this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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Fediverse
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This magazine is dedicated to discussions on the federated social networking ecosystem, which includes decentralized and open-source social media platforms. Whether you are a user, developer, or simply interested in the concept of decentralized social media, this is the place for you. Here you can share your knowledge, ask questions, and engage in discussions on topics such as the benefits and challenges of decentralized social media, new and existing federated platforms, and more. From the latest developments and trends to ethical considerations and the future of federated social media, this category covers a wide range of topics related to the Fediverse.
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I think the #1 problem is UI/UX. I think a Activity Pub based platform that gets its interface right allowing it to feel like one single coherent platform rather than a bunch of separate servers will win. So far I haven't found a single platform that lets me browse to any other platform or user & feel integrated.
I agree with this. The first platform to get discoverability between servers right will likely lead the way. It doesn't help that there's a double @ system for both users and subreddit equivalents. I think eliminating the first @ for users and using a different character for topics would simplify the system. For example, a user could be user@dom.ain just as in email, and subreddit like forum could be /topic@dom.ain (or #topic@dom.ain but I'm not a fan of this one).
But the # symbol is already used for tags (as your message shows). So it becomes difficult to differentiate between tags & topics. Especially with platforms that use either/both for different things. kbin is pretty unique because it offers both microblogging & link aggregation which adds an additional layer of complexity.
You could classify hashtags on other fediverse platforms as a sort of topic which one could subscribe to but how does that work with actual hashtags on kbin's microblogging. I think these kinds of decisions wont be made by a bunch of smart heads sitting together or chatting across fediverses platforms but rather some random developer that happens to be working on the one platform to get its UX down pat & break the mold.
#kbin has managed to pike my interest.
It's far from perfect and missing many features, but it does looks promising.
The biggest drawback is the lack of mobile app yet. The mobile browser experience ain't bad though.
Regarding the /topic@dom.ain example, it looks so much better than the bunch of @s we have now!