaw defederating was a good thing. Their rules are pretty totalitarian. It would have happened eventually anyway, better to do it sooner to effect the least amount of content I get.
nope, that would make the experience way worse with federation not working well with communities. like for example I've made a community over on lemmy.world and it has a couple of members and a few posts in it, but I can't see it from any other lemmy instances I've tried (unless it doesn't work if you're not logged in). you can kinda make kbin see it but to make posts appear you have to search for them and if you search for them before you search for the community, they appear in a random magazine and then when the magazine for that community is created the posts that were put in random stay there and never return... so yeah...
yes, limiting users is one tool to encourage users to find another “home” instance that they normally use to browse and post so that the system as a whole can scale better
I get the point, but that limits the users’ right to select which community they want to join. I feel that is more important than preemptive decentralization of content. Hopefully there is a way to migrate communities from one instance to another. Should an instance get too large that would be a good feature to mitigate risk.
I get the point, but that limits the users’ right to select which community they want to join. I feel that is more important than preemptive decentralization of content. Hopefully there is a way to migrate communities from one instance to another. Should an instance get too large that would be a good feature to mitigate risk.
I’m not a lemmy.world user (so I have no dog in this debate) but I’m gonna disagree. I’m of the opinion that signups for an instance should stay open as long as the admins can afford/handle the growth. I think it’s unfair to force the admins to keep it open if they aren’t able to handle it which is the crux of what OP is asking.
Besides, it’s not like those users cant just federate with all the communities of lemmy.world they want. And I bet there won’t be a dearth of choices for decent instances if the demand calls for it. Lemmy.ml closed signups despite being the big instance and lemmy.world emerged as an alternative. So why wouldn’t something similar happen if lemmy.world did the same?
I think strategic, times windows where sign ups are paused, in order to help distribute users, might be necessary. I don’t think that’s optimal for user experience, but I feel like if volume of sign ups stays where it is, that it’s probably needed.
I’m not sure. But maybe it makes sense to sign up to more than one instance.
My main account is on lemmy.world, but now I’ve signed up to another one on aussie.zone. I can see all the content from there and it’s nice and fast unlike world at the moment.
It feels kind of like I’m experiencing a benefit of federation, when I can simply switch accounts and keep browsing when things slow down on one instance.
Probably not. I understand the concern, but another issue is sending people to smaller instances which may end up disappearing. It’s all run by small groups of volunteers or even by individuals, at least on the bigger servers you have, at least in theory, a lower chance of the instance vanishing (with your account).
I don’t know if there are any plans to cooperate between instances for tech support/funding or if accounts can be transfered one day. Until then - a slow lemmy.world feels like the lesser evil.
yes, limiting users is one tool to encourage users to find another “home” instance that they normally use to browse and post so that the system as a whole can scale better
Would there be any benefit to lemmy.world admins running a lemmy2.world and redirecting new users to sign up there? It would spread the load and federation between the two should be easier due to proximity and having the same admins.
At the early stages no. It is vital we keep it open to get as many people through the door to promote fediverse. Eventually some people will create accounts in other instances.
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