Hi,
PaulaToThePeople here.
I created the account @JoinFediverseWiki here on SocialHub, but didn’t receive an activation email yet. It’s been about two days now. I tried resending a couple times and of course checked the spam and junk folders.
I was invited here by @strypey and think it would be really cool to use this forum to 1. discuss the JoinFediverseWiki and 2. collaborate with other Fediverse knowledge bases.
But now I’ve heard this activation email issue is known for a while.
So my question: Is a fix foreseeable? If not I don’t think my plans will work, as I won’t recommend people to join this forum if they can’t rely on being able to create an account.
Anyway if someone could manually activate my account for now, that would be cool.
This account on the other hand can then be deleted or anonymized or whatever, as the FediverseTown hasn’t existed in a long time anymore.
Exactly my thoughts. If SocialHub admins cannot ensure smooth entry into the forum for members who don’t already have an account, I’m not sure it’s the right place for the Fediversity category.
@aschrijver would the admins of the Social Coding forum be willing to host the Fediversity and have it federating over AP? That way people could interact with discussions there from the fediverse, without needing an account on that forum.
Hey @strypey the coordination of efforts you invited me here for, did you have coders or Fediverse users in mind?
Because I’m sure there can be a lot of collaboration be done on the technical site, but I’m not the right person for that and I was more thinking of collaborating on the content of the different sites. Content written for and by regular users.
Because in the second case (or actually also for both cases) I could imagine setting up a Discourse forum by the Fediverse Foundation, e.g. at forum.joinfediverse.wiki or discuss.joinfediverse.wiki or so, could be the best way.
We have a meetup today anyway and our tech crew is first class and can for sure host a Discourse forum, implement activity pub and make sure emails work no problem.
I’m guessing you ask because of my suggestion to host on the social.coding forum? I suggest you have a quick skim of their homepage.
@aschrijver can clarify, but my understanding is that their project is to make software development something that everyone can take part in, regardless of their current level of computer skills or confidence. To making coding a social process, accessible to anyone.
That’s one element of the purpose as Fediversity as we initially imagined it. It’s the part I’m most interested in, as a researcher for fediverse.party. But the larger goal is to improve the UX of joining the fediverse, by improving the quality and sustainability of all fediverse reference sites, avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, etc.
I’m asking because the discussions on this forum here as well as the social coding forum look very technical to me. Most at least.
That’s really cool, but the people I have in mind and want to reach with the wiki, I don’t think they’d want to participate in coding, even if it was super easy.
That concept you describe seems to have people like me in mind: users with no tech skills that would still like to participate in what happens with the software.
The users I’m talking about just want to use the software. That’s all.
I don’t think our admins have the time to care for more than one server unfortunately. Hosting more stuff on our server, yes. Maintaining other projects elsewhere, no.
I could ask if they can help with specific current issues, but just as a one off, if they have time.
@FediverseTown FYI the admins have now approved me as a host on the Fediversity category, so it appears things are gradually getting sorted out. Did you manage to get your new account approved yet? Once you do, would you like to be a host also?
Bang on. Me too, although in both our cases I would say intermediate tech skills, rather than “no tech skills”. Those with no tech skills are still trying to figure out how to use a mouse or a touchscreen, let alone everyday apps that we take for granted.
As for being able to sign up on this forum without help, hit a problem with account creation, get access to a backup account, and start a thread about the problem? That’s wizardry from their POV ; )
Right, but those people are not going to join a forum to talk about the fediverse (although they might join some of the discussions if they can do it from their everyday fediverse app). So which forum hosts the Fediversity category is irrelevant to them. The people we’re trying to attract are, like you and me, @jaywink and @light, @aschrijver and @bumblefudge, the people motivated to improve the fediverse experience by creating and improving resources that help those people find what they need.
Having said that, everyone just wants to use the software, and have it be an invisible enabler. But most people find that it doesn’t work the way they expect, or is a bit broken in one corner, or it starts breaking their society. Then suddenly they do have opinions about the software and they do want to participate in what happens with the software. The Social Coding movement, as I understand it, is about making that as easy as possible.
Maybe just pass on that link? Some of them may be willing to play some sort of backup role, but for that to be practical, there will need to be some relationship building between the two groups of admins.
No, just tried logging in and resending the email again, but nothing happens.
What is a host exactly? Is that like a moderator for that category?
Yes, you’re right and yeah, I was a bit proud that I thought of that plan with this account.
True. Tbh I have no idea how far along Discourse federation has come. If this category being federated means I can join the discussion from my Mastodon account, I might not even need the forum account. Unless I want to become a host probably.
Okay, I’ll forward it.
PS: Yeah, it’s like I thought. Our admin team could imagine hosting the forum on our infrastructure, but doesn’t have the time to get onboarded and help manage another infrastructure.
The offer stands that we can host it. If @how and the other admins are interested in that, we’d just like to know, if the Discourse source code is untouched or modified somehow? Because that could complicate things a bit.
I’m here with the new account now.
Noticed a few “Welcome to SocialHub” mails in my inbox, but the links were expired, so I resent the activation mail and received it right away this time.
Hey, thanks for asking. Afaik discourse has a anonymization option, right?
I don’t think my old posts would make a lot of sense coming from this account, but I’d like the old account to no longer be associated with my email address and password. If its possible to do that without anonymizing the name of the old account that’s fine too.
OK @JoinFediverseWiki, I anonymized the @FediverseTown account (so it doesn’t have your email associated anymore) and deactivated it (so it cannot be used anymore). I kept the name and avatar to minimize changes. But that means you lost all your previous ‘experience’ here. There’s still a possibility to merge the old account into the new one, in case.
Just following on a couple of points in an earlier post by the person now participating as @JoinFediverseWiki;
Still learning the ins and outs of Discourse myself, but that’s my impression. I presume a category host has admin powers over the category, things like moving groups of OT comments to new threads, turning AP federation on or off, etc.
I haven’t tested this yet, but I’m not sure if you’d be able to start new threads from Mastodon. The other advantage of having an account here is that Fediversity posts won’t get lost in the firehose ; )
One other thing, I recently noticed that as a category host, I get a notification here whenever a new thread is started in the category. Still happy to add you as a host from Fediversity if you’re willing (assuming I can, as I say I’m still learning).
@strypey okay, lets get to know what a host can do together.
I can’t promise I’ll be very active here, but I’m willing to help and find my way around when I have time.
@how Right now I can’t seem to find the dashboard that exposes whatever controls a host has access to. Can I add @JoinFediverseWiki as a host myself, or is that something a site admin has to do? I’m keen to learn how to take on more of the hosting and admin work on this forum, so please feel free to link me to a good HowTo.
I’m starting to get the impression I’m not even a Host of the Fediversity subcategory anymore? Either that or the admin powers of a category host are much more limited than I expected. I just tried to hive off a set of comments into their own thread and I couldn’t see any controls for doing that.
Anyone know of a HowTo specifically on what category host can do, and how?
It looks like the privilege structure of SocialHub has radically changed. There are four admins and one mod, and that’s it. Should ask @how about this, I think or @nightpool@pfefferle@angus the other 3 admins.
Though what is much better is to address the fundamental question I posed multiple times during my time as facilitator: What do you want SocialHub to be? A mere discussion forum is what it is now, and unsustainable at that as people rely on Hellekin to graciously keep providing the forum and doing maintenance, upkeep as well as moderation (with everyone else in staff inactive).
Do you want SocialHub to have any meaning as a true community?
Then true community must be organized. A do-ocracy, the absolute bare minimum means of organizing, is at proactive people’s disposal to make an attempt.
I’m not sure why you think it helps to keep banging this drum. I agree, and I’m trying to do things, do-ocracy style, and finding I don’t have the necessary privileges to do them.
Perhaps the reason there is a shortage of community facilitators here is that others have had the same experience I’m having? Trying to do things, being blocked by the current structure, seeking clarification on how to remove the obstacles, and being lectured incessantly on how the problem is that no one wants to do things. Instead of getting clarification on how the specific problem might be solved
I’m famously stubborn, so I’m still trying. But I can totally understand others giving up in frustration and either going elsewhere (eg fedidevs, fediforum) or giving up entirely.
I’ve been on a yearslong lone duty here for a long time, daily available to facillitate. But I apologize. I was not trying to lecture, and that call to do-ocracy was extending to members of this forum in general.
What I was trying to convey was that the question on whether it is sufficient to continue SocialHub as just-a-forum or built in something worthy of the name community, is a fundamental one to maybe answer first. See how much interest there really is, and maybe find ways to reposition SocialHub that may improve that interest.
