Hi, all! I wish I had kept the snippet I included in my application to join this instance, but from what I remember, I expressed hope and trepidation about the future of the Fediverse.
My dream outcome would be for apps like Lemmy and Mastadon to create a norm where user content is stored in a client- and organization-agnostic manner, much like today’s websites tend to be accessible via whichever browser software you choose to use. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the human effort, knowledge and experience that is stored in replies and discussions on various websites were available to other websites and entities, rather than being under the control and whims of individual website owners?
My fear is that—as of today—the Fediverse remains fairly challenging for the average user to grok, join and participate in. I’m trying to think of ways to reduce the barrier to entry, but I don’t know how much I can really contribute other than my opinion. There are some who say that a high barrier to entry is a good thing, but I disagree. I don’t think we can use someone’s ability to navigate to (and within) the Fediverse as a proxy for the worth of their contributions to discussions,or their life experience they can bring to the table. But that’s just me…
One thing I know for sure: I found out about Lemmy during the Reddit Crisis of 2023, and in researching Lemmy I discovered SDF. I love this organization, I’m glad I found it, and I am really happy to be here. Thank you guys for hosting this instance!
I have nothing meaningful to add, and I barely know how to use Lemmy (or I would DM), but…
/u/August27th@lemmy.ca, your reply is brilliant and very informative for someone like me who has no idea what the industry is like.
You clearly put a lot of heart and soul into crafting a reply that is useful for the OP and all the rest of us, and I wanted to just reach out and say how much I really, really appreciate your effort and your thoughts.
Thanks for posting that!
/u/dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de … hang in there… they say that “courage” is not the absence of fear, but the act of moving forward in spite of that fear. The fact you joined the industry despite being unsure of yourself speaks to your courage, and I bet your courageous will take you far!