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by PathfinderBot 1053 days ago
> I just tried it. I created an account on a Lemmy instance. Now I also want to join other instances. But how to do it? I won't create an account for every instance, but I'm stuck now.

Just like email, you do not need to create multiple accounts to talk to people from other servers, unless they have blocked one another. I am confused, I find it likely that HackerNews readers would know this. Perhaps you're making a point?

> So... don't know if that will ever replace Reddit. You really have to be a bit tech-savvy, and most users of the internet aren't.

I'm sure this is a familiar argument to most of us here. People usually focus on technical solutions, making it easier, one-click, fool-proof. I fear that is a game corporations and centralised services have an advantage in.

I have an alternative. It's not an easy solution, but a social solution to this would be to have "family sysadmins". Someone in the family who is at least slightly tech-savvy, helping the other members of the family set up their accounts. There is no need for the average person to understand federation or to be tech-savvy in this case. In other words, "help your family and friends with their IT stuff instead of putting them in the control of big corporations".

2 comments

In my opinion it would help if useful instructions how to use such services won't look like an API documentation for developers.

Your idea of having people in your family/friends that help everyone else with joining such communities is nice, but it also depends on some factors: - Do you know such people in your family? - Do you have a family/friends? - Do you want to waste their time with your needs, and how many people must be served by one person?

It may work for some to many people to ask for help with something like this, but not for the masses I think.

The only intuitive interface is the nipple. Everything else is learned.

Now, it might be that the learning curve is steeper than the existing solutions, but think of all the things you had to learn while using reddit:

- what is a sub?

- What is the difference between posting a link, a text, an image?

- How does voting affect the front-page?

- What is Karma?

- What is a DM?

Now, think of things you'll probably have to learn to use Lemmy.

- what is an instance?

- What is a community?

- How do I find communities to follow?

- What is the difference between "local" and "all"?

Why is it that "the masses" managed to learn how to use reddit, but wouldn't be able to learn Lemmy?

As any women (or man watching this) who has tried to nurse a newborn baby can tell you, the nipple is not very intuitive. It is a lot of effort to teach a baby to use a nipple correctly. Few know how to teach this skill anymore and so a lot of mothers spend a lot of money on bottles/formula. (formula is fine for those who can't make nursing work in their life, but where it would work many use formula anyway because it is so hard to learn)
You are right. Millions of years of evolution, thousands of mammal species, but none of them really could feed properly until Homo Sapiens came around with a proper "nursing 101" class and invented baby formula.

Life would be impossible without it.

(I do my best to avoid snarky responses, but do you realize how your comment amounts to pointless pontification?)

Evolution works for survival, at some point it 'decided' that since humans can teach other we don't need the instinct anymore. If you study at all you will find plenty of similar things across many different species.
Where is the study that teaches you to take a hint and stop with the midwit pontification?

What do you get by "Well actually"-ing me on a completely innocuous aphorism?

If you need IT to make you a social media account the social media service is doomed.