#fediverseux — Public Fediverse posts

A UX improvement to @Mastodon that might increase usage of Content Warnings; stop counting the text in them against the 500 char limit. Give them their own separate (shorter) limit, maybe 200 characters or less? Something to consult on with people who think it's useful to write long Content Warnings.

#UX #FediverseUX #FediDevs #Mastodon

I noticed a new cirled question-mark icon next to my Fediverse address on my Mastodon account.

Tapping it exposed a pop-up.

It seems like it is a message to me.

#Fediverse #FediverseUX #Mastodon

I just started reading the blog of @gilles. #HatTip to @mayel for the link to Gilles' homepage.

Anyway, I read this blog post;
https://blog.gillesdutilh.com/2025/03/the-pain-in-mansplaining/

... and saw "fediverse reactions" at the bottom. So I tried putting that URL into the @Mastodon search bar. No dice.

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#UX #FediverseUX

It would be good to have a UX checklist for new fediverse devs to work though as they implement ActivityPub, and for devs of established apps to check against when doing UX reviews. Things like;

* replies to posts made in other apps federate back to the OP server

* edits to those posts federate

* searching a URI for a post or actor in other apps retrieves it

Maybe with links to implementation tips for each point. An idea for ActivityPub.rocks?

#FediverseIdeas #FediDevs #UX #FediverseUX

As I mentioned in a post a week or 2 back, the vanilla Mastodon web app is now better for most purposes than the third-party ones I've tried
(@enafore, @elk, @phanpy, happy to go into detail on why if this helps). Plus, now that I'm home I use my laptop a lot more (on mobile I tend to use native apps, which are pretty good; @moshidon, @Fedilab (?), @pachli).

Using the Mastodon web app more has helped me understand the logic behind the Quote Post feature.

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#UX #FediverseUX #QuotePosts

I dream of being able to store my online social presence, identity, and history just as — an (organized) set of static files.

A set that I control.

And, I can (if I want to) host myself. (I.e., I am the "source of truth" / "origin" for my files.)

RE: https://mastodon.social/@reiver/116018261922778583

#ActivityPub #FediDev #FediDevs #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

3/

If you cannot get (most) regular people to write JSON-LD, JSON, or even HTML —

But, you might be able to get them (regular people) to write something similar to Markdown and INI —

Then, are there ways you could (explicitly or implicitly) encode JSON-LD type information, such as ActivityPub, into a Markdown-like or INI-like file — in a way where they (regular people) would likely include it?

I suspect — probably yes.

#ActivityPub #FediDev #FediDevs #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

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@datum
> but if a user can't be bothered to write a paragraph about themselves asking to join a server

... then they're not going to fill out their profile, which means they will struggle to find anyone to follow or even interact with them. So here's a #UX suggestion; somehow combine the 2.

Ask them what their profile text would say if they're accepted, and have accepting the account autopopulate the profile with that text.

#FediverseUX #accessibility

@NetscapeNavigator @alice

One person's request for Fediverse applications —

Alex wants to be able to choose what the preview image is for a video, chosen from the frames in the video.

...

I can imagine editing tools (in Fediverse applications) would also be useful.

It is also common elsewhere for people to be able to use custom images for preview images.

#FediDev #FediDevs #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #PreviewImage #Video

Some people want BREAKING NEWS.

RE: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1710701583988896115

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #SpreadFediverse

What one person wants from an alternative to a Twitter:

• choice of home-feed algorithm,
• editable posts,
• ability to moderate replies

RE: https://x.com/Plinz/status/1685945305320329216

#FediDev #FediDevs #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

This is an area I think we could improve on the Fediverse —

Nested Comments

This (in the attached screen-shot) is from someone on Twitter who is also on Mastodon and Bluesky.

He seems to be a fan of the nested comments UI on Bluesky.

We have some great applications on the Fediverse. They could be made even greater with this improvement.

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediDev #FediDevs #FediverseUX

Something Fediverse related that I am working on —

Toddlerverse

Basically, what I have been thinking about is —

What would take to make areas of the Fediverse geared towards toddlers.

(The document I am writing is still a work in progress.)

(I am a parent of young children, so I have first-hand experience with kids usage of online media, including social-media.)

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #SpreadFediverse #Toddler #Toddlers #Toddlerverse

"Signal was great, but I wanted something I could truly own. Enter Matrix — a protocol, not a platform. I now run my own homeserver, complete with bridges, Maubot automations, and rooms that feel more like digital living rooms than rented chat spaces."

https://laurahargreaves.com/growing-my-fediverse/

@laura

RE: https://mastodon.laurahargreaves.com/@laura/115536140849221234

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #MatrixProtocol

What is involved in moving your account from one server to another seems much, much more difficult than it should be.

#FediUX #FediverseUX

There are simple services that exist that — when a user fills-out & submits a <form> on the Web that simple service e-mails someone that data.

These simple services are alternatives to more complex back-end with a database.

An alternative to this alternative could be — instead of e-mailing someone the submitted data, send that data via the Fediverse using ActivityPub.

ActivityPub them. (Can “ActivityPub” be a verb‽)

Probably as a private DM.

#ActivityPub #FediUX #Fedivese #FediverseUX

RE: https://mastodon.social/@cheeaun/115381698564197327

This is an argument for (also) having a recommendation-engine based feed.

(I.e., what some mistakenly call "the algorithm" or an "algorithmic feed".)

“I know the comparison here is 450 followers to 4,500, but follower number isn't indicative of the full picture. Think about TikTok, and how you can have 50 followers but have posts that reach millions of views.”

RE: https://cara.app/post/2e0d29d3-a57a-4b70-b0d0-9cefc15176ca

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #RecommendationEngine

If we were to do a regular online Fediverse meeting —

(Maybe once a month.)

WHAT DAYS OF THE WEEK WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO ATTEND?

A regular (online) meeting for Fediverse developers, for those who care about the Fediverse as a social movement, and for those who care about the success of the Fediverse.

Sunday?
Monday?
Tuesday?
Wednesday?
Thursday?
Friday?
Saturday?

(You can pick more than one day)

PLEASE REPLY WITH YOUR ANSWER.

#ActivityPub #FediDev #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #SocialWeb

2/

I spend time thinking about how this (the importance of files and file data-formats) intersects with user-experience (UX).

For example, what types of files could you get regular people to create?

I don't think you can get regular people en masse to write JSON (including JSON-LD).

I think even getting them (regular people) to write HTML is difficult.

Something similar to Markdown probably has the best chance or success. Maybe something similar to INI, too.

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

1/

Something I said before (and felt even longer) is —

An open protocol is better than an app.

But an open file data-format is better than an open protocol.

I.e.,:

file data format ≫ protocol ≫ app

https://mastodon.social/@reiver/113495330687127439

With that in mind —

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

I have found that I have wanted this, too.

I follow a lot of hash-tags. Which is great.

But, sometimes I just want to see a feed of just the people I follow without the hash-tag posts.

@jrovu

RE: https://mastodon.social/@jrovu/115272977024399931

#FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

This is a pattern that I've already seen people do on the Fediverse, Twitter, and other places.

Although, usually people take a screenshot of the post, and then mark-it-up.

It seems like Threads payed-the-cows-path and made something people were already doing easier.

#Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX #Threads

I have a friend who has been teaching anthropology as an adjunct lecturer. They're keen to get into UX, in the hopes of finding more stable employment.

Can anyone think of a way to get funding to pay them to work on #fediverse UX stuff? Ideally for a year or 2, but even a few months would be better than nothing.

TBH I'm not sure what form this might take. Ideas on that welcome to. Maybe a freely-licensed framework for doing UX reviews for decentralised networks?

#anthropology #UX #FediverseUX

I wonder if the user-experience (UX) could be improved.

Perhaps their front-end client app could warn them when an ActivityPub Group actor is included in the reply tree.

Although, as I said here:
https://mastodon.social/@reiver/114113739165883616

— if you post anything publicly, strangers across the Fediverse may see it, too.

So, even if there isn't a Group actor, their message cloud still get around.

@atomicpoet

RE: https://atomicpoet.org/objects/f8f8a0be-3cb9-4aaf-9635-9eb02057d15b

#ActorTypeGroup #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

I think it would be better if Forgejo / Codeberg (also) provided a QR code for generated access-tokens hexadecimal string.

Generating an access-token on your laptop, and then — manually typing in that (access-token) hexadecimal string into your phone is error-prone and tedious.

A QR code that you could scan from your mobile phone would help reduce that error and tedium.

@Codeberg
@forgejo

#codeberg #forgejo #gitnex #FediUX #FediverseUX

"My strongest belief about the social web is that if we want it to succeed, we have to keep lowering the barrier to entry.

We have to keep minimizing the need for arcane language. We have to keep solving the things that people expect to work, but don't, rather than endlessly explaining how the underlying technology works. We have to create more familiarity with concepts people already know."

@johnonolan, 2025

https://john.onolan.org/reflections-on-the-social-web/

#UX #FediverseUX

I might have started coding this.

A group-chat UI on top of a Fediverse "Group" (i.e., ActivityPub Actor type "Group").

https://codeberg.org/reiver/chatfed

I made it as a PWA.

(It is definitely NOT done. It is barely the beginning. Basically, what you see in the screen-shot. Lots more work to do.)

RE: https://mastodon.social/@reiver/114976291721641017

#ActorTypeGroup #chatfed #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

What if we had a user-experience over a Fediverse "Group" (i.e., ActivtyPub Actor type "Group") that looked more like a group-chat.

I mocked up a desktop style UI for it.

(A mobile UI would be more condensed.)

...

For FediCon I used Signal for group-chat. But I would have preferred to keep the conversation on the Fediverse. And, if a UI like this existed, I would have been able to do so.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@reiver/114972968353110871

#ActorTypeGroup #chatfed #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

I want a way to have a user-experience over a Fediverse "Group" that looks more like a Signal or Telegram group chat.

I know it is doable. Someone just needs to implement it.

(Maybe I will if no one else does it by the time I "finish" my current Fediverse projects.)

#ActorTypeGroup #chatfed #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX

A recent thread here, about the epic blog posts by @tchambers, got me to wondering;

Is anyone hosting spaces for fediverse UX collaboration? I'm looking for friendly, in-depth, *constructive* discussions. Chat rooms are OK, but forums are better.

Spaces I already know about;

Matrix: #fediverse-devs-ux:matrix.org

Forum: https://discuss.coding.social/

Curious to know if there are others.

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#UX #FediverseUX

As a fediverse power user, I'd really like to have 2 separate feeds populated by my follows;

* Firehose; anything that someone on the service I use, including me, might find interesting.

* Home; stuff I definitely want to read on a regular basis

Is this an experience anyone else can relate to?

(1/2)

#FediverseIdeas #FediverseUX #AskFedi

Back then I imagined one way this could have been solved.

The Mastodon team tried to solve this by onboarding new users onto mastodon.social by default.

However, I imagined people not creating accounts at first, but instead just subscribing to people's outboxes — all done on the client side, so they didn't have to choose a server instance.

https://mastodon.social/@reiver/114070142883326241

Using ActivityPub outboxes like RSS / Atom / WebFeeds.

@tchambers

RE: https://www.timothychambers.net/2025/06/18/113327.html

#Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX

Back in the year 2022 when the Twitter Migration was happening —

I asked people on Twitter who tried to join Mastodon but gave up — WHY they gave up

By far, the most common complaint I heard was — picking a server instance

It seem like a very important decision that they weren't prepared or ready to make that blocked them from joining Mastodon

They didn't understand it. And, they didn't want to do it. So they gave up

@tchambers

RE: https://www.timothychambers.net/2025/06/18/113327.html

#Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX

For those that want to use a (user-controlled) public-key as a basis of an ID on the Fedivese to help enable account and data portability —

Using public-keys could work.

But, there are some issue to address:

№1:

how do we enable key rotation,

№2:

how do we enable users to have multiple keys (maybe for different devices), and

№3:

how do we enable users to be able to revoke keys.

#FediForum #Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX

An interesting quote from @geerlingguy .

The TL;DR is that — for him to use PeerTube or any other Fediverse alternative to YouTube — he would need to be able to make a living from it.

He is not the only one who has expressed this sentiment.

This is something I have been thinking about and talking a lot about for a while now.

(I know I am not the only one.)

RE: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/self-hosting-your-own-media-considered-harmful

#Fediverse #DeSo #FeSo #LoSo #FediUX #FediverseUX #SpreadFediverse

Another "native" quote-post on mastodon.social where the quoted-post isn't showing up.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@pfrazee.com@bsky.brid.gy/114632432622392047

#QuotePost #QuoteTweet #Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX #DeSo #FeSo #LoSo #Mastodon

OMF!G, I just saw a "native" quote-post on mastodon.social !!!

...

I am seeing them from Bluesky accounts bridged to the Fediverse.

I just did a test myself.

RE: https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:scewmn2pl3oz36mxme2b6czz/post/3lquzwwupf22d

#QuotePost #QuoteTweet #Fediverse #FediUX #FediverseUX #DeSo #FeSo #LoSo #Mastodon

The micro-blogging version of a podcast is — short-form video and short-form audio.

I previously wrote about that here, in the following thread:
https://mastodon.social/@reiver/113759549171033924

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/justingarrison.com/post/3lphhhw4xik2b

#DeSo #Bluesky #FediUX #Fediverse #FediverseUX #MicroBlogging #ShortForm #Shorts

Farcaster seems to have Starter-Follow-Packs now.

#DeSo #Farcaster #FediverseUX #FediUX #FollowPack #FollowPacks #StarterFollowPack #StarterFollowPacks #StarterPack #StarterPacks

An article on what Tumblr was like as a technology and a culture. With a focus on GIF-sets.

https://cybercultural.com/p/tumblr-2012/

by @ricmac

"The emphasis [of Tumblr] was on fun and sharing, rather than writing and editing."

#Blogging #GIFSets #FediverseUX #FediUX #SocialMedia #SpreadFediverse #Tumblr

9/

And just for the record —

Just like everyone else I contacted about their 'discoverable' flag being defaulted to 'false' —

He wasn't aware of the 'discoverable' flag existing (just like everyone else I contacted).

He didn't want to be hidden (just like everyone else I contacted).

He changed it to 'true' (just like everyone else I contacted).

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

8/

As it is now, I think the 'discoverable' flag is broken.

And, I think the whole user-experience (UX) around the 'discoverable' flag is poor.

And, I think Fediverse software treating a 'false' value for 'discoverable' as "not discoverable" (rather than "not discoverable" or "no choice made") has hugely negative consequences for the user-experience (UX) of the Fediverse

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

7/

So now I have to DM Ben to tell him that his 'discoverable' flag is set to false

He (just like everyone else I contacted) will likely not even be aware that the 'discoverable' flag exists

And (just like everyone else I contacted) wished it wasn't set to false

And then (just like everyone else I contacted) struggle to find where he can set it to true

And then set it

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

6/

As it is now, the 'discoverable' flag seems broken to me.

Because 'false' doesn't actually mean 'false'.

'false' (in practice) means both "not discoverable" and "no choice made". And this is a very unfortunate situation —

Because the idea of a 'discoverable' flag is a good idea — but this problem with the meaning of 'false' and the UX consequences a big deal.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

5/

JSON and has a 'null'. That could have been used for the 'discoverable' flag.

We could have had so that:

'discoverable' set to 'true' meant that the user explicitly chose to be discoverable.

'discoverable' set to 'false' meant that the user explicitly chose to not be discoverable.

And 'discoverable' set to 'null' meant that the user has not explicitly made a choice.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

4/

With other conceptions, this lack of choice — this lack of setting a value — isn't as muddled.

With optional-types (which are also called "option-types" and "maybe-types") when something isn't assigned a value it is represented as 'nothing' / 'none'.

In relation-databases, this is represented as 'null'.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

3/

As it is right now, the 'discoverable' flag does not communicate whether the user actually made a 'true' or 'false' choice.

If it is 'true' we know they made a choice.

But if it is 'false' it either means the user chose 'false' or the user didn't make a choice. BUT WE CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

2/

There are a HUGE number of people who (unknown to them) have their 'discoverable' flags set to 'false' who —

№2:

Do NOT know that they have a 'discoverable' flag —

And do NOT know that their 'discoverable' flag was automagically set to 'false' —

And do not understand the consequence of having their 'discoverable' flag set to false.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

1/

A problem with the 'discoverable' flag (in Mastodon and any other Fediverse software that added it) is —

There are a HUGE number of people who (unknown to them) have their 'discoverable' flags set to 'false' who —

№1:

Did NOT set their 'discoverable' to 'false' themselves.

Mastodon assigned it for them without ever asking them before hand and getting consent.

#ActivityPub #ActivityStreams #DeSo #Discoverable #FediDev #FediDevs #Fediverse #FediverseUX #JSONLD #Mastodon #SocialWeb

Well, this is new.

Mastodon has a new "Who to follow" feature.

Pretty cool.

(Although it should be "WHOM to follow" not "WHO to follow".)

#DeSe #Discovery #Fediverse #FediverseUX #Mastodon #WhomToFollow #WhoToFollow