The main reason for the Linux operating system not seeing widespread adoption is because of its multitude of distros. Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Mint… there are just so many choices, just like how when someone asks how to join the Fediverse people will response with “which instance?”
Who the fuck cares about instances and whatnot when an average grandma just wants to make a post on knitting in a supportive community? It really turns people off and without niche communities, there is no way Lemmy will grow any further than its current state.
Without niche communities, what are we going to talk about? Memes? Just programming-related stuff? (I can just surf stackoverflow for that) It can be fun for a while but without diversity, the site will just devolve into boredom and circlejerks. I love this place to death and really want to see it grow, but man, seeing how confusing it can be for an average user makes me anxious for changes.
edit: paragraphs & grammar
edit 2: I’m not saying the Fediverse should be something else. Just like someone here said it better than me, Fediverse can be as complicated under the hood as it wants, but the end user does not need to know that. It must be presented in a way as simple as possible, with plenty of signs and helpful directions.
Multiple distros and instances are a double edged sword. It isn’t as basic as having one site like Reddit or one OS like Windows, but has the advantage of not being at the mercy of one company like Reddit Inc or Microsoft, should they push some change people don’t like. These distros/instances allow for individuals to tailor their experience however they want without having to beg the developers or admins to listen to them.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to avoid the shitshow happening on Reddit now, you may have to make things too complicated for the “average grandma” to understand. That’s just how shit works.
To put it simply, who the fuck cares about the average grandma when we want a forum that won’t turn into Reddit in the next decade?
At some point, I’m sick and tired of this notion that everything on the internet has to be simplified for the lowest common denominator. Lemmy isn’t hard to get a handle on. Either people learn how to use it, or they miss out. We can streamline the process as much as possible, but not to the extent of compromising on what makes federation valuable.