Clive Thompson

An interesting problem:

I've been hearing from a lot of folks that "I'm trying to sign up for Mastodon and it's not letting me / it's confusing / it's a mess / it's broken"

When I inquire, these folks are always using a mobile app to sign up

My sense is ... many mobile apps are bad *in general*, and their signup is *particularly* broken

I tell these folks to sign up using a plain 'ol browser and it works

I'm now switching my "hey, sign up!" advice to insist on using a browser

Nov 7, 2022 at 8:37pmWeb
Show threadRyanAdairNov 7, 2022
@clive I couldn’t get Mastodon to work until I switched to browser. There is definitely a big market for a refined app. I guess it’s because people just want a Twitter lift and shift and it isn’t that though (nor should it be).
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@RyanAdair Yep, I tried a few apps and gave up on 'em

I'm browser all the way, including on mobile

Show threadBrian KoehlerNov 7, 2022
@clive This, and also I think many instances are teetering under the load right now. Probably the web apps are more forgiving than the mobile apps in this case.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022
@brian Quite possibly, yeah!
Show threadArden (she/her)Nov 7, 2022
@brian @clive some apps handle it well. Others don’t. metatext was horrific for me over the weekend. Currently using tooot.
Show threadZan McQuadeNov 7, 2022

@clive biggest question I've gotten is "how do I know what server to sign up for?" Took me a while to figure that out too. It's a bit daunting to join something that is already segmented into groups, without knowing that the groups are ultimately a bit arbitrary.

(I've been telling people to try to join a server they have at least one friend on, or use https://instances.social/ to narrow it down by rules and interests...)

Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022
@zanmcquade Yep, that's a really good question and a hard one to answer!
Show threadKhurram Wadee ✅Nov 7, 2022
@clive I find the browser interface the best way to use it.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022
@mkwadee Yeah, same here. I'm ride or die with the browser for mastodon
Show threadJudithFlandersNov 7, 2022
@clive And I have failed entirely, over a period of weeks, to be able to sign up or later log on via a browser, but had no problem on an app. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@JudithFlanders Aha, good to know!

There is a lot of chaos in this process, seems to be the lesson 😂

Show threadDave GuarinoNov 7, 2022
@clive cc @slightlyoff
Show threadAshleyNov 7, 2022
@clive Yes. I signed up on my computer, then downloaded one of the apps to get it on my phone.
Show threadJ—dVNov 7, 2022
@clive I think this is an underappreciated accesiblity hurdle. Devs are used to sitting in front of big screens with nice keyboards. But, for many people phones are their primary, or even only, access to the internet. I have great appreciation for what has been built here! I hope this is something that can be tackled in the future.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@redjives Totally

I frequently interview and encounter people for whom phones -- and often oldish Android phones, quite underpowered -- are their main way to go

That said, Mastodon's code is exceptionally well designed for brisk and responsive use on a mobile phone browser

On mobile, I only use Mastodon on the Chrome browser, using a 2017 Iphone 8

It works really smoothly!

So I think the devs have done a reasonably good job at making it work well on older mobile hardware

The problem ...

Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@redjives ... is also that users expect to access social apps via downloaded apps on their phone

Using a browser for social apps is just ...weird? Not done? Not habitually anyway

So there's a cultural problem at large here too

Show threadAJ 🏳️‍🌈Nov 7, 2022
@clive So far I'm finding the using the website on my mobile is far superior to any of the apps I've tried so far.
Show threadSparrNov 7, 2022
@clive This isn't really a Mastodon problem. I hear the same thing about various features broken on the Discord mobile app, and the OKCupid app, and ... Basically a lot of people have somehow gotten the impression that mobile apps are the first and foremost way to interact with online services.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@sparr Aha, that is interesting to know!

I didn't realize

It make sense

Show threadDeeJ DWNov 7, 2022
@clive It is a bit difficult with a mobile app but it can be done. You have to keep trying the different servers until you find one that works... leji.de worked for me.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@dwade25 That's cool!

Yeah, on mobile I'm using it exclusively using the Chrome browser

Show threadDeeJ DWNov 7, 2022
@clive Interesting! There seems to be a lot of ways to use this. I definitely like it better than twitter. Lol..especially now🙄
Show threadGreg PelletierNov 7, 2022
@clive I’ve heard some complaints that when the sign up on a browser, then the server they picked is not one of the options in the mobile app. Is there a solution for that?
Show threadSlabNov 7, 2022

@clive yeah, I had/am having this experience as a migrator. I prefer apps when possible for platforms I use regularly, even as people are guiding me to the browser and to add it to my home screen (I've done that now lol).
But of course none of the apps really nailed it, and the main one doesn't even show the local obviously???

I hope more people can get through the initial bumps and adjust mindsets, because I adore it here

Show threadNika2022 🐶🎶🌐☕️Nov 7, 2022
@clive i for example only own a cellphone. So apps should be equipped for such a usecase.
As plan B mobile browser may work too
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 7, 2022

@Nika2022 Yep — a lot of folks are mobile only!

Since I’ve found the mobile apps unreliable myself, I go with Plan B: I have an iPhone 8, and I use mastodon via my chrome mobile browser

It’s actually shockingly good! They did a great job with making the main web site speedy, readable and responsive on mobile

Show threadNika2022 🐶🎶🌐☕️Nov 8, 2022
@clive my issue is that a lot of browser sites aren't optimized for cellphone use. Loose-loose really
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022

@Nika2022 Totally agree -- they're not a great experience, and really inconvenient

I think signing up via a mobile web browser is *most of the time* the better suggestion for arriving newbies ...

... but once signed up, a mobile app is far more convenient

I've heard good things about Metatext? Gonna give it a whirl

Show threadNika2022 🐶🎶🌐☕️Nov 8, 2022
@clive Android user and I kinda like Tusky tbf. .
Show threadArden (she/her)Nov 7, 2022
@clive the internet has collectively conflated social media website with app. They are not the same.
Show threadPete Nov 7, 2022
@clive Its open source. Maybe this is an opportunity for a bunch of us to get together and make a simple, yet functional app, that allows you to sign up to your preferred server.
Show threadEQV AnalyticsNov 7, 2022
@clive It drives me nuts that so many services w/ apps require a browser in order to get anything done. And, often, preferably a tablet, laptop, or better. I know people whose only computer is a phone, and there's a lot they're just frozen out of.
Show threadSpace TadpoleNov 7, 2022
@clive The android Mastodon app is genuinely awful.
Show threadRay FarrellNov 13, 2022
@astrojamz agree
Show threadC\\hris🌪Nov 7, 2022
@clive I agree. I used the default mobile app first and it was a little clunky. Sign up first through a site, then login to a mobile app, I would say a 3rd party so you can see all the feeds.
Show threadLeeCooksonNov 7, 2022
@clive @shanselman totally agree. The web interfaces are easier to manage. Of the 4 iOS apps I’ve used, the $3.99 one is the best, but has quirks. When you tap another user’s profile and it opens in a web view, you’re usually logged out and have to log in again. The $3.99 Toot! seems to do this best and keep me logged in. Choosing and uploading photos is all over the place in the apps, too.
Show threadRichard BodorNov 7, 2022
@clive I could not get the verification email for 45 minutes. Chrome browser on an i9 platform - nothing mobile. Your sample data is incomplete.
Show threadBjaardkerNov 8, 2022

@clive the problem I was having when trying to sign up a couple of days was instance related. Being in IT I know what a 502 error is and given my understanding of the architecture I knew that trying a different instance might fix the issue (it did).

But the average person is going to try signing up, and when they consistently get a connection timeout or other random error, or everything is running super slow, they are just going to assume it's the app.

Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022

@bjaardker Alas, very true!

When you look at logs for an instance there a lot of timeouts — stuff that would seem like lag on one’s own instance (or app) but is actually just <gestures wildly> out there

Show threadPeter RubinNov 7, 2022
@clive That resolved it for me, too—couldn't get a password reset to stick on mobile, but web was 👌🏼
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@provenself Excellent!
Show threadMike B in NCNov 8, 2022
@clive A lot of instances are really backed up sending verification emails as well - some folks waiting 12-36 hours to get them
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@itxpress aha, good point!
Show threadc-x-b  Nov 8, 2022
@clive i gets even worse on a server like boiler.social, where (in theory) the username ends in boiler.social, you should be able to tell an app you want to sign in at boiler.social, but because the webpage and API live at mastodon.boiler.social they all freak out
Show threadVicki ZieglerNov 8, 2022
@clive Good advice. I set up my accounts using the desktop version and decided to hold off using one of the apps. In part, it was to force myself to go at a moderate pace getting acclimatized, etc., but also to save myself some grief if the app or apps were, well, not so great. So far so good. I might just leave it to desktop only for the time being ...
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@bookgaga yeah that’s how I’m doing it!
Show threadjwillNov 8, 2022
@clive It's interesting that they went to mobile app first. I hate signing up for things on mobile and default to "let me wait until I'm at a computer or tablet with desktop mode browser.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022

@jwill i’m the same way, I go web browser first!

But it appears that a big chunk of the population now, by convention, expects an app to be the way things work. And for a chunk of the population that uses the phone only — and may not even own a computer — apps are significant

Show threadjwillNov 8, 2022

@clive Yeah, I had that in my first version before I sneaky "delete & re-draft"-ed. It is def a paradigm shift...also the expectation that stuff is never down and always stable.

It's wild to think that those who joined Twitter deep in the twenty teens have no concept of the phenomena that was the failwhale. I mean people got it as a tattoo.

Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@jwill it was a wonderful icon! I loved it. I remember seeing it somewhere painted as a mural somewhere in New York City
Show threadB.LEAGUERNov 8, 2022
@clive I intend to try all the flavors of mobile app for this thing and be equally disappointed in all of them
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@leagrr yeah they’re not great!
Show threadEdward Z. YangNov 8, 2022
@clive mobile apps still worth using though, you think?
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@ezyang I’ve heard good things about metatext!
Show threadBog LoperNov 8, 2022
@clive Used a browser to sign up. Great sites to visit. Tried the app and = zilch. You are onto something
Show threadGarry SelfNov 8, 2022

@clive I did it on my phone and it worked out ok.

The tricky bit is probably tweaking it to deliver the content I'm looking for - which, with any system, takes time.

Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@garryself Yep! Glad it worked out for you
Show threadRicky OnsmanNov 8, 2022
@clive That makes a lot of sense. I found it really easy in the browser.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 8, 2022
@onsman 🤘🏻🤖
Show threadChester Wisniewski 🇨🇦Nov 8, 2022
@clive Same here, was helping a popular Twitter user last night and their confusion began to confuse me. In the end, they were using the iOS app and it was so intuitive they were about to give up.