(this is a bit of a rant, i’m sorry)
what in particular do you mean by lack of discoverability?
like, i want to see posts from communities that i already subscribed to, but because there’s more than 1000 communities on the fediverse and i’m only subscribed to a small countable subset of them, i inevitably lose out on a lot of content. (The “all” feed sucks unfortunately). So how to solve this?
The lack of discoverability is non-starter for many.
The Fediverse significantly lacks behind on the Content Discoverability technology.
I guess this is because there was a loud public outcry in the last 20 years that whoever makes your feed (this is called an “recommendation algorithm” or abbreviated “the algorithm”) has a lot of political power to decide what you see and what you don’t see, and that’s frowned upon. Because everybody that has power over what you see and what you don’t see is bad. That is why nobody wanted to provide an recommendation algorithm for the fediverse, because they would expose themselves to wild accusations. There should be an open-source recommendation algorithm, though; I’m sure of it.
An algorithm is a tool. And if xour tool is a hammer and nlthing else, then yes, everyone will be one-track minded in an echochamber.
Bit the solution isn’t to go throw hands up in defeat and get rid of the hammer because it proved dangerous, but to make other tools:
Make the algorithm into a toolbox.
Because, from what I see just from browsing Lemmy, Lemmy has a few elementary sorts (Top, Active, Most Comments) and two filters: a hard Local/All toggle and the Top sort has filters for Day/Month/Year/All time. I know there’s a few I missed, but my point stands.
The algorithm should have toggles to shape how it works.
Instead of a Local/All toggle, add a map of connected communities and the ability to “jump” between their feeds - without needing to switch to an acvount on that instance.
Add a “randomize” option: not to the feed, but to the algorithm’s parameters. Don’t just shuffle the “selected” posts like a playlist. Fuzzy the criteria for selection themselves up to get a different batch altogether!
Learn from the “big” players: use their core tactics and ideas, but with one huge caveat: make the parameters transparent and accessible. Make “presets” (which we already have).
In essence, don’t make a recommendation algorithm, make recommendstion algorithms. Ones easily accessible to users and easy to understand.
Or, in other words, instead of a crutch, make a toolbox.
Actually, the algorithm is less a hammer than a crutch. It’s not something you use to build, it’s something you use to walk.