@feditips is there any Facebook-like Fediverse flavour that actually is easy to install and to maintain for less advanced users? I have tried nearly all of them and on most installation and maintenance are anything but user friendly. Are there projects that aim to make that easier?
The most Facebook-like Fediverse project I know of is Friendica? ( https://friendi.ca )
@feditips I tried it, it has showstopping bugs that are unfixed for years - and the installation definitely is not user-friendly.
@feditips my point here is that the Fediverse is a desperately needed alternative to the commercial social media platform, but unfortunatley a lot of projects are run by nerds that do not care about UX and are toxic towards newbies. That way the Fediverse will not get an influx of new users.
I think you are being a bit unfair on e.g. Mastodon and PixelFed, which have gone to great lengths to make themselves user friendly for non-nerds.
I'm not a developer, but I have found these projects to be very friendly and welcoming.
With Friendica, my understanding is they are aiming it more for people who want to follow several networks at once.
You're right that there's a Facebook-shaped gap though, it would be great if someone started a project to fill it.
PeerTube and Mobilizon are also projects that have put a lot of time and effort into making themselves user friendly.
I think they deserve credit for it.
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@feditips As I stated earlier I also talk about user-friendly installation and maintenance. Mobilizon definitely does not fit that. I did not yet try PeerTube as I do not need that. Mastodon may be user-friendly, but the need of Ruby alone makes it nearly impossible to install it for less tech-savvy people. To get way more people to use any of this and especially to run own instances (because: privacy) there is a long way to go.
I wish a combined workflow for framadate an mobilizon...
Find a date with framadate and create a mobilizon-evnt seamless out of it (share it, publish it, add all users, who have sayed yes automagical to the event...)
@jakob @feditips Yeah, I had a look at mobilizon because I wanted to try it and did not do it. Too much work and too bloated. I may revisit it later, though. I have not yet looked on how to update it, I guesds that also will be a pain. What is needed are solutions simple and stable enough to be run on shared hosting, so everyone can do it.
If you are non-technical, you can use a managed hosting service like masto.host to create and own your own instance.
Lots of non-tech people have their own Mastodon instances in this way.
@feditips I am "technical", but a lot of my friends are not. This is not primarily about Mastodon. Mastodon is a Twitter clone and way too limited for my taste. No groups, no galleries, no events, for example. I know that there are solutions for single Fediverse flavors, but that does not negate the fact that the Fediverse as a whole is way too heterogenous and fractured to be of real use to a broader audience.
@feditips ... and how will I know if masto.host is around in three months? I have seen a lot of projects close. It is highly preferable to host it yourself - and that should be as easy as possible.
Masto.host has been around for years, and they have a clear business model that has been around since the birth of the web: people pay them to host and maintain a site.
They are also not the only managed hosting service for the Fediverse. There is Spacebear for example, which also offers Pixelfed and Peertube instances.
If you want 100% control of your data without having to do installation or managed hosting or third party instances, maybe a distributed social network would be preferable for you and your friends?
Manyverse is trying to make the Scuttlebutt network as easy as possible, and the nature of SSB means everyone effectively hosts their own instance on their phone or computer:
@feditips Thanks for showing me Manyverse, I did not know that yet and I'll look into it. However, since it is app-only and there is not desktop/browser client this is absolutely no option for us. "Maybe in 12 months" (from the roadmap) is not a goiod sign, it was the same with Okuna and there the desktop client is in limbo for a year, without real updates. Personally I distrust any project that has that "mobile first" doctrine.
Don't worry about the Manyverse branding, that's just done to give the mobile apps a slick consistent feel. You don't have to use Manyverse to access the Scuttlebutt network.
Scuttlebutt was on desktop long before Manyverse, there are lots of desktop SSB apps: