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Comment by DropInIn | Hacker News Reader

So... Sounds like you want what I keep thinking about:

Front end that works with feeds from multiple sources, like RSS, and permits comments, posts etc using SSO, with all interactions logged centrally in the SSO account (for later edits deletes etc).

Sound about right?

Because you me it seems like every provider in that list should be able to make a profit off the data and interactions... With users who want increased privacy able to pay for an SSO subscription to prevent the sale of data on that end.

And we already have all the parts to make it work...

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I was thinking about this yesterday and in other threads people are writing about similar systems. The key thing for me and the word that keeps getting written is "RSS", I want a powerful client to experience different content in different ways. There are many communities and content creators that I want to follow but it's too complicated with modern platforms. From a usability standpoint it's bad both for creators and for end users, the result of this is that you miss out on some important stuff.

For example I might not have time to watch Twitch streams or Youtube videos from a creator over a couple months but I would still be able to go to a weekend event in my city or buy some some new merch that he announced. In general I would need to use another platform to not miss out (Twitter, Instagram).

If I controlled a client capable of aggregating all types of content I could decide to filter things out according to my immediate needs.

Content creators would own their own platform or choose a generic service provider and have freedom about what to make (video, image or text posts) and how to monetize.

The problems are who pays who, content discovery, and a decently sized userbase.

I only use RSS to convey the concept of a standardized syndication system, thus "like" being used rather than saying RSS itself....

But yes, what you say is exactly the point of what I'm talking about.

Some sites would focus on being the universal front end for casual browsing while others would focus on niche purposes such as moderation or unique content types/presentations.

The data would be stored with the user by default in my model, ensuring they have control of their content, and offloading a bunch of the delivery work from the front end site (essentially every users SSO becomes the cdn for their chunk of the content).

It has some problems but it's really not much different than now except it's easy as pie for people to get eyeballs on their content (does mean monetization has some issues, as it does now).

Imrambling.....

Yes although me being primarily a lurker I need even less. More than post or comment, if I have an account it would be to block some things and prfioritize other things more closely. What you describe would make sense for more extended functionality, but there is silent majority of lazy lurkers like myself that could be served very easily.

So my model would be one where you pick a site as your front end, most of which would have default curation and subscription to various subs, providing an experience like /all by default.

Though it would look like /all what it would really be is more like an RSS reader aggregating multiple sources according to your preferences.

A Reddit alternative would naturally form in this ecosystem, with smaller alternative front ends abounding, and take dominance just as Reddit did, but unlike Reddit it would not be able to screw over sub mods etc.

Subs would be truly independent of the front end site, even if they are themselves also front end providers.

It's Distributed Reddit in a sense.... Though in my view it'd be best to make it content agnostic, so it can be adapted to other uses, specifically for a YouTube clone and such.

Really, there's a model where for most it's essentially a Facebook alternative that integrates into thousands of third party forums seemlessly...

I would use that. Please go for it! It's so obvious to me. There's a giant discoverability gap in the whole fediverse thing that can be easily addressed. This is by design in mastodon, but I don't think these reddit alternatives are so against virality. The only risk is that the whole thing fizzles out so hard that even an aggregated view of the entire ecosystem doesn't produce enough content to keep people engaged.

If you do it, please keep in mind merging submissions and their comments, 6 separate entries for the same thing each with a couple of comments is a much worse experience than a single entry with a dozen comments. You can start by simply using the URL as a grouping key and try more sophisticated things later.

No SSO, because you're lurking without logging in

SSO only applies to those engaging, with those lurking being presented the default selection of subs for that front end site.

Essentially, Reddit Appollo and all the others are the front ends, with the subreddits being independent back ends (which would certainly also have their own front ends, even if restricted to their own sub).

Thus, the most popular front end would almost certainly just be a clone of old.reddit with the /all and /popular being made of the aggregate communities that front end has selected for default inclusion (with the most inclusive front end almost certainly "winning").

Tldr - SSO only matters for commenting/posting, lurkers would/could get literally the exact same experience as Reddit...

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