So, when I visit the profile of someone on a different instance, and Mastodon won't show me most of the accounts they're following, that's because those accounts aren't federated to my instance?
That seems undesirable. I really like the idea of decentralized social media, but if it isn't easy to reach from one node to another, it will never fill the niche now occupied by the big VC-backed guys.
@VinnieTesla You could always run your own instance, and thus control which instances are federated to your own.
Mastodon, and decentralized social media in general, isn't about BEATING corporate social media. If it's about anything, it's about having an alternative.
@VinnieTesla Is this what you meant before?
@starbreaker Here's an example of what I was trying to describe. I think the reason I'm the only person showing up on Joxn's Follows list is that the others aren't federated here. It's not a disaster, but it makes finding people on the broader Mastodon network awkward. https://octodon.social/media/81KPx7SVQwC0pYUUnY8
@VinnieTesla OK, but what happens if you click the "View full profile" link? It should take you to a.weirder.earth and show you that person's profile. Does it?
@starbreaker Yes, it does. But any path to following the accounts I find that way takes several extra steps.
What, I'm lazy!
@starbreaker Sure. and of course there are things it will do better and things it will do less well. I still think easier network traversal will improve the Mastodon experience for users, and the downsides aren't obvious to me.