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Exploring Mastodon

martinfowler.com

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Re: Exploring Mastodon

#11

Post by lern_too_spel »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #2

> but the protocol they use to communicate (ActivityPub) I stopped reading here. Most people who aren't tech savvy (much less professionally famous engineers) aren't going to want to learn this nonsense, much less see cased words like this that reek of geekdom. Everything about Mastodon (and the Fediverse) seems like it's catered to people who are already are (or who think they are) mentally all in on the concept. I…

This sentence is just explaining how he thinks Mastodon usage will evolve, comparing it to federated email instances and the protocol they use to communicate (SMTP). Most people who use email don't know that, and most people who use Mastodon don't know its federation protocol either.

Most people who read Fowler's blog or HN are able to understand the difference between what users need to know and how a system is implemented.

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#12

Post by chris_st »

I'm on a discord server with a lot of non-nerds, and various ones are interested in Mastodon, due to Twitter issues.

It's amazing to see how much trouble they're having... "Do I have to create a log in on every Mastodon?" ("No, and it's pretty much impossible"), "Can I follow someone on another server?" ("Yes, but it's incredibly hard -- try to follow them on whatever server you're on, maybe someone else is following them already in which case you'll be able to, otherwise here are directions that sometimes work") kind of things.

It's just not ready for prime-time, even (IMHO) among nerds, but wow, are normal folks having a hard time.

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#14

Post by andsoitis »

zzzeek wrote: post #8
ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #2

> but the protocol they use to communicate (ActivityPub) I stopped reading here. Most people who aren't tech savvy (much less professionally famous engineers) aren't going to want to learn this nonsense, much less see cased words like this that reek of geekdom. Everything about Mastodon (and the Fediverse) seems like it's catered to people who are already are (or who think they are) mentally all in on the concept. I…

you should log in and see all the very non-tech people who have joined

I don’t know much about Mastodon, so wondering: can I see chatter without logging in? Where do I go to see it (discovery)?

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#15

Post by vegai_ »

chris_st wrote: post #12

I'm on a discord server with a lot of non-nerds, and various ones are interested in Mastodon, due to Twitter issues. It's amazing to see how much trouble they're having... "Do I have to create a log in on every Mastodon?" ("No, and it's pretty much impossible"), "Can I follow someone on another server?" ("Yes, but it's incredibly hard -- try to follow them on whatever server you're on, maybe someone else is following…

How is following someone on another server with Mastodon difficult? Or is that some sort of a meme now?

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#16

Post by pcl »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #2

> but the protocol they use to communicate (ActivityPub) I stopped reading here. Most people who aren't tech savvy (much less professionally famous engineers) aren't going to want to learn this nonsense, much less see cased words like this that reek of geekdom. Everything about Mastodon (and the Fediverse) seems like it's catered to people who are already are (or who think they are) mentally all in on the concept. I…

Well, Martin Fowler is a tech guy who writes largely for an audience of tech people. It’s that surprising that tech jargon would find its way into his musings about a piece of tech he’s learning about. And certainly doesn’t have any bearing on Mastodon itself.

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#17

Post by taylodl »

I stopped using Twitter years ago - the signal to noise ratio is quite low and you have to spend a lot of time curating to even achieve that! Honestly, HN satisfies my needs for geek news and Reddit has me covered for my hobbies. I really don't see a need for these kinds of social networks any longer. At least not for me.

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#18

Post by cyborgx7 »

chris_st wrote: post #12

I'm on a discord server with a lot of non-nerds, and various ones are interested in Mastodon, due to Twitter issues. It's amazing to see how much trouble they're having... "Do I have to create a log in on every Mastodon?" ("No, and it's pretty much impossible"), "Can I follow someone on another server?" ("Yes, but it's incredibly hard -- try to follow them on whatever server you're on, maybe someone else is following…

People just have lost the ability to comprehend the concept of federation because everything in the current internet is walled gardens. There is nothing Mastodon can do to "fix this" without giving up on federation.

But people understand how federation works. They see it happen everyday with e-mail. You just need to tell them it works like that and they'll get it.

Re: Exploring Mastodon

#20

Post by culi »

chris_st wrote: post #12

I'm on a discord server with a lot of non-nerds, and various ones are interested in Mastodon, due to Twitter issues. It's amazing to see how much trouble they're having... "Do I have to create a log in on every Mastodon?" ("No, and it's pretty much impossible"), "Can I follow someone on another server?" ("Yes, but it's incredibly hard -- try to follow them on whatever server you're on, maybe someone else is following…

> Yes, but it's incredibly hard -- try to follow them on whatever server you're on

Confused about this. In my experience it's always just been a matter of adding

@personiwannafollow@otherinstance.com

Is this not always so simple?

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