I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but I have absolutely no programming experience and no knowledge of anything that happens behind the usual user-facing side of a UI and I just finished a project involving a ton of SQL and VBA and API calls using only ChatGPT. I basically just told it to treat me like a moron and gave it all the details I could. It took a while troubleshooting the dozens of errors along the way, but everything works now and I learned a ton.
I used it in a project 5 or 6 years ago, and my experience was basically this. It's strong in the direction of the layers but brittle between layers. Works great for some applications, but I'd definitely experiment with it before committing to use it on anything where the strength of the print matters because it's really only useful in two dimensions.
I'm 40 and drive an 84 El Camino, you're spot on lol
“Gen Z adults (21%) are less likely than all generational groups except millennials (21%) to identify as Republican.”
Wow, this actually makes me proud to be a millennial.
I agree that the extra step of having to choose an instance is a hurdle that will turn some people away. In my own experience with it I had to apply to the first one I tried to join (never got a reply), had a timeout on the second one, and didn't successfully create an account until my third attempt. That's more effort than some would be willing to put forth.
However I really don't think the confusing nature of the Fediverse is that big of a deal. I don't think I understand it at all, and it doesn't seem like I need to for now. Download Jerboa, make account, switch feed from 'Local' to 'All', and oh look it's basically my RIF experience again.
Over and over on Reddit I saw people say "Lemmy will never take off because it's too confusing for average users," but I just don't think that's the case.
Also hey it's also my first comment ever