When a user lives within an instance, the user is only capable of creating a community in that instance.
My original thought process was the following:
I want to set up an instance in which the focus is nature and science, and so people that share the same interest can join in. However, I do not want to set limits on the types of communities that can be created, because I also want users to be able to build communities about their other interests without needing to be searching for another more appropriate instance.
However, after reading comments from a few users, I have considered a different perspective too. Users that join into this instance may appreciate being able to browse specifically content about science and nature when sorting through “Local”, and diluting this content with off-topic communities can worsen that experience. By setting a tighter boundary on the types of communities that are created, we may be able to provide a better “Local” experience for the average user.
So - I would like to hear from you.
Would it be worth restricting the topics of allowable communities, even if that means that some users will need to hop in between instances to create their communities?
If yes, than how should the boundaries be drawn?
Some cases are easy to define. A sports-betting community is certainly off-topic, and a Nature Sketching community certainly on-topic.
But what about a community about “Sensors”? One can argue sensors fall into ‘engineering’ and not necessarily ‘science’, but I still think that there is significant enough overlap. So, if anyone has some good tips on how to define the boundaries, please let me know.
Of course, even the boundaries can be ‘soft’, and common sense can be used, but I think users would appreciate knowing what to expect.
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I also like that this community has a theme and that I can use the Local feed when I want to limit my browsing to Mander. I’m subscribed to other instances for generalist topics.
I don’t have a problem with opening the umbrella of Mander to a broader interpretation of STEAM, though. As long as everyone is being kind and responsible, people in diverse fields can share space and learn from each other.
I joined this instance for the STEM topics actually :). I love that there are natural science too! For me it would be the perfect mix to have both.
The only thing about STEM is that I would really like to keep it academic focused :). More about the SOTA in AI and stuff, and less about how Elon Musk did something stupid again. There is already a technology community on beehaw for that ;)
Maybe extending the boundary of topics to the complete STEM fields (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) + Nature can broaden the range enough without diluting the theme. One suggestion.
I think extending to STEM is a good take on it. That would keep it at least academically focused and make it easy to say “communities about horror fiction authors aren’t what we’re going for”, etc. My only concern would be an explosion of extremely niche communities that never really take off, potentially diluting broader communities. However, that’s more an issue with the Fediverse in general and could be unavoidable growing pains.
I love being able to browse local and only get topics in the sciences field. It gives Mander a unique feel and I think that tone is worth preserving. I have subbed to communities on other instances that are definitely not science-based and can easily catch up on them by filtering subscribed.
