A long(-ish) read that I got done with a day or two back on the intersection of cryptocurrency and pyramid schemes - interesting and a tad chilling at the same time!
@design_RG, haha, same!
I like to think of this as a problem of plenty worth having, though! :D So little time, and so much to do!
@Zyzzyva Yes! I am enjoying the reading, discovering things, interactions, great fun.
Only have been here for a month and it's been a nice ride.
@design_RG, likewise!
I like the relatively slow pace of this instance - heading over to the public timeline reminds me of the absolute mass of posts that I got rid of Facebook for to begin with!
Quite happy to spend a few minutes a day reading/sharing stuff (I love those arXiv bots!) that I find fun!
@Zyzzyva Yeah, it's true. The Local feed sometimes is slowish, it depends of the time of the day.
when it happens that some prolific posters are online simultaneously, some nice longer threads do develop.
I used to use FB, but was tired of the repetitiveness of the posts there. Plus the polarization, and people posting back and forth about an election that happened a year ago or more.
You can't change the results, but move on, people are playing into the politicians hands by doing that fan club cheering.
Glad you like the arXiv posts, as there's a lot of them flying by, lol. 😜
The Home feed is fun, with a manageable pace and interestign things flying by. Or we can get an account in a second instance, to liven up the quieter moments, or to research more delicate topics.
I do that, and it sometimes is very interesting, although I primarily post here.
An account in an instance supporting a different language is also a good idea, to practice and keep in touch with the culture. Got one, but haven't visited yet - I don't like leaving an account open without a minimum of info, avatar, etc. So it's on the To Do list...
@design_RG, no, I quite like the pace! My mind wanders by nature so it's nice to have a few things it can hop around rather than 400 (at the end of which I'm on a Wikipedia page about an Amazonian fish or something).
I think Facebook was too much about people and less about their ideas, if that makes sense? I was lucky to leave at a time before people were really into politics, and back then, it was just memes and photos from last night's party. And the night before. And the night before...
@Zyzzyva I liked Facebook for linking up with local people. I enjoy bicycles and cycling, and have many cyclist friends there.
But then the posts get very repetitive, and we might not have much of a connection other than the interest and love of bikes and riding them.
There is one part of the Fediverse which is called Friendica, and has a similar interface and logic. It fully federates with us here in Masto, I have an account there and can follow, reply to or mention anyone here.
@rgx@nerdica.net is listening. 😜
With so much to experiment, learn, read, all those fascinating wiki pages we end up with, like you described, my Friendica account hasn't seen more than some test use.
It does allow beautiful text formatting AND post editing too, Woot!!
But you need to connect to people, or it seems an empty place.
If you ever want to see how it is, there's a test server for trying out an account - it gets deleted in a week, and nobody minds what you do there, you are not embarrassed in front of an active instance.
https://tryfriendica.de/ is the URL
@design_RG, okay, this thing is now blowing my mind!
(I had to run through Wikipedia to completely understand your post, so that's another visit to that blessed website for the day!)
I am going to sit tight and camp on Mastodon for now! There's enough going on as it is. :D
On FB, my circles were always more circumstantial rather than conscious, to the point where I had posts from my juniors at high school landing up on my wall (is it still called that?) when I was in college. That's when I decided to do a deep-cleanse, and I couldn't cleanse deeper than pulling the plug!
Also, you're a cyclist too, that's amazing! :D It remains my preferred mode of commute (maybe second to walking), and I do what I can to spread the love!
But I shan't run down that fork here - this conversation promises to end in a very different place from where it started already! :D
@design_RG, how do you get past the 500-character toot limit? Your post seems longer than that!
I couldn't get back about the multiple instances as a result of running out of characters - just wanted to say my hands are full figuring this one thing out, maybe someday, time and inclination willing! :D
@Zyzzyva I am using the Mastodon web interface, on my laptop, and it allows the maximum post size as defined by the instance admin -- in Qoto's case, that's 65,000 chars max.
Plenty eh? 😜
Some clients (for mobile mostly) might have a hard limit of 500 chars, which is the usual default max size.
If that's the case, maybe consider changing to another client? Fediverse is good one too. Free from the F-Droid app store.
Don't worry as we are all learning. I have been here for only a month and feel comfortable, but still am surprised by things sometimes, and have many things on my wishlist to read or act upon.
Have fun, ask any questions if needed. 😉
@design_RG, ah, thanks! Good to know!
Will check Fediverse out! Tusky was the best rated one on the Android App Store, so I went ahead with that. You live and you learn, I guess!
@Zyzzyva I would suggest you to try Fedilab Lite - I made a review and links, screenshots on this thread:
@Zyzzyva And I should mention - honestly, the best way to explore and handle the rich information here in fediverse is on a desktop or laptop computer.
A moblie is goo for quick things on the go, getting a map, etc, but reading is limited and TABS!!! Need Tons open.
Waterfox is my fave browser, and it handles the unbelievable load I am throwing at it perfectly.
Laptop, best. Desktop, for power users, multi monitor, but then it's tying you down to a desk. 😉
@design_RG, Chrome's my preferred poison (and some one would insist that poison is indeed an apt metaphor) - my work laptop handles the load decently, but my personal laptop (which is an old can I've been coaxing to the limits of functionality) nearly audibly sighs every time I go beyond ten tabs.
First-world problems, I tell you.
@Zyzzyva an older machine needs lighter software, I would suggest you give FF or Waterfox a try.
Uses a lot less resources than Chrome, and is not tied into their ecosystem and espionage.
@design_RG, will check it out, thanks a bunch!
@Zyzzyva Thank you for the post. I guess I will have one more tab open now. 😛
Many, many open tabs, hopefulyl I can get to most of them soon. TY!!