Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last week

"... advocacy is one of the things that we currently lack within the network and we really need to execute well on, if we want to help bring more people in. The network's growth is kind of dependent on that, and if we don't keep growing, there's some concern that we might not be able to maintain the momentum that we've built up to this point."

@deadsuperhero, 2025

https://wedistribute.org/podcast/fediforum-june-2025-recap/

I'm all for organic growth, but we don't need it to improve service.

#podcasts#WeDistribute#Decentered
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last week

We need to be wary of falling into a 'growth is good' mentality, which can ossify into a 'growth by any means necessary' approach. To me this is the fundamental ideological driver, lurking beneath the various political-economic factors @pluralistic identifies as the causes of enshittification on the platforms.

That said, I do agree with @deadsuperhero on the larger point he's making here. #Onboarding and #UX do need a dedicated pan-fediverse focus, like we have with IFTAS on Trust & Safety.
Marcus Rohrmoser 🌻
@mro@digitalcourage.social  ·  activity timestamp last month

Hi @tchambers,
let me ad one:

- not having a culture of repeated real user #UX tests (a la https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Make_Me_Think). With special focus #onboarding.

@NGIZero may have resources for assistence and coaching, ask them.
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last month

In the fediverse, we are all the welcoming committee! If someone you know from elsewhere joins, make sure you interact with them, helping them feel welcome and included.

* Reply to their posts, @mentioning people who might be interested in the topic.

* Boost their best posts to help people find and follow them.

* Subscribe to their feed to get a notification every time they post, so you remember.

* encourage them to post an #introduction, to help fun folks find them.

#FediTips #onboarding
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

(2/3)

Starter Packs are another form of serendipity generator, and there are a few kinds available for the fediverse, the oldest I know of being Trunk;

https://communitywiki.org/trunk

Part of the problem is that the fediverse doesn't really have an easy mode. It's hard to know how to get started with a first account, or where to find out.

Guide bots on each server that share tips with new accounts might help? Tips on how to use the common affordances of the network to populate an empty feed.
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

(3/3)

Wait, I think I just cracked it! What people mean when they say "no algorithms". They mean the feed on their new account starts empty.

What about new accounts having their feed populated by default? Server admins could choose a standard starter pack for all new accounts, or give people their choice of starter pack from a curated set.

#FediverseIseas #onboarding