In terms of 'onboarding' or 'going-to-market', this approach was something I had considered.
However, the hassle along some of my prior experiences in similar user workflows did deter me from following through.
whoops, will look into why that is and fix! thanks for pointing it out!
wrt to scaling, you're right. The idea is definitely for people/communities to start their own interest-based gardens. The 'community garden' is just meant to be a general common space and a taste of the platform, if anything.
I agree with you, my titling was unintentionally misleading from a fair few points of view and I apologize.
I wasn't specifically trying to solve for 'digital identity' thus email wasn't something I was problematizing with this go and my 'improvements' were more to do with design context and other interactivity but I get where you're coming from, badrabbit.
You have nothing to apologize for and you're doing great.
I didn't need a valid email to signup for HN,Reddit or even matrix.org in its infancy. That's where I'm coming from. There are better anti-fraud measures and it should be up to the user if they want a way to reset their account. Ideally, you'll have 2FA and the non-email 2FA recovery will also reset the password (such as one time codes you write down, or prove multiple external identity control such as a phone number and creditcard, or ID photo and phone number).
But as I admitted, I shat on your work because I ran into this pet-peeve. So, it is I who should apologize (and I do apologize).
I agree with you, the title was definitely be one of my lesser moments. Apologies if it annoyed you! You're title suggestion was what it should have been. Will do better going forward!
Also, I get where you're coming from about the flash-and-fizzle nature of these kinds of projects. I do hope it grows, too. Thank you so much!
I see where you're coming from. However, the slight shift, I think, is that nothing lasts forever or changes about the individual in an 'on-platform' way. You can't discern posts by users who came yesterday from a year ago or someone who has received a lot of responses like 'karma' would. The individual user can, of course, by tracking their 'achievements' progress but the validity or interactive nature of the thought is time-bound and 'in the moment'.
wrt to the upsides and downsides of social media, I think this is trying to provide an alternative to the, I've said this in another reply too, 'list style' design choice of most social media. In my personal opinion, I think it's a bit brutish from a design standpoint.
Along with the 'repository' that you can always go back to that makes positing feel like climbing an infinite mountain as opposed to 'theoretically' moments of potential delight that come and go.
This is definitely just a few of my subjective points about what I think Bloom addresses, but I appreciate your point of view!
The "come and go" and "nothing lasts forever" aspects really really put me off. I have an archival personality. I frequently remember a conversation I had five years ago and look it up to re-read it. (This is also one of the many reasons I dislike Mastodon.) I chance across conversations from ten years ago and reply to them.
My first "social media" was h2g2, and everything since has been a downgrade.
If you're an archivist sort of individual, I imagine this would definitely not be your cup of tea.
For what it's worth though, If you're the poster of the thought, the post along with responses are available to you forever. They just 'die' from the point of view of the collective.
Of course, I understand this doesn't necessarily speak to your specific 'needs' but it is an overlap I kept in because I do resonate with your desired approach.
Different things work for different people. I don't think this is for me, but it is very interesting. I like the look of it, and the ideas behind it are cool.
wrt birthdays and emails: date of birth is important to ensure no one under 18 can theoretically access the site. Emails are also just a far more common and straightforward way to index users and also maintain a general sense of 'accountability'.
I don't think these things will change any time soon, apologies!
