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I am trying out yet another client. This one is for Windows, and so far, I really like it. It doesn't give me full control over my profile as Pachli and tusky do, but it does allow me to work with posts, which is what I will be doing most times anyway. So now, along with the website that works with everything, I have two windows clients (one web-based/Semaphore, and one regular/Tweesecake), and two android clients (Tusky and Patchli). Tweesecake can be found here. I have no idea what is meant by working without windows and such, but it can be used as a regular program.

tweesecake.app

Normally, I prefer websites over apps, as I do almost everything on my computer, and I never understood the need for an app when a service has a website. But in the case of Friendica, while the website is fully accessible with NVDA, I do find that a web client such as Semaphore does it make it even easier to use. For Android, I originally tried Tusky, since I heard that it was very accessible. But it didn't seem to be with keyboard navigation (I avoid touchscreeens as much as possible). it also wasn't sending me immediate notifications, which is why I downloaded an app in the first place. But then, I read a post in which someone mentioned an app called Pachli, which is supposed to be even more accessible to the blind, as it uses Talkback actions. I installed it, and from what I can tell right now, it's fully keyboard accessible! I went back to Tusky, to see if it employs Talkback actions as well. It does. Both apps also seem identical, though I just started using them, so I can't say. I might keep Pachli, though, since they're truly focussed on accessibility. But really, either one is probably good for those starting out.

I found a wonderful site with all sorts of instances to join here. Most work. This is the link to their most popular 100 topics, rather than to the main page.

fedi.directory/top-100-topics/

And groups do exist here! I found a page about them at the below site. It's about Mastodon, but the advice should apply to Friendica as ell.

fedi.tips/how-to-use-groups-on…


How to use groups on Mastodon and the Fediverse | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.tips
in reply to end0fline

Georgiana Brummell
Georgiana Brummell
•
@end0fline I actually subscribed to them and used some of their materials when doing my original research.
@end0fline
in reply to Georgiana Brummell

Fedi.Tips
Fedi.Tips
• •

@clifton

Thanks for the recommendations! 😊

Just to make clear:

Tips for using this place are at fedi.tips

Servers to join are at fedi.garden

Accounts to follow are at fedi.directory


Fedi.Directory – Interesting accounts on Mastodon & the Fediverse

Interesting accounts to follow on Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.directory
@end0fline

I just went here.

joinmastodon.org/servers

I saw a way to sort servers. I checked several boxes. But there is no "search", or "go", or "continue" button or link, and all that showed up was a few things. Yet I had several boxes checked. Am I only supposed to check one at a time, and then, the various options are displayed? If so, why did they use checkboxes and not radio buttons? I am not new to computing. I've just never seen anything like what I've observed during the last few days. None of it makes sense!


Servers

Find where to sign up for the decentralized social network Mastodon.
joinmastodon.org

This is driving me mad. I'm going to various servers with themes that interest me. But at each one, I keep seeing completely unrelated posts. Sometimes, they're the same ones. Yet when I go to other instances, this doesn't happen. I used different words (servers/instances) because that's how they were described at the sites where I found them. Some have a follow option and some don't. The ones that don't usually ake me to something called explore, and that's when I see all of the completely unrelated posts. How can I ensure that, when I go somewhere, I see the posts from there? Now, I just saw one that I can't follow, but it it didn't take me to an explore page, nor could I see posts on it. This is so confusing!
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Georgiana Brummell

end0fline
end0fline
• •

Hello again!

So, some servers may have a theme, and it may be full of people interested in that certain topic, but they will still post about things, which may be what you were seeing.

Much like friendica.world is your "portal" to the fediverse, other people go through other servers like mastodon.world, beige.party, or mastodon.online. When you see people you want to follow on these other servers, all you have to do is enter their username while you're looking at your Friendica. World account, and then you will receive their posts even though they are on a different server.

One of the downsides of this server currently is that it is fairly new, so us people located on it haven't followed too many people, which leads to *our* side of search not finding much. As long as you have a username you want to follow, that part shouldn't matter though.

in reply to end0fline

Georgiana Brummell
Georgiana Brummell
•
@end0fline What seemed to be happening is that I was seeing general (federated?) posts. I say this because some of them were the same, no mater where I went. It was very confusing. Fortunately, the ones at the directory I found today didn't do that at all.
@end0fline

*Note. I am referring to adding people who are on Friendica. I have managed to figure out how to add people who are on Mastodon, as the process is streight forward, though I am still seeking a directory of their groups, etc.*
How do I follow people or groups? I know there is a directory, and I have been reviewing it, but most of the listings no longer work or haven't been updated in awhile. I also had to sort by English. On my friendica.world page itself, it has a "Search" option. I can type, for example, "blindness". But there is no way to sort by posts, people, groups, etc. so I have to go through all sorts of post where people just mention blindness and then, maybe, find a group or interest among them. I then found this site.

tiotrom.com/2020/11/the-beginn…

"In the contacts settings, you can search people based on interests (keywords)."

I don't see this option. The only thing about contacts that I can find is "Manage Contacts". There, the search function is to search among my own, not to add new ones.

"Friendica opens the doors to pretty much any Federated network. Say you find a Mastodon account in the wild. Copy the url to your Friendica search bar then simply follow them. Do the same for any other Federated network. Now you can interact with these people (send private messages, see their posts in your feed, comment to them, like, share, etc.)."

What is this search bar? Is this the "Search" option I found on my main page?

There is a lot more about following pages, etc. on that site, but for now, I'm just trying to learn the basics. Also, does the main page of each node look different from what I see on riendica.world or is it a unified format?

This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Georgiana Brummell

end0fline
end0fline
• •

You are very welcome! I do believe the tags you speak of work that way, and I know mastodon has them too, but at this point I don't know if that particular thing crosses over... The good news is that interoperability is increasing all the time!

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions. I might not know the answer, but will do my best to find it!

in reply to end0fline

Georgiana Brummell
Georgiana Brummell
•
It seems that using the at sign @ is for names and groups, while the number sign # is for tags and content. You probably already knew that, but I'm not accustomed to searching for things in this manner. Still, that does appear to work. It says it in the prompt, but I didn't realise it until I had searched a few times.

This is a post without a title. Still testing.

Test
This is jusst a test to se how this works. I am very new to both Friendica and federated networks in general. The MBasic version of Facebook is being discontinued, so I was forced to find another place.
in reply to Georgiana Brummell

end0fline
end0fline
 — (Texas) • •

I will try and explain this as best as I can. The issue you described when you had to enter your ID on the forum is something that people are currently discussing making easier, but its not very intuitive right now.

So, your account is on the server friendica.world.
The forum group is on the server friendi.ca. <-- This server does not know that your account exists.

So when you enter your username (@dandylover1@friendica.world)
this part: "However, I got it to work! I found the "follow" link, hit enter on it, and then, it asked me directly for my finger or address. I entered dandylover1@friendica.world, and it gave me another page with my full profile address"

That is your way of letting the server friendi.ca knwo who you are, and then friendi.ca sends the request back to your server, friendica.world. This is usually the more annoying way of doing things, but it works.

For finding contacts from friendica.world, you will want to click on the "Contacts" icon or go to (friendica.world/contact). The correct place to enter/search for a new person is in the "Add new contact" field. I have had this one work when I have the other person's "address". At the top of this page is a Find People option, which I haven't used much, but I imagine you can use it to search for people.

Please let me know if any of this was confusing!

As for finding people organically, I would recommend you search for some of your favorite hashtags. They are the best way to find content on the fediverse!

I'm still learning Friendica myself, so if you figure out any cool stuff, let me know!

in reply to end0fline

Georgiana Brummell
Georgiana Brummell
•
I just went to the contacts page. As before, I saw nothing about adding a new contact, only searching among mine. I'm not sure what's going on there. But it does seem that I can use the regular search option at the top of my homepage to find people. I just wonder why there is nothing about adding a contact there. I do see something like that when I go to an actual instance, etc.
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