I recently asked for some PeerTube recommendation and it made me realize how disjointed the URL system can seem to the median, not technically-inclined, not-motivated, user.
The first user UX issue was the link to the lemmy.wtf post. You get transported to the lemmy.wtf webUI client, so you're not logged in and the interface is different (arguably a median user would expect to view the post via their own instance/platform, piefed.social in my case).
But then we have the issue of PeerTube channel links in the lemmy.wtf post. I wanted to check out the Open Source_gaming channel which is referenced via the following URL:
https://peertube.wtf/c/opensource_gaming@video.hardlimit.com
My peertube instance/WebUI client is Spectra Video, so again you encounter another UX issue.
To add to that, if you paste the URL verbatim (major UX issue in of itself for the median user) into the Specra Video webUI, you won't actually find the opensource_gaming channel:
You would need to use the following search prompt in the Spectra Video webUI:
The upcoming version of Piefed actually addresses this issue on the Threadi side.
For logged in users, Piefed 1.4 will turn the following URL:
into
https://piefed.social/c/news/p/1544770/national-parks-ordered-to-check-gift-shops-for-dei-type-items
This issue is unresolved in Lemmy, but the Lemmy brand is permanently tainted among users who are looking for alternatives to American oligarchic technology services. The low moral standards of the Lemmy devs' (support for the brutal North Korean regime, promotion of russian propaganda narratives that they know are false) is a massive turn off for the exact target market of the Fediverse. It's a fact that many Europeans looking for alternatives instinctively recognize the demagoguery of the Lemmy devs and their fans.
But even with Piefed 1.4, the PeerTube linking UX (same for Mastodon and I am assuming Pixelfed, Loops and other Fedi services) is a nightmare for the median user.
What would be helpful is to have a system where the first time a user encounters a Fedi link, they would be prompted to select their instance for a given Fedi service.
So clicking on a peertube.wtf (terrible name if their goal is to go beyond a "niche within a niche" userbase) for the first time when logged in would give you a notice similar to:
Enjoy a user focused video platform! Sign up | Login into Peertube
There are clearly some UX issues with this, but I still think it would be better than the current system.
Would would be even better is if some of the major Fedi instances in a given service could somehow automate the discovery of existing user accounts for other Fedi services.
This would either need to be done in a whitelist only manner (i.e. discovery only works between say piefed.social (or piefed.world) and mastodon.social and/or some sort of client side system, if that's even possible. You don't want sketchy instances or spammers to be able to poll all of a user's accounts across Fedi services.
I am assuming this is a client-side issue and it cannot be solved at the protocol level (ActivityPub), but in a way this makes it easier to experiment as Fedi clients can try out things without modifying the ActivityPub protocol.
Just wanted to share my thoughts. If one wants Fedi to become a viable alternative to corrupt American monopolists, then you must look at the UX from perspective and expectations of a median user.