Did somebody tell you it's too confusing?

I think this is the way we should communicate, when presented with the question on how to get on Mastodon:

Copy paste from the link:

How do I use Mastodon?

  • Download the Mastodon app from the Apple app store or Play store.

  • Create an account (just like Twitter or any other social media)

  • Follow people, and get posting.

Why do tech journalists say it’s too confusing to catch on?

I have no fucking idea.

EDIT for clarification, don’t take this too seriously:

This “guide” is a bit of a joke made out of frustration. If you actually want to know more, including why I feel it has potential to free us from the dystopian hellscape that is modern social media, here is the “real” guide to Mastodon. It still uses simple language (and has lots of pictures!):

Please share widely

  • klu9@lemmy.caEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    Well, I’m confused. And has it caught on?

    Disclosure: I’ve tried it out on my computer, not the app. Is the app more user-friendly?

    E.g. I only just realized now why I’ve been so confused by Mastodon; the web page shows you replies before showing you what’s being replied to, without the UI making it obvious that’s what it’s doing and what’s connected together. Does the app fix that, and is there a way to get a fix in a web browser?

    • lgsp@feddit.it@feddit.itOPEnglish
      6·
      1 day ago

      I’m not sure, but i guess that it is replicating Twitter behaviour. I got used to that quickly.

      But if you want a better experience you can easily find other front ends. I strongly suggest Phanpy that makes it really clear when a toot is part of a conversation/thread. It also does a lot of nice things like grouping boosts in horizontal carousels, collapsing long threads to avoid occpying the too many screens, and others, but it is still simple

      • klu9@lemmy.caEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        Phanpy

        First impression: “That’s more like it!”

        But then: “Wait… it’s still not showing me the OP followed by replies.” It shows me a reply, with some faded text above. I click on the faded text above, and still don’t get the OP, eventually click on a group of microavatars with mouseover text “Go to top” and an up arrow, and at last see what the hell it is people are talking about, with replies below. I try going through settings, find no way to get it simply show me the OP in the first place.

        I guess I’ll have to keep trying out front-ends until I find one that works in a way that is not obviously maddening the way I need it to.

        I’ll try Ask Lemmy. https://lemmy.ca/post/44479417

        (And wondering again if I should try Mbin or Piefed, and what the difference is.)

        • lgsp@feddit.it@feddit.itOPEnglish
          3·
          1 day ago

          Woah, I think you catchet the biggest problem I have with it immediatly. I’m thinjking of opening an issue maybe?

          • klu9@lemmy.caEnglish
            2·
            1 day ago

            Good idea. I wanted to search their Github Issues to see if they already have a request for this but then I realized I don’t know the correct technical terms to describe this. “Show OP with replies below directly in timeline”? Or “feed”? Or “home page”? Whatever is the porper Mastodon term for what it shows me when I load the main page.

          • klu9@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            1 day ago

            Unfortunately, it looks like Fedilab is a mobile app only.

            Also, I’ve installed it on Android and the default does not show the OP above with replies grouped below.

            Looking at its settings, maybe one might affect completely missing OPs, “Remote Conversations”. I’ve enabled it and will see how it goes.

            I can’t find any setting to make it show replies grouped below the OP.

            • KazuyaDarklight@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              1 day ago

              Correct, it is mobile only. Unfortunately, I think I must be misunderstanding what you’re saying about the OP stuff. This is my view, the way I think about it at least, these are all “OPs”, ones with a plus sign next to the leftward arrow have comments.

              And then if I tap, I get the op with its comments underneath it.

              • klu9@lemmy.caEnglish
                1·
                24 hours ago

                Thanks for explaining that, now I can eventually see the OP.

                I want more like the second picture by default (although I wish the tap would take me direct to the OP instead of to the reply and then I have to scroll up).

                I don’t want to see a main feed full of replies I don’t understand because there’s no context and have to decide whether it’s worth tapping and scrolling up dozens (hundreds?) of times a day to find out what it’s about.

                I want by default to see the OP with replies underneath (perhaps the replies collapsed or collapsible). Then I can decide based on the OP, not guess by the reply, if I want to read through that thread or scroll past to the next.

                Maybe it’s cuz I’m new and all the content is new. Once I’m in, perhaps I’ll want to see unaccompanied replies. But for now, I want to see OPs first, then replies once I’ve read the OP.