Notices by Amelia Bellamy-Royds (ameliabr@front-end.social)

RE: https://mastodon.online/@nikitonsky/116739974475878614

This quote:
> Users can’t see the code, so UI is the only way for them to judge the quality of the app. If UI looks good, that means developers had time to polish it, which means that they probably spent a comparable amount of time to iron out the code.

makes me think there are different types of "looks good". A boring, unfashionable, or densely-packed UI that is still consistent & well organized can give that "solidly built" feeling even if it isn't attractive or optimal UX for new users.

RE: https://tech.lgbt/@solonovamax/116049115040950367

If I'm reading the disclosure correctly, the issue is:

- Windows Notepad is more than just a plain text editor now.
- In particular, it has a markdown preview feature, including clickable links.
- But, it doesn't have full web browser security processes for what to do if you click on a link with a protocol that triggers a local application. It gets treated as if the user was directly running that application.

So, don't open strange files & then click links. (And update Windows regularly.)

@kfogel Interesting observation, although I think it really can't be separated from the shift in meaning of "a couple" from "a set of two" (synonym: a pair) to "a small number of" (synonym: a few).

There is nothing grammatically uncomfortable about the contrast of singular article & plural count in "I'll make a few changes in a few hours."

But, 🤔 "few" is an odd one out, maybe: originally a pure adjective ("it takes few hours to make few changes"); the "a" later added to match "a lot" etc.?

@mia You know, I was just thinking about the old kids-show cliché of the house with the little old lady who never gets any trick-or-treaters because the local kids have decided she's a witch, but no, you've got to crank it up a notch.

Although these days I think the tabloid Hallowe'en panic is more about people giving away their cannabis gummies.

@evan @mekkaokereke

Worth mentioning that "allow" vs "block" aren't the only two options. There are "limited" settings, where users from an instance can follow & be followed but don't show up in more public content.
https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/moderation/

So it is possible to imagine a set-up with an allow-list of known well-moderated sites, a block-list of known bad actors, & limited setting for new/unknown instances (maybe with new limited settings that work better for cautious discovery of new servers).

It is no surprise, really, that the two big social media companies considering ActivityPub support, Tumblr & Flickr, are those that have previously had major loss of users.

A social networks' biggest asset is its user base: people join, & stay, because other people are there. But there's a critical mass effect, & if people start leaving, others will follow.

Federation provides a large social network as a baseline from which they can work to attract new users (and retain their current ones).