2d ago

The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

www.joanwestenberg.com The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

For years, the internet has been shrinking. Not in size, not in data, but in ownership. A vast, decentralized network of personal blogs, forums, and independent communities has been corralled into a handful of paved prison yards controlled by a few massive corporations. Every post, every “friend,” e...

Québec @lemmy.ca

MichelPatrice @lemmy.ca

16h ago

The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

www.joanwestenberg.com /the-fediverse-isnt-the-future-its-the-present-weve-been-denied/

17 0

Fediverse @lemmy.world

cm0002 @lemmy.world

3d ago

The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

www.joanwestenberg.com /the-fediverse-isnt-the-future-its-the-present-weve-been-denied/

975 117

Fediverse @lemmy.ml

☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆ @lemmy.ml

3d ago

The Fediverse Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present We’ve Been Denied.

www.joanwestenberg.com /the-fediverse-isnt-the-future-its-the-present-weve-been-denied/

73 23

66 comments

I just saw this on Reddit yesterday and now I'm here again.
Using phtn.app and Voyager.

The problem is that it’s “too complicated“ by presenting choices before knowing what they mean. It’s a decision tree without knowing the outcomes.
I’m new to Lemmy and it wasn’t as easy to sign up and use as Reddit or other social networks.
First I had to choose a server. To do that I had learn the consequences of choosing a server. Once I decided .ml had a sign up process where I had to be approved.
Then I wanted to choose a community, I think it’s called, and found there were multiple communities with the same name. Once again I had to make a choose without knowing the difference.
It all reminded me of the Paradox of Choice TED talk, https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice .
Finally I had to choose an app, as there is no official one. Now I’m in Mlem, but I don’t know if it’s better or worse than the others.
Choice is great but for easier onboarding a first stop for server and app would be great. Like browser, you’re given one when you start and if you want better, and you’re ready too look for one, you can go looking.
- There is an issue open on Lemmy's github about merging communities of the same name together in the ui by an "all" button, but sadly it's been inactive for a year: #1113
  
  That’s more a feature for a client app.
  
  I wonder how moderating would work in a merged community, would mods not from instance X only be able to hide a post from that instance from the merged community, or would they have power to remove a post from another instance? I’d imagine that is one of the hiccups of a feature like this, it is a shame it has been collecting dust though
  Edit: re-read the issue, now I understand it would be more of a multi Reddit than a merged community, so mods would only have the power for their own instance/community it sounds like
- If you choose the app first, and you choose Voyager, everything else - browsing, creating an account - is intuitive and just works.
  
  Yeh don't choose that one, just sign up on desktop and use Jerboa ngl the reason techbros win is most normies do not want agency, they want to turn their brain off and scroll whatever the algorithm serves up as they do.
  Technology Connections made a good video on this recently but I fear his plea will fall on deaf ears.
  Just like this article, no one's actually denying anyone the fediverse, we are literally right here.
  
  Even though it's first on the list when searching on the iOS Appstore I didn't choose it because the icon looks... well stupid.
  
  For the uninitiated it’s basically a 1:1 clone of Apollo for Reddit. Hell, even the app’s name is derivative!
  That said it’s still one of the best Lemmy apps for iOS and is a testament to Christian Selig’s original vision.
- Anyone want to clue him in on who runs .ml? I feel like it's going to break his heart. But also, I kinda feel like he should know...
  
  Please tell us! I personally have no idea
- Finally I had to choose an app, as there is no official one
  It's called Jerboa and it's one of the worse ones, but it does exist
  
  Jerboa
  What makes it official, I didn't come across it when I was searching for an app. I finally see why all the other apps use a rat as their logo.
  
  What's the issue with Jerboa? It's like Relay it's probably the best one out there.
- On the other hand, there is something to be said for having a small test before joining. I remember Usenet before and after it became accessible to AOL users.
  
  This can be said for the internet in general. Just look at the brainwashed masses. Without easy access to the internet via smartphones, Trump, Weidel, Wilders, Meloni etc. would never stand a fucking chance.
- Finally I had to choose an app, as there is no official one. Now I’m in Mlem, but I don’t know if it’s better or worse than the others.
  I'm just here from Reddit after the Boost app finally stopped working. So now I'm running "Boost for Lemmy", would definitely recommend it. It was one of the best 3rd party Reddit clients.
- I did always think that a shared (somehow) login would be great; but how do you federate that? Do you? What if the original server goes down? How does moderation work?
  It gets really complicated really fast.
- I registered using Mlem and it was way better than trying to do it via the Web. An onboarding like that would be much better than the current process.
- As someone new here, what do you think would have really helped you without changing the fundamental principles of the fediverse? Like a website with clear information, or something else?
  
  The problem is information, there is simply too much. I decided to join social network other than reddit. From that to posting on lemmy should be a one step process. 1 signup page 1 app recommendation
  Really I should of just written Lemmy.com instead of being distracted by the whole concept of fediverse and looking into it before signing up.
  
  I think we need simple, non technical content that gets people who haven’t used the fediverse stoked to find out more and try to get involved. That’s what I’m trying to do with articles like this - add momentum and tap into a big potential audience who are primed for this. But I also do want to put together a Getting Started landing page that helps people kick off.
  I really do think we need to get people pumped enough to want to be educated about it all.
- What's Mlem? Can't find it on the Play Store. I'm using Sync which is pretty good...
  
  probably because it's an iOS app

I love Lemmy and Voyager and the Fediverse. That said, if it were to become mainstream I forsee some problems. The fact that the login relies on only passwords is pretty terrible. Also, this makes the service vulnerable to bots, sock puppet accounts, brigading, etc.
- Lemmy supports 2FA lol.
  (At least on the web UI it does)
- What would you propose replace passwords to not be susceptible to those things?
  I personally like how secure and non intrusive passwords are, especially when using a self hosted password manager synced with git.
  
  Passkeys are much better. Unlike what FAANG companies want you to believe, they do not have to be tied to a device. Use a password manager that supports them (BitWarden) and pretty much never get hacked again because of a password. Website doesn’t need to store anything that an attacker can use. No downside.
  
  2FA support would be better
  
  It is hard to do well which is why I worry. Google probably has the best overall account security, you could fo worse than modeling after them.
  The short answer to your question is Passkeys. But you need a whole system of account recovery around them.

Lost futures we finally created.

66 comments