Draft: Welcome/Intro for brand-new users
I went backwards and wrote Chapter 1 of the proposed "how to" help series. (Some text blatantly stolen from the streams/Forte repository README files.)
Welcome! (for utter beginners)
Where am I?
It's social networking with an important difference: a focus on privacy, consent, and a user-controlled experience.
It's not a microblog or a macroblog. It's more of a conversation manager. You can control the audience and visibility of the conversations you create, at any level of granularity you desire. And you can control replies to your conversations. Everything is built around the use of permissions, and the resulting online safety that permissions-based systems provide.
The software has been under continuous development since 2010.
Screen layout
After you login, you'll find yourself on your Stream page.
Across the top of the screen is a "navbar" (navigation bar). Below that are three columns, some of which may be hidden on small devices.
The center column is the main content, in this case your "stream" of posts and comments (similar to the "feed" on other social networks). If you aren't connected to anyone else in the Fediverse yet, it may be rather empty. Once you have connections, you'll see their posts (and your own) in your stream. At the top of the stream, the "Share" box is where you can write a new post.
The right column displays notifications (for new comments on posts you're following, new connection requests, etc.) (On cellphone and tablet screens, this column will be hidden. Instead you will see an exclamation mark icon in the navbar -- in a triangle if you have unread notifications, or in a circle otherwise. Tap this icon to see your notifications.)
The left column displays a set of user-selectable tools, including "Stream Filters" for narrowing down which posts are displayed in your stream. (On cellphone screens, this column is hidden. Use the arrow in the navbar to display or hide it.)
Menus
There are a lot of drop-down menus.
At top-left in the navbar is your Profile Picture. Click/tap this for a drop-down menu of items related to you and your current login.
At top-right in the navbar is a three-line "hamburger menu" icon. This is a menu of "apps": various tools and functions related to your use of this site. (You can add, remove, and reorder apps to suit your personal preferences.)
In your stream, each post and comment has two drop-down menus of its own.
Click/tap the Profile Picture of the person/channel who wrote the post or comment. This displays a drop-down menu of items related to that person or channel.
And at the bottom-right of each post/comment, the gear icon provides a menu of items related to that specific post or comment.
In the left column, the Stream Filters drop-down menu lets you select a subset of the posts in your stream.
Start with defaults, adjust when you need to
The default settings are a good starting point for personal and private use. They also provide what we believe is the most harassment-free experience for marginalized people and communities available today in the Fediverse.
There are many, many settings available, but it's not necessary to learn them all in the first week. If you find something that isn't operating quite how you'd like it, ask other users for help, or read the online Help pages, because there is probably a way to improve your experience.
Welcome, and enjoy!
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Bill Statler
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