this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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Before I left Reddit, I searched for alternatives and saw that people recommended Lemmy or Kbin. But I didn't know what those things were. I assumed they were just Reddit clones hosted by someone else. I didn't know that I could create an account on Kbin and interact with other posts in the Fediverse. I didn't even know what the Fediverse was. So I was stuck with this decision of "do I try Lemmy or Kbin first?"
When I decided to try Lemmy, the first thing you need to do is sign up on an instance. People recommended beehaw.org, but that required filling out an application to join. That seems weird, since I never had to apply to read Reddit. I decided to try another instance (sh.itjust.works) but was worried that I was missing out on what people had recommended about other instances. Maybe I chose the wrong one? Maybe I should make an account on Lemmy.world instead?
It took me a little while to grasp the concept of federation and realize that it made no difference as an end user which instance I chose. I stuck with it, as did everyone reading this, but I think it's fair to say that the average person has similar barriers to entry. We've overcome them, but many, many people will not.
The app situation is getting much much better. The website UI is inferior to old reddit or the apps. I know some servers support the old reddit UI but it's not discoverable. Stuff like expanding images needs to be easier to do instead of clicking a semi-hidden 10px square each picture.
Sync and Boost are great, though I'm still not happy with the iOS apps (I like Avalon and Mlem, but I don't live either of them, whereas the Android apps feel fantastic).
Boost is lovely and polished and you can see that tons of work has gone into it.
Tell you what though: while I was waiting for Boost, damned if the Voyager (fka wefwef) PWA came out of nowhere with (I think) some of the nicest UX of any of the contenders, plus an insane release schedule because they can just push changes whenever. Voyager is honestly what has kept me here. (...he says, posting from Boost)
you joined early on, you had to work at understanding the fediverse. now there are plenty of places that explain everything.
True, the concept of the fediverse is probably what confuses people, it's never explained clearly. I hope it's growth helps spread information about it, how it works and why you want it.