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Top-level
@kissane I really think the whole instance thing is needlessly stressful. Masto makes a big deal about it, but honestly it doesn’t really matter. You can follow people across instances just fine. The only thing that matters from a new user perspective is number of characters per toot and bespoke emojis. Instance picking felt like I had define my identity by one thing. Then it turned out, it doesnt seem to matter, which is exactly what you’d wonder if the instance was well run 22 comments
@kitten_tech @kissane even then, you don’t know, and you certainly don’t know who anyone is when you sign up.  @kitten_tech @stib @kitten_tech @robotmonkeys @kissane I find the same with my local mastodon.au feed, there's usually something there that I haven't seen elsewhere. @robotmonkeys @kissane I’m new to the fediverse. And the 1 thing that is confusing to me is, you say you can follow others and read posts across instances. But how do you find those people? Where do you go to see them or to follow them or to read posts. Something like Instagram or Twitter has an algorithm that shows you things that it thinks you might like. here you have to go looking. @Tekk @kissane same way you find them anywhere else. Look at who gets boosted and people you know and who they follow. My experience is that you need only one or two seeds to create a decent follow list. I say that as someone that managed to import a partial list from Twitter before it was shut down, but honestly I try not to look back, and instead find all new people. @robotmonkeys @kissane that reminds me. By the way, thank you for the info. But that reminds me what does boost and favorite do I’m using the Ice Cubes app. @Tekk @robotmonkeys @kissane I use Icecubes too. Boosting is sharing the toot with everyone who follows you, giving it wider exposure. Favouriting is just letting the toot author know that you liked it. Your followers won’t see it.  @Yup_Its_Holly @Tekk @robotmonkeys @kissane it's not mentioned but worth mentioning: the Local and Federated timelines on an instance of any size should give you a public feed to start off with. Apparently that got hidden by default on some clients which is silly and confusing. @robotmonkeys @Tekk @kissane it is absolutely not the same as anywhere else. The actual process of finding people across instances is unique to the fediverse. @robotmonkeys @kissane if I search for a specific hashtag does it show me posts in the instance I am in or across fediverse? @Tekk The rate of fetching however may not be so fast - the technical reasoning I can't follow but it seems based on which instances yours 'talk' to a lot. @Tekk @robotmonkeys @kissane Following hashtags is also kind of important to sort of kind of create your own algorithm and it isn’t something that seems to be emphasized for new users. Fortunately, there is no such algorithm. It's more like an email. Contacts are created naturally, plus you can search by hashtags. So it's just a pseudo-problem. It just works differently. Fortunately.
 @robotmonkeys I think instance-picking doesn't matter until it does. You've had no problem with the instance you chose (and TBH, Hachyderm looks like a solid choice!), I've had no problem with mine, either, but I've heard stories of plenty of other people who ended up with awkward mods, or on the wrong end of defed drama or whatever. Smaller instances miss more messages, etc. In short, I'd be wary of saying "instance choice doesn't matter" in general, just because it didn't matter for you! :) @robotmonkeys @kissane Instances matter for discovery, especially if you’re moving over from Twitter. I found most of the most interesting people there by looking at who other people are following and you can’t see that here unles you’re in the same instance. That was annoying enough to drive me off the platform, and, recently back, I finally switched instances to one most strongly affiliated with my profession. @robotmonkeys @kissane Yes and no. I think the local timeline is very nice to look at when you're on a smaller, interest-focused instance. You should make sure you choose an instance that has rules you agree with. And be aware that defederation exists, and your choice of server may cut off certain others. All of these are factors, although maybe not necessarily ones a new user will think about at first. I agree with what you say about what matters to new users. @robotmonkeys @kissane Picking the wrong instance can make it harder starting out. When starting I joined a fairly large instance that aligned with my interests only to have difficulty following cross-instance artists. I realized later this was because it was a highly moderated instance with very strict block lists. I think that's one thing the average user won't understand starting out. Most users will be used to curating their own content, not having groups of people hidden without knowing. |
Gregory's Server
@robotmonkeys @kissane yeah, I suspect the most important factor in picking an instance is what they block - pick one that will be safe for you. But they tend to make themselves after communities, giving the impression that's what matters. Who actually checks their instance feed and so on?