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Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 days ago

Here's an idea I'm playing with: a semi-customizable fediverse invitation page.

Example: https://invite.jointhefediverse.net/?server=hachyderm.io&apps=1,2,3,5

More about the project: http://stefanbohacek.com/project/fediverse-invitation

#fediverse #FediverseInvitation

https://stefanbohacek.com

Fediverse invitation

Over the years I’ve experimented with how to best explain and invite people into the fediverse. I’ve created jointhefediverse.net which introduces the concept of the fediverse, with links for further learning. I also wrote a guide centered around Mastodon, a fediverse platform I am most familiar with, and another pair of guides, one aimed at...

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Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 hours ago

Update: You can now include up to 4 starter packs from https://fedidevs.com/starter-packs/.

Here's an example: https://invite.jointhefediverse.net/?server=hachyderm.io&apps=1,2,3,5&starterpacks=NjQ5,OTIw,OTAx,ODY4

#fediverse #JoinTheFediverse #FediverseInvitation

A screenshot of a section from the linked fediverse invitation page with four starter packs, showing their title, brief description, and the number of accounts in each starter pack.

The text above the starter packs reads: "Want to find more people to follow? Check out some of these popular accounts and starter packs." — A screenshot of a section from the linked fediverse invitation page with four starter packs, showing their title, brief description, and the number of accounts in each starter pack. The text above the starter packs reads: "Want to find more people to follow? Check out some of these popular accounts and starter packs."

Mastodon Starter Pack Directory | Fedidevs

Discover, create, and share Mastodon starter packs to help new users find interesting accounts to follow.

Rob Ricci

@ricci@discuss.systems · 19 hours ago

@stefan I like this!

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 18 hours ago

@ricci Thank you, glad you do!

Elena Rossini ⁂

@_elena@mastodon.social · yesterday

@stefan this is great Stefan!

For feedback, would it be possible to color-code OSs differently? Like iOS, Android and the web.

Also not to overly complicate things but Phanpy works amazingly on mobile too, so not sure how to categorize it, since you don't need an app for it...

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · yesterday

@_elena Thank you so much for checking this out!

Really good points. I went ahead and updated Phanpy's description.

And also added iPhanpy, thank you for reminding me!

https://invite.jointhefediverse.net/?apps=5,11

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · yesterday

@_elena I will also look into the badge colors, nice idea!

Elena Rossini ⁂

@_elena@mastodon.social · yesterday

@stefan thanks Stefan and great job again!

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · yesterday

@_elena Thank you!

marius

@mariusor@metalhead.club · 2 days ago

@stefan what APIs does a server need to implement to be compatible with this? I love the idea, but looks like it's focused on Matodon and Mastodon likes. :D

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 days ago

@mariusor The node-info endpoint should be sufficient!

And the page really is meant to be platform agnostic.

Eg. https://invite.jointhefediverse.net/?server=stereophonic.space&apps=6,8

(Not too sure if those apps are actually compatible with Pleroma, consider this a possible example.)

Rob

@rob@skol.social · 2 days ago

@stefan
The page looks beautiful.

But it seems to cater to a very narrow slice of people. That’s the number 1 problem with the Fediverse, in my opinion. The appeal is very narrow. And that means the friction is too high for “normies” to widely adopt it.

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 days ago

@rob Thank you!

Ah, my goal is to appeal to "normies", actually, so it sounds like I'm still way off.

My thinking is: how can I simplify the onboarding? Well, whoever wants to share this page will pick a server for their audience, that's the major hurdle in joining.

Then maybe highlight 2-3 apps. (4 in this demo looks visually the best, but maybe that's already too much?)

And then just a few links to help find people to follow.

How do you think I can improve this?

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 days ago

@rob Or is that a more general problem with the fediverse, and not something that can be addressed during onboarding?

Rob

@rob@skol.social · 2 days ago

@stefan

The first thing that jumps out is that you explain The Fediverse. No other platform describes itself that way. You don’t go to Meta or Google and read about the benefits of the underpinning technology. Both of these companies have multiple stacks that talk to each other.

People don’t use platforms because of the underlying technology. For normies, focus on one platform at a time (Mastodon, Pixelfed, Loops). Why even bring up The Fediverse if your page focus is on Mastodon?

Rob

@rob@skol.social · 2 days ago

@stefan
The Fediverse is already confusing enough.

I host my own instance (as do you), so I have some technical chops. I still remember on day zero trying to follow someone. It took me weeks for it to be natural. But I still found myself Googling how to follow someone a few weeks in.

So don’t confuse people further with talk of other platforms. That’s something they can learn later.

Stefan Bohacek

@stefan@stefanbohacek.online · 2 days ago

@rob So one confusion that still does come up regularly is people thinking that they need to sign up for each individual server.

I agree that getting into the details of how the fediverse works is not needed at the start, but this one thing definitely needs to be addressed.

Still, maybe the intro text can be further simplified, let me give that some more thought!

Rob

@rob@skol.social · 2 days ago

@stefan
The majority of people are neither BLM nor LBGTQ+ and therefore will not feel welcomed by this message.

I’m not trying to throw shade on any group, but you have chosen a specific slice of humanity here.

Maybe that is intentional, but it won’t appeal to grandma in Wisconsin.

Screenshot of a page welcoming BLM and LBGTQ+ to Hachyderm

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