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One thing I really dislike about Fediverse services is that their landing pages are always about joining/signing up. For Twitter-like applications this might be

One thing I really dislike about Fediverse services is that their landing pages are always about joining/signing up. For Twitter-like applications this might be ok. But for something like YouTube, I definitely want to browse the content a bit before signing up.

wizzwizz4 5y ago
> One thing I really dislike about Fediverse services is that their landing pages are always about joining/signing up. That's because their “landing pages” (project advertisement websites) aren't instances. The home page of any instance (e.g. https://diode.zone/ https://diode.zone/) will show you the content visible from that instance.
- fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
  This isn’t true of Mastodon or Pixelfed instances (or wasn’t when I tried running one). But, if you’re going to be called “join peertube” you need to have the sort of content that makes people want to join: copy about what peertube is + a list of instances isn’t that.
  - wizzwizz4 5y ago
    Most Mastodon instances have it a single click away from the sign-up page. (But yes, I agree. Mastodon isn't great, even though it's popular.)
    - FalconSensei 5y ago
      For many people 1 click (or even an entire screen scroll-down) is too much. If PeerTube is supposed to be an YouTube alternative, you need to see videos and a search right away. I know it's not an instance and blah-blah-blah, but those are technical details that (possible) users don't give a single F.
      - lokedhs 5y ago
        People shouldn't "go to peertube" to watch videos. If they have that impression, then there is a problem of communication rather than implementation. I host a peertube instance that currently mostly contains my own videos. If I want someone to watch it, I link to the channel or the video in question. I don't say "watch me on peertube". The fact that peertube is the software that runs the service is not something a regular user should care about. Peertube is federated using the same protocol as Mastodon, but federation isn't completely open by default. I guess this is for the better, because there is a lot of content you wouldn't want on your own instance's main feed (most instance hosts don't want porn in the middle of a feed of mostly tech videos). Also, the UI of peertube isn't that great when it comes to following channels on other instances. If federation breaks (which it usually does) you get a nondescript error saying that something failed.
- phailhaus 5y ago
  > That's because their “landing pages” [...] aren't instances That is a technically correct answer, but it misses the point: they're asking users to sign up before they even see the product. They're expecting that the premise of the site alone is enough to entice users to join, which is very optimistic. It would be better to immediately direct the user to content, and then provide reasons for why they should get an account. At a high level, that's what YouTube does.
  - southerntofu 5y ago
    joinpeertube.org has a "content selection" featuring 1 video, 1 channel and 1 instance on the homepage. It also has a "browse instances" button above that and further down the page, and a search form powered by sepiasearch.org. It's already not that bad compared to many fediverse landing pages, but i'm sure suggestions are appreciated. Just consider publishing more content on the homepage would raise questions, like what content to prioritize/ban from the homepage? There's some editorial work to delist certain instances from the instance list, but personally i'm rather glad Peertube doesn't go much further trying to recreate the whole Youtube experience where a single actor decides on what you get to see.
    - phailhaus 5y ago
      > personally i'm rather glad Peertube doesn't go much further trying to recreate the whole Youtube experience where a single actor decides on what you get to see. Yeah, like I mentioned, PeerTube is currently targeted at those attracted to the premise alone. Most people don't notice things like you did, and they're not going to interpret the apparent lack of features as a plus. If it's going to gain mass-adoption, it really needs to work on first impressions.
gargron 5y ago
I've just opened the YouTube frontpage from a private window to see what it's like. There is literally nothing on there I'd want to click on. I think the value of YouTube is in 1) being able to link to a video 2) subscribing to creators and having them in your feed and 3) related videos. But none of that is the kind of browsing around you can do from the frontpage.
- phailhaus 5y ago
  Not sure what you mean, the homepage of YouTube immediately shows you a grid of videos and an interface for exploring other categories/genres if they're not interesting to you.
  - southerntofu 5y ago
    If you find anything interesting in there, it means Google is successfully tracking you across the web to know your habits. Try from a fresh browser/computer and you'll see all recommendations are commercial trash-vertisement with no human/scientific/political interest. Some of these suggested videos may be fun to watch but Youtube has become really bad over the years to discover interesting, not well-known content. Now they're trying to maximize ad revenue, and the recommended videos have suffered as a consequence, only pushing top-popularity content pushed by "content creation industry" with very little quality.
    - phailhaus 5y ago
      > Try from a fresh browser/computer and you'll see all recommendations are commercial trash-vertisement with no human/scientific/political interest. ...so they're not interesting to you. I see several news and music-related videos that I might watch. Like I said, YouTube presents you with a set of videos you may be interested in, and even if you're not, it also gives you tools for finding videos yourself (e.g., through tags & categories). The moment you start watching videos, it starts refining recommendations and funneling you towards more content. By contrast, PeerTube's homepage is pretty bare. I don't even know what the interface would look like if I did sign up.

wizzwizz4 5y ago

> One thing I really dislike about Fediverse services is that their landing pages are always about joining/signing up. That's because their “landing pages” (project advertisement websites) aren't instances. The home page of any instance (e.g. https://diode.zone/ https://diode.zone/) will show you the content visible from that instance.

fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
This isn’t true of Mastodon or Pixelfed instances (or wasn’t when I tried running one). But, if you’re going to be called “join peertube” you need to have the sort of content that makes people want to join: copy about what peertube is + a list of instances isn’t that.
- wizzwizz4 5y ago
  Most Mastodon instances have it a single click away from the sign-up page. (But yes, I agree. Mastodon isn't great, even though it's popular.)
  - FalconSensei 5y ago
    For many people 1 click (or even an entire screen scroll-down) is too much. If PeerTube is supposed to be an YouTube alternative, you need to see videos and a search right away. I know it's not an instance and blah-blah-blah, but those are technical details that (possible) users don't give a single F.
    - lokedhs 5y ago
      People shouldn't "go to peertube" to watch videos. If they have that impression, then there is a problem of communication rather than implementation. I host a peertube instance that currently mostly contains my own videos. If I want someone to watch it, I link to the channel or the video in question. I don't say "watch me on peertube". The fact that peertube is the software that runs the service is not something a regular user should care about. Peertube is federated using the same protocol as Mastodon, but federation isn't completely open by default. I guess this is for the better, because there is a lot of content you wouldn't want on your own instance's main feed (most instance hosts don't want porn in the middle of a feed of mostly tech videos). Also, the UI of peertube isn't that great when it comes to following channels on other instances. If federation breaks (which it usually does) you get a nondescript error saying that something failed.
phailhaus 5y ago
> That's because their “landing pages” [...] aren't instances That is a technically correct answer, but it misses the point: they're asking users to sign up before they even see the product. They're expecting that the premise of the site alone is enough to entice users to join, which is very optimistic. It would be better to immediately direct the user to content, and then provide reasons for why they should get an account. At a high level, that's what YouTube does.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  joinpeertube.org has a "content selection" featuring 1 video, 1 channel and 1 instance on the homepage. It also has a "browse instances" button above that and further down the page, and a search form powered by sepiasearch.org. It's already not that bad compared to many fediverse landing pages, but i'm sure suggestions are appreciated. Just consider publishing more content on the homepage would raise questions, like what content to prioritize/ban from the homepage? There's some editorial work to delist certain instances from the instance list, but personally i'm rather glad Peertube doesn't go much further trying to recreate the whole Youtube experience where a single actor decides on what you get to see.
  - phailhaus 5y ago
    > personally i'm rather glad Peertube doesn't go much further trying to recreate the whole Youtube experience where a single actor decides on what you get to see. Yeah, like I mentioned, PeerTube is currently targeted at those attracted to the premise alone. Most people don't notice things like you did, and they're not going to interpret the apparent lack of features as a plus. If it's going to gain mass-adoption, it really needs to work on first impressions.

gargron 5y ago

I've just opened the YouTube frontpage from a private window to see what it's like. There is literally nothing on there I'd want to click on. I think the value of YouTube is in 1) being able to link to a video 2) subscribing to creators and having them in your feed and 3) related videos. But none of that is the kind of browsing around you can do from the frontpage.

phailhaus 5y ago
Not sure what you mean, the homepage of YouTube immediately shows you a grid of videos and an interface for exploring other categories/genres if they're not interesting to you.
- southerntofu 5y ago
  If you find anything interesting in there, it means Google is successfully tracking you across the web to know your habits. Try from a fresh browser/computer and you'll see all recommendations are commercial trash-vertisement with no human/scientific/political interest. Some of these suggested videos may be fun to watch but Youtube has become really bad over the years to discover interesting, not well-known content. Now they're trying to maximize ad revenue, and the recommended videos have suffered as a consequence, only pushing top-popularity content pushed by "content creation industry" with very little quality.
  - phailhaus 5y ago
    > Try from a fresh browser/computer and you'll see all recommendations are commercial trash-vertisement with no human/scientific/political interest. ...so they're not interesting to you. I see several news and music-related videos that I might watch. Like I said, YouTube presents you with a set of videos you may be interested in, and even if you're not, it also gives you tools for finding videos yourself (e.g., through tags & categories). The moment you start watching videos, it starts refining recommendations and funneling you towards more content. By contrast, PeerTube's homepage is pretty bare. I don't even know what the interface would look like if I did sign up.