122
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by thenexusofprivacy@infosec.exchange to c/fediverse@lemmy.ml

Don't tell people "it's easy", and six more things KBin, Lemmy, and the fediverse can learn from Mastodon

https://privacy.thenexus.today/kbin-lemmy-fediverse-learnings-from-mastodon/

Reddit's strategy of antagonizing app writters, moderators, and millions of redditors is good news for reddit alternatives like KBin and Lemmy. And not just them! The fediverse has always grown in waves and we're at the start of one.

Previous waves have led to innovation but also major challenges and limited growth. It's worth looking at what tactics worked well in the past, to use them again or adapt them and build on them. It's also valuable to look at what went wrong or didn't work out as well in the past, to see if there are ways to do better.

Here's the current table of contents:

* I'm flashing!!!!!
* But first, some background

  1. Don't tell people "it's easy"
  2. Improve the "getting-started experience"
  3. Keep scalability and sustainability in mind
  4. Prioritize accessibility
  5. Get ready for trolls, hate speech, harassment, spam, porn, and disinformation
  6. Invest in moderation tools
  7. Values matter

* This is a great opportunity – and it won't be the last great opportunity

https://privacy.thenexus.today/kbin-lemmy-fediverse-learnings-from-mastodon/

Thanks to everybody for the great feedback on the draft version of the post!

#kbin #lemmy #fediverse @fediversenews @fediverse@kbin.social @fediverse@lemmy.ml

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] dingus@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I stated a similar sentiment elsewhere. The reason the discussions on reddit became less rigorous and interesting over time is a case of Eternal September. As you make a site more user-friendly and accessible, you actually are inviting a lot of users who are would have been unwilling to learn a slight learning curve, whether technical or social. Maybe it's remiss of me to say, but I think it speaks to their unwillingness to change their minds or being willing to view a new perspective about much.

As an older person here who was on Slashdot and left for Digg and then left to reddit, I genuinely think having a slight learning curve prevents people who would otherwise be shitposters and nothing else from joining the fray. I really would like to see high quality discussions online thrive again like they often did in the early days reddit (and where they often still do on its predecessor, hackernews), and as elitist as it is to say, I think having it be a little more technical and confusing isn't a bad thing.

Also, as an older person here, if people are willing to figure out the initially quite confusing way that Discord works, they can figure this out, too.

[-] jdp23@indieweb.social 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

@dingus@lemmy.ml I strongly disagree. Most people have better things to do with their time than fight their way through buggy and confusing software. And as I say in the essay, if it were harder to sign up for Gab, would that make the quality higher? Of course not.

@Grumpycat8

[-] LadyAutumn 9 points 2 years ago

I don't think its nearly that bad. It takes time to get setup the way you like it, but so does reddit. So does other social media platforms.

Having an easier search and community index system would be great though. I feel like that's one of the biggest barriers to entry currently.

[-] jdp23 5 points 2 years ago

Yes and no. In the article I say

| Still, despite the quirks, once you figure a few things out, both Kbin and Lemmy can give you a surprisingly good reddit-like experience, and some of the larger communities have over a thousand active users which isn't chopped liver.

That said ....

  • on lemmy.ml this post says it has 10 comments but only 8 are visible. Looking at it on blahaj.lemmy.zone it says 15 comments, also only 8 are visible.

  • Your comment showed up on Lemmy and (unlike other comments) didn't show up on @thenexusofprivacy@infosec.social's original post.

  • Even if you have a Mastodon account, if you click on that link it'll most likely take you to a tab where you're not logged in and can't interact with it unless you know the magic way of cut-and-pasting it to the search window in a tab where you're already logged in -- and your account's not on a site that's defederated from infosec.exchange

Most people (including me!) find stuff like that very confusing!

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (10 replies)
load more comments (11 replies)
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
122 points (100.0% liked)

Fediverse

17848 readers
10 users here now

A community dedicated to fediverse news and discussion.

Fediverse is a portmanteau of "federation" and "universe".

Getting started on Fediverse;

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS