The instance list has a couple of recommended sites at the top. They are defined in this file and seperated by language. For most languages there is only one recommendation or none at all, so you can simply add yours by making a pull request.

In case of English, the situation is a bit different. The current recommended instances (beehaw.org and sopuli.xyz) are already quite large and would be shown near the top of the list anyway. So it makes sense to recommend smaller instances instead.

To be recommended, an instance should meet these requirements:

  • It should be a general purpose instance
  • At least one member of the admin team needs to be in the Instance admin chat to coordinate with other admins
  • The admin team needs to be prepared for a large influx of users, both in terms of hardware and moderation

We can use this thread to discuss which instances should be recommended. There is no maximum number of recommendations, but it should be an even number to work with the desktop layout.

On a side note, the instance list itself could use many improvements such as showing more details about instances or using different sorting methods. If you are a programmer or web designer, you can contribute to improve the website.

Edit: If you are a Lemmy admin and want your instance to be recommended, go ahead and open a pull request for this file. Developers can also contribute in the same repo to improve join-lemmy.org.

  • maltfieldEnglish
    36·
    1 year ago

    I think we should add the following criteria to instances at the VERY TOP that are recommended to new users:

    1. The instances does not define an allowed list of instances
    2. Downvotes are enabled
    3. NSFW content is allowed
    4. Users can create new communities

    …otherwise new users (eg from reddit) are not going to use lemmy because it won’t match their expectations.

    Personally, I was pretty disenchanted by my experience on lemmy when I first joined. I had to create accounts on like 5 different instances before I found one that worked (that’s why I created the comparison table of lemmy instances).

    Most new users won’t have that perseverance. If, for example, they see there’s no downvotes on the “recommended” instance, they’ll probably give up and leave lemmy.

    • computerboss@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      This critria is very well thought out, and explained. Thank you for making this list, it is how I found what instance to join.

    • SphereEnglish
      32·
      1 year ago

      I strongly disagree with #2 through #4.

      1. Just because redditors expect downvotes doesn’t make them good. When Hexbear removed downvotes, the community feel improved dramatically; downvotes both promote toxic debatebro behavior (by making people upset when they catch a wave of downvotes) and allow cowards to attack people silently from the shadows, without having to actually state their shitty views and be criticized for them.

      2. NSFW content tends to alienate people. Besides, there’s no way to tell via code whether an instance allows NSFW content or just allows people to mark content as NSFW (two very different things).

      3. Yeah because that was such a positive aspect of Reddit, just ask violentacrez.

      • maltfieldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago
        1. Downvotes are important to ensure quality content. It allows the community address statements made by a user based on objectively incorrect (mis)information. This feature is an important reason why many reddit users aren’t on Mastodon. Also, democracy is important.
        2. Recommended Instances shouldn’t wholesale block content just because it’s NSFW. As you say, policy on what NSFW content is allowed is distinct from the instance enabling NSFW content.
        3. People being able to create and moderate their own communities is positive

        If an instance (eg Hexbear) wants to deviate from this, that’s fine. That’s what the Fediverse is all about :) But we shouldn’t recommend those instances to new users as it will cause new user attrition.

        • SphereEnglish
          4·
          1 year ago

          I don’t agree that there should be strictures that enforce similarity to Reddit on instances if they want to be recommended. You’ve apparently been using Lemmy for three days now, based on your git repo history and your top-level comment in this thread. As a longtime Lemmy user, allow me to point out that Lemmy is not, and should not seek to be, exactly like Reddit. To enforce that would be to stifle potential avenues of improvement (like, as I’ve mentioned, removing downvotes).

          Also, growth for growth’s sake is not something I think should be sought after; your policies seem to be entirely focused on growth with no concern for quality or community, which I don’t agree with.

          • maltfieldEnglish
            3·
            1 year ago

            Honestly I’m not sure I’ll stick to lemmy if the amount of content doesn’t grow. And I’m sure I’m not alone. I’m here for news, and there’s very little coverage of world events on lemmy (though that has already noticeably improved as our userbase grows).

            I do want lemmy to grow, but not for growth’s sake. I want it to grow so the content (news article submissions and quality comments about those articles) grows.

            • SphereEnglish
              5·
              1 year ago

              If you’re a liberal, as most Redditors are, you probably won’t like it much, but Hexbear.net is far more active, and has plenty of news posted. (Keep in mind that “liberal” here covers all of the US political spectrum that doesn’t qualify as fascist; i.e. moderate republicans are liberals too. Hexbear is a communist instance.) It’s not mentioned on join-lemmy yet because it’s a fork, but there are efforts ongoing to merge back to upstream so federation is possible (one of the main roadblocks is the much-higher volume of activity, which is uncovering bugs that don’t show up under lighter loads).