@mastodonmigration
My TL is full of stuff which to an extent of 80 % app. is of no interest to me. To mute the hashtags is too time-consuming. No one is to blame, except me. A great misunderstanding on my side. The subjects I write about are getting nowhere here. Of course I don't feel fine about that but that's life.
@SabineHammerba@shiri Hang in there. You are doing it right. Since there is no algorithm here it can be a more effort to connect with your interests, but the benefit is that once you do, your feed does not include a bunch of off topic stuff. One technique that helps a lot is using lists to categorize your follows, and to always add new follows to a list.
@mastodonmigration it helps a lot to share a specific instance you recommend. The two biggest hurdles to joining the fediverse are (a) picking an instance and (b) the amount of ideological/cultural purity people demand, which is connected to which instance you pick as well. (This also directly connects to the minority experience of abundant racism/bigotry in the fediverse as many people will ignore cultural and life differences if it's at all in conflict with the culture they've accepted)
@shiri One of the things that confuses newcomers is a lot of Mastodon "inside baseball" about different instances. Like any community there are preferences and recommendations, but you don't need to understand any of this to get started. Just join a server and start Mastodoning, you will figure it out.
A lot of the people we're trying to bring in have executive dysfunction that makes it absolutely overwhelming to ask them to pick a server when they know nothing about any of them, no matter how easy it is to move afterwards.
On top of that, if they spend that not insignificant effort and find an unwelcoming place, or worse yet a registration approval process that isn't being paid attention to by the admin (in which applying to servers feels like applying to jobs...).
So I really do insist, if you're going to push people toward Mastodon, suggest one or more instances to start with. (Like most of my circle is quite gay, so I recommend lgbtqia.space to them)
@shiri One of the biggest reasons that people have given to finding Mastodon too overwhelming is the initial requirement to chose an instance. Which instance? What if I make a mistake? So they simply do nothing. Yes, some people find certain instances a better fit, but this is not something that most people need to address before they even know how the platform works. Once they get their feet on the ground is the time to educate them about different instances and the choices available to them.
@mastodonmigration@shiri This is, honestly, a point of confusion: “without any foreknowledge, where do I start?” As much as there are reasons against it, initially onboarding new folks to mastodon dot social takes a rather unanswerable question off the table, so they can proceed to experience the fediverse itself.
@wendinoakland@shiri Exactly. You said it better. This is not to say that new users won't later migrate to a more differentiated community, but that need not be their first choice before they even understand the options.
@mastodonmigration@shiri There are strict anti-hate speech policies on mastodon dot social which make me feel pretty comfortable here. As a starting place (and I haven’t moved yet) this works. I would definitely encourage an automatic-onboarding option (click here to join…) to eliminate the weirdness this can cause.
@wendinoakland@mastodonmigration I definitely agree, I'm just saying that people don't even typically suggest that one. I'm just pleading with people to suggest something, be it mastodon.social or something else.
I'm not suggesting exclusive communities, just that it helps to say "Hey, this instance is a good safe place to start"
@shiri@wendinoakland That's fair. The https://joinmastodon.org/ link does sort of guide new users into mastodon.social, while giving them the opportunity to choose other instances, but perhaps it could be clearer.
@mastodonmigration@shiri Actually, I wonder if the strict rules here would be protective for PoC who’ve had horrific issues with crazy follower only pile ons, and heinous bs? @mekkaokereke any thoughts?
Absolutely spot on. Mastodon dot social kinda limits the downside risk for most newbies. Both of these things are the true:
A) Mastodon dot social is much safer than a newbie playing instance roulette by trying to choose a server. The probability of landing on a poorly moderated instance is too high.🫤
B) Smaller, community focused instances can provide a much safer and better moderation experience than mega instances like Mastodon for social.
@mekkaokereke@mastodonmigration@shiri Thanks. I want things to be comfortable for everyone* here in the fediverse — I hope there’s a way to avoid harassment & isolation situations.
@mastodonmigration I'm confused by what you're saying here, you start by agreeing with me and then transfer to basically saying that people need to just get over it.
All I'm saying is that anytime you post somewhere encouraging someone to join Mastodon, you should be recommending specific instances. Even if it's just some of the big ones. That way you take away that hurdle so they can get to that second part you're talking about.
A personal recommendation, even a mild one, is a night and day difference.
@shiri It's an "on boarding" issue. When people are confronted by debates like this and choices they don't understand or have any context to understand, they conclude that Mastodon is too complex for them and move on. If they just join any instance and start using the platform, informed choices can come later.
@mastodonmigration I'm open to a short list of "starter" instances that'd be good to suggest, because apparently the big ones like mastodon.social are a trash fire? Based on hearsay.
Add comment