tomhusbandApr 7, 2017
Not sure I understand what's going on here. Public timeline is the federated timeline? Local timeline? How to find interesting folks or subjects to follow? Guess I'll lurk for a while
Show threadMichael SmithApr 7, 2017
@tomhusband here is what I think, maybe @ian can clarify.
Home is where people you follow and their activity shows up.
Local is where the people who also log in the the instance you do show up.
Federated is where people from other instances show up, however, in order to show up at least 1 local person must follow them.
Show threadtomhusband
@Mike @ian OK that makes some sense. Just using it and making some blunders will probably put some pieces in place. Many thanks.
Apr 7, 2017 at 7:32pmWeb
Show threadIanApr 7, 2017
@tomhusband @Mike That's exactly right, Mike. I believe there are a few open issues on Github discussing better naming for those and/or more explanation of what shows up where.
Show threadShane Curcuru 🐈Apr 7, 2017
@ian @Mike @tomhusband Yup, it's all still very new for Mastodon features - at least in terms of the huge influx of new users. Still a long way to go in terms of non-geek usability, and especially better search and super-easy-to-find docs on how local/federated visibility works.
People also need to understand while your ID is unique - it's tied to the instance you login on - your displayed name is not. "Ian" on this instance is probably not "Ian" on others.
/cc @ShaneCurcuru
Show threadMichael SmithApr 7, 2017
@ShaneCurcuru actually the display name gives you a clue as to the user. @name is only on your instance. Others show up as @name@instance
Show threadShane Curcuru 🐈Apr 7, 2017
@Mike Oh, I understand that. But in the web client, look at my reply to you. There's an avatar, then a BOLD text "ShaneCurcuru" of my display name. Then there's the @name@instance of my userID in non-bold font.
My point is normal humans will often see the bold name first, which is *not* unique, leading to confusion until someone points it out to them. :thinking:
Show threadMichael SmithApr 7, 2017
@ShaneCurcuru I am using Amaroq on iOS and the difference is very obvious
Show threadMichael SmithApr 7, 2017
@tomhusband @ian you are welcome. It is a bit different but I can see great value in the distributed model.