I wish #Mastodon supported the kinds of "starter packs" just launched by #Bluesky. They're a great way to invite people to join a new platform and quickly find people and organizations that meet their interests.
https://bsky.social/about/blog/06-26-2024-starter-packs
I'm committed to Mastodon, but I'm on Bluesky to explore and experiment. While I like these starter packs, I won't be using them. I want to invite new people (working on my topics) to join Mastodon, not Bluesky.
@petersuber It looks like Pixelfed is working on a starter kit feature: https://mastodon.social/@dansup/112705423256679709
One can only hope that Mastodon also adopts it or creates their own.
@anubis2814 @petersuber can’t you via laptop ?
@anubis2814 @petersuber I remember reading how to import awhile ago, then I ended up not doing it. I don’t remember why though sorry. Here’s a link to an apparent how to https://allthings.how/how-to-export-and-import-your-data-on-mastodon/ I guess it’s using a web client perhaps. via a csv file.
@petersuber Oh starter packs sound like a great concept, love it! I'd also love Fediverse projects like Mastodon to adopt an open plugin system for different algorithmically curated timelines.
@petersuber@fediscience.org I feel like the value of this feature very much remains to be proven at this point.
It does tell you Bluesky is feeling the pressure from lack of adoption that they are directing development resources to things like this.
@petersuber They are a for-profit corporation spending money to entice idiots to join them. They need starter packs to lure in the rubes. If you want starter packs here, nobody will stop you from creating them. There is no CEO. There is no CFO. There is no money flowing from VCs. If you want it badly enough, go make it & thrill us.
@steter
> There is no CEO. There is no CFO
Not one for the whole fediverse, no. But now that WordPress, FlipBoard, Ghost and Meta are in the verse, there are many.
> There is no money flowing from VCs
All the more reason to share ideas and examples, so volunteers or employees of community-funded entities (eg Mastodon GmbH) can be inspired by them.
@steter @petersuber “They are a for-profit corporation spending money to entice idiots to join them. They need starter packs to lure in the rubes.”
Ah, the very same welcoming ethos that has propelled Linux to overtake Windows and macOS as the desktop operating system of choice!
@petersuber You can create invites on Mastodon and make the new person follow you automatically. It's not quite the same as a starter pack, but has the same idea behind it. We're of course thinking about the starter pack idea on a high level and how it might fit into our roadmap.
@Gargron
I can’t find this feature. Can it be that there are instances without the ability to create invites?
@petersuber
@mardor @petersuber It's definitely something server operators can control, e.g. only allowing certain roles to create invites, or disabling them altogether. But I suppose the link itself can be difficult to find anyway. Check if there's "Invite people" in the footer between About and Privacy Policy.
I was discussing this already about 2 weeks ago, when BlueSky people boasted they have now this.
I suggest very simple roadmap:
1) make Lists public (optionally) as they were on old Twitter (I know this can be done using CSV export, import, but... come on, is TikTok generation really going to do this?)
2) give pople way to share the public lists (eg. in bio or using some kind of link share in toots, which would do the same stuff as CSV imports, but on single click)
3) give instance moderators privilege to suggest new users following some public lists
I know this approach have dangers of creating echo chambers and amplifying accounts which already have some audience, but 1) it is manual, not algorithm 2) there are many instances with many moderators and there will be many lists 3) it creates kind of market and business model even without directly spamming users (instance moderators can create lists like "our sponsors"...)