I'm new here, and new to federated applications (and fit OP's description perfectly). This federated stuff is going to remain niche unless somebody figures out a way to make it approachable.

Reddit first time:

> open app
> choose some things I like
> see all the things

Lemmy first time:

> open app
> ?????
> google how to use it
> choose a... server? 
> ?????

yes, I used to have the same experience. regular smoking and then stopping for a bit was fine. but it didn't leave my mind. It's not physically addictive, but neither is shopping or video games, or gambling, yet so many people are addicts

I am a former senior web developer and head of a web-based software company, I know how to use the internet. That is not why I use apps. I use apps because they fit into my phone's ecosystem much better than websites. The flow I've illustrated is the most commonly adopted, as others in the reply thread have pointed out.

Yeah, this seems like one potential solution. But I think Fedheads (please tell me I'm the first person to use that term 🤞) will say this defeats the whole point of a federated platform. The official guide recommends avoiding the biggest communities and instead joining something smaller.

If there's good content on Twitter, why not allow people to share? it's always the user's choice to follow a link or not

Interestingly, this is somewhere between a lemon and a freaky citrus called "buddhas hand"

The system we abide by is, in part, due to a kind of momentum that keeps it going and there would be a great innertia with a sudden change of direction. But for the most part the current system exists because of the way people are. People are a) totally up in their heads believing the intellect is a human's highest capability, and b) utterly miserable. We know how to engineer every little aspect of life to further pur convenience except the aspect that counts: ourselves.

We have no idea how to engineer ourselves to be joyful, peaceful, energised and equanimous beings. It doesn't come from a change of environment. Internal change must be engineered in another way.

https://youtu.be/L9-WwLCy8XY

Exactly high/nerdy barrier to entry. Even the concept is pretty high felootin'

What is an alternative to a hamburger menu for a mobile layout?

Hmm, that's interesting, thank you ☺️ I bet you're expensive

That's like taking paracetamol for a permanent headache. It's effectiveness will wane and over time you'll need stronger and stronger anaesthetics. It's to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

Straight out of the addicts playbook. Former stoner of 10 years, I see the excuses. Needing drugs to walk through life is like needing a crutch. You are not stronger with them, they are an inhibitor to your natural greatness.

"I don't need drugs, I want them"

Desire, when the pattern holds, becomes need. I used to think "yeah stopping weed is easy," then would spend all the time in-between thinking "this situation would be so much better with weed." So much so that I did absolutely insane things to get hold of it while I was living in China. My desire was very much in the realm of need, but I always made excuses to myself and my loved ones.

Yeah, this is what I told myself for 10 years. But the fact is there were numerous situations where I would think "this would be so much better with weed".

If I can't enjoy life's basic experiences without drugs, there is a problem.

Also pizza doesn't cause mood swings, memory loss, lethargy, paranoia etc.

Those people are correct. Capitalism is a reflection of our collective misery. Look at how many people are on anti-depressants today, how many are suffering from mental health issues. Our ability to engineer the world to our advantage is not the problem here, that is something human beings are extremely good at. The problem is that we lack the ability to engineer ourselves.

https://youtu.be/L9-WwLCy8XY