Fedibridge

!General@50501.chat

A lot of us are in tech and we come across these problems and just troubleshoot our way around them and don't really think about them, so I figured a "case study" might be helpful. ~~Image unrelated.~~

Anyway, yesterday I tried making an alt account on lemmy.world. When last we left the situation, I had been notified that my registration application had been denied, but I'd been asked to confirm my email and https://lemmy.world/u/sergio had been created. A couple helpful commenters suggested my account might still be under review.

• Today I tried logging in again. But when I entered my username and password, I got a popup that said "incorrect login credentials". Maybe I needed to verify my email again? I went to my email, clicked the "verify your email" link, and just got a page with text that said "verify email" and nothing else. Maybe it didn't like me using my username to log in? So I tried logging in with my EMAIL and my password, and still got that "incorrect login credentials".
• Maybe something's wrong with my password? I'm using a password manager but OK, let's just try changing my password. I clicked on the "forgot email" link on the login page. I entered my email address and clicked "reset password"... and nothing happens. No feedback, and I don't get an email. (10 minutes so far).
• maybe I should check https://lemmy.world/u/sergio ? Hey, that's no longer there, I just get an error! I check the user page of another lemmy.world user and it works, so it's not a server problem. Maybe my application really was denied? Was it really reviewed? What do I do now?

(my intuition is to try again with a different username, email address, computer, and browser from a different location at a different time of day...)

So I post a fair number of links to youtube videos on !sumo@lemmy.world and !gothindustrial@lemmy.world and sometimes a couple of movie-related comms. Anyway, recently lemmy.world updated their server software and the way that they handle youtube thumbnails. So I wanted to check it out.

So I went to create an account on lemmy.world. So I entered my email info, and where it asked for an explanation I explained that this is sergio@slrpnk.net wanting to post to those communities.

• First of all, their captcha is really difficult. I could not figure out the first 3 that it presented so I kept hitting the icon to get a new one. The 4th one I thought I knew so I entered it.

• So I tried to log in and it said "did not verify email." OK, so I go to my email, find the link, click it and enter my password and it says "registration application denied"

I'm not complaining about either one. I don't really mind having a tough captcha if it keeps out bots. I guess I don't mind having my registration application denied, though I wish it told me why. Did I get the captcha wrong? Did I say something wrong in my application text? Should I try again later? Weirdly enough, https://lemmy.world/u/sergio does exist and it was created at the time that I signed up for that account.

Anyway, that's one example of the problems a new user can have trying to join lemmy.

Although ActivityPub does a lot to help share content across federated sites, it goes without saying it doesn't always go smoothly for a variety of reasons. Different post formatting, different overall focus and structure of other software, and so on.

With that in mind, it's as important to create different local accounts both on the same software (at times) and on other software to help polish up the content sharing.

As an immediately obvious example in the case of Lemmy: creating other accounts to help moderate a remote community due to issues of cross-site moderation.

However, it can go beyond that. Due to the minimal algorithmic design of a lot of federated software, many across these sites may not even be aware of some of the others. Some using Mastodon or a *key variant may have no idea of Lemmy, Mbin, or Piefed and vice versa, so may still be using corporate alternatives.

This means that it may also be beneficial for those trying to grow these respective communities to create accounts on Mastodon, *key, etc. sites and share links from Lemmy/Mbin/Piefed there, or vice versa. It's by no means ideal, but it's the reality of the situation at the moment.

Speaking of multiple accounts, it's important to try to correct misconceptions of only needing one account for this very reason.

For the moment, if you want to participate on federated forums, it's better to make an account on whichever site software supports it (like Lemmy/Mbin/Piefed), largely the same with federated microblogs (like Akkoma/*key/Mastodon), and so on.

Ultimately despite some of the inconveniences, taking this approach may at least be less of an uphill battle than navigating the increasingly closed corporate networks trying to keep people trapped there. Across the federated sites one may find more receptive audiences to checking out other open social networks that they may have completely overlooked.

Note that r/coolguides is a very "normie" subreddit and may require extra handholding. There are a lot of people who don't seem to understand what "open source" means. Some looking for "The Lemmy app" etc. Be patient and helpful!

Previously this week I released a Lemmy guide in Finnish, as the platform has started to gain a bit more traction here. Based on that, I made an English version on my blog. I tell about what is Lemmy, how to choose an instance, how to find communities and how the interoperability with Mastodon works. I also tell a bit about mobile apps and my own experiences as an instance admin.

Posting Reddit links where people are looking for alternatives/discussing Lemmy is great, since those of us who quit Reddit for Lemmy superiority can't tell people Lemmy is superior.

HOWEVER, be slightly cautious of brigading:

1. To prevent brigading, Reddit stops counting upvotes on posts if people come from an external link, upvote quickly, and leave
2. Reddit has previously banned links to rdrama.net due to excessive brigading - This would be bad if it happened to Lemmy
3. We don't necessarily want to catch some power tripping Reddit admin to shadowban Lemmy shills

Basically, keep posting, but don't overdo it in a given subreddit, and maybe give a slight warning to not make a brigade obvious

Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1jbb2k8/the_new_buyeueopean_app_is_a_scam_it_uses_open_ai/mhteirp/

I was a regular on lemmy.world prior to moving to Mbin, and I like how everything's in one place! I just have to ask, if I were to make an Mbin community (or magazine as they call it here) could users from other platforms join and engage with the content of my community? Thanks!

!kgatlw@lemmy.ml

!menopause@lemmy.world

• https://old.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/1jb1xqx/dear_reddit_go_frick_off/
• https://old.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/1j9nk2p/yeahpeace_out_reddit/

Let's go tell them to sign up on https://lemm.ee/ to crack past 54.9k mau

I've noticed several Redditors over in r/Lemmy and r/LemmyMigration who are experiencing issues with email verification on signup.

Examples:

• I can't verify my email because the page doesn't give me a button to do so. The link from my email just takes me to a blank page
• Unable to log in, got verification email, but go to log in and get a "bad password" message. Not getting password reset emails either. Junk/spam folders have nothing.
• Email never showed
• Can't reset password
• Can't register

I see several people in helping out as best they can in the comments, but I think it would probably be better if the relevant instance admins could reach out directly.

What is the best way to do this?

In order to maximize the number of users who join Lemmy, I think it is important that we streamline the sign-up process as much as possible. It would be unfortunate to miss out on potential users due to email issues.

This infographic is still incomplete; I'm posting it here in the hope that I can get some feedback about it. It has three goals:

1. To explain what federation is. No technobabble, just a simple analogy with houses and a neighbourhood.
2. To explain why federation is good for users.
3. [TODO] Specific info about the Fediverse, plus some really simple FAQ.

Criticism is welcome as long as constructive.

EDIT: OK, too much text. I'm clipping as much as I can.

!streetfighter@lemmy.world

https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/dailystats