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submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by ekZepp@lemmy.world to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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Discussion about Lemmy/pixelfed bridges: https://lemmy.world/post/24306481

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[-] Kichae@lemmy.ca 141 points 3 weeks ago

A bridge isn't really necessary. Both Lemmy and Pixelfed use the same communication protocol. Lemmy just doesn't let you follow users, and PixelFed is a user-based, rather than group-based, program.

If you want to follow both groups and users, you should just use a site that's running software that supports that. Mbin, or nodeBB, or something.

[-] Discover5164@lemm.ee 38 points 3 weeks ago

pixelfed also have hashtags, maybe we can map an hashtag to a lemmy community.

[-] TheFederatedPipe@fedia.io 31 points 3 weeks ago

That's similar to want #Mbin does.

[-] Die4Ever@programming.dev 8 points 3 weeks ago

The problem with hashtags is that the post itself won't be federated unless someone is following the user who made the post (or someone who boosted it). So Lemmy would be unable to see those posts anyways.

I have thought about a simple ActivityPub service that pulls a Mastodon RSS feed of a hashtag and boosts them all from a group/community actor, I think that would work for following from Lemmy.

[-] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Isn't that something that could easily be updated by PixelFed?

[-] Die4Ever@programming.dev 1 points 3 weeks ago

the way hashtags work? Mastodon has the same issue

[-] nasi_goreng@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

Hashtags doesn't have universal thing.

For example, hashtag for #red can mean anything, from a mere color to political association.

Twitter trending tag often filled with two trending topic that shares same hashtag hut nothing do to with each other. Especially for same langauge but different region like English America vs English Asia.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 9 points 3 weeks ago

So when is Lemmy going to support following users? Seems like a major missing feature to me.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 18 points 3 weeks ago

This has been long discussed and deemed part of a problem space that Lemmy isn't meant to solve. So probably never.

But there are Fediverse apps like Friendica or Mbin that support both, and it lookes like Pixelfed is going to sooner or later support the reverse, i.e. subscribing to Lemmy based groups.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 0 points 3 weeks ago

I don't understand this mentality. Reddit allows this, and it seems like it wouldn't require much retooling of anything.

Sure, I could move to these other services but I don't want to leave the slrpnk community. While I'm increasingly frustrated with the state of Lemmy and particularly the devs, our instance is still great.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 weeks ago

Well, would it make sense for Peertube to add this?

It's just an entirely different concept of social media and while I personally would not be against adding it to Lemmy, I also do not miss it here and can understand that the devs are not enthusiastic about implementing it.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 4 points 3 weeks ago

I think the interoperability of the Fediverse is its main advantage. We don't need to be constrained by what we previously thought our focus was before the ideals of the fediverse were mainstream. If people don't want to follow individuals there's nothing that would force them to, but I think being able to connect with much wider portion of the fediverse would really help Lemmy grow.

If there's another, better way to do this then I'm open to it but allowing the following of individual accounts seems like a very simple and easy way to accomplish this.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 3 points 3 weeks ago

IMHO better would be the reverse: proper group support in Mastodon, Pixelfed etc. But the developers of these seem to be as reluctant to implement that as the Lemmy devs are regarding user microblogging.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

How would that work exactly? Make hashtags into "communities" or something?

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

No, have a proper separate view that only shows group posts like on Lemmy. Friendica and Mbin does it like that and Pixelfed has teased the same for a long time now. No work-arounds and semi-working hacks like now when you try to engage with a Lemmy community from Mastodon. But that you even ask how should show you just how incompatible these two social media concepts are. Basically you need two entirely different interfaces for each.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Well this is why I think Lemmy allowing individual follows is the best solution. It's completely compatible with the interface here. If I am understanding correctly, your suggestion would only allow you to see people who opt into posting as part of those groups. But what I want is to be able to reach and communicate with anyone on the fediverse, no matter the platform. I think this is really only going to work by connecting individual users with one another, which there's currently no way to do.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

On Lemmy you would also need a separate view for microblogs. You can see on Mbin how that would work.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

Couldn't you subscribe to a user the same way you do to a community, and see their posts show up in your feed? Is there some reason I am missing that can't work?

I'm not saying Lemmy should change its whole schtick and become like Mbin, but if there is a small change that can allow more widespread connections across the fediverse, it's hard to see the downside.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

Mastodon etc. doesn't really differentiate between posts and comments. So imagine your Lemmy feed having all comments from all communities you are subscribed to just there scrolling through and no real way to know what they even comment on without clicking though to try to find the originally referenced message.

In addition Mastodon has no concept of consistent threads, so basically every person sees something different and you can't really comment on comments without it getting completely confusing.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Ah, this is probably what I wasn't understanding. Thanks for answering all of my questions. I can see how that might be a problem.

Seems like Mastodon needs some way to handle threading better before this could really work then. Kind of surprising that they don't have that.

I still hope there is some way we can connect with the entire fediverse at some point in the future but we'll have to see what form that might take.

[-] 3dmvr@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago

No ones stopping anyone from doing it, its just hard and not a priority

[-] 3dmvr@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago

they said itd be hard and ppl are free to do it and commit it

[-] rimu@piefed.social 6 points 3 weeks ago

It's on PieFed's roadmap for this year.

[-] pewgar_seemsimandroid@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 3 weeks ago

i know some federated weather service that is displayed as a user on lemmy.

[-] glowing_hans@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

you can already follow other users (i.e. watch their activity) via rss feeds. For example your accounts feed is https://slrpnk.net/feeds/u/LibertyLizard.xml?sort=New

I can paste that link into my rss reader (which is an external program or website), subscribing to your accounts feed, and stay updated about your activities that way.

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Interesting. Is there a way to set this up so I could follow a user on pixelfed here on Lemmy for example?

And would you see just my posts or also a bunch of contextless comments? The latter might not be too useful.

[-] 3dmvr@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago

never, they closed the topic

[-] mesamunefire@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Piefed supports just about everything. But I really wish all federated software worked.

[-] nasi_goreng@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

At least, a compability with Misskey groups would be great.

So far, Misskey has varied groups that actually active that feels like close friend groups on Facebook.

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 30 points 3 weeks ago

I guess mbin is halfway there in being a bridge? It lets you check both mastodon and lemmy posts

[-] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

An aggregator of aggregators?

God I love the fediverse

[-] nate@social.trom.tf 23 points 3 weeks ago

@ekZepp They're sorta bridged in the sense that if you @ a lemmy community from other ActivityPub software it'll post to the community. It's the same protocol, though a different enough implementation that it acts a lot like a bridge. The first line acts as the title, then the rest of the post is the body.

[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

TIL. Where is this stuff documented anyway?

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago

It's kind of the whole point of activitypub, so it would be on the front page of any software that implements it.

[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I see! I thought Lemmy had a section somewhere. I'm quite tempted to open a PR and write this stuff down "somewhere". Lol

[-] treeofnik@discuss.online 15 points 3 weeks ago

As far as I’m aware, Friendica does this. One feed, lemmy posts, mastodon toots, and Pixelfed posts all there. Lemmy is trickier because you can’t follow people and depending on the way you look at it, comments can show up as individual posts.