I don't like the idea of a default server, because someday it will be the wrong one.

Much like recommending Linux I'm sure to specify "Linux Mint" and when I recommend XMPP I'm sure to specify jabber.org.

But it sounds like we could just be pointing newbies to Voyager or Piefed for awhile? I like various apps having a default, because we can always start recommending different app, if there's issues.

This person is bordering on willfully obstinate. Any time you sign up for a service there are choices to be made. Social media will ask you to pick people or subjects to follow, sites will want you to pick communications preferences, etc.

Pick one server. Make the account. Don’t like it? Pick another. It doesn’t matter, there’s no karma here to hoard. Abandon that account you don’t like. Pick three. It’s like people can’t handle the freedom of choice.

Modern Web has spoiled the average user. You never have to choose a server.

Need an account? Link your gmail/meta/whatever.

If there is a little bit of friction, the average user won't use it because corpos made sure that everything is a one click setup. And Lemmy is different in that regard, a bit old school.

Making choices is inherently stressful. Particularly if you don't know how much the choice matters. If your goal is to onboard as many people as possible (which it may well not be) then reducing the number of choices is always preferred.

The most powerful promotion is having them as the "default instance".

Yes, sure, but I mean I will also be actively trying to get people on piefed.social to also move there lol - not just new users.

i moved to .zip a couple days ago in part for the reason of wanting to spread userbase out a little more, im sure im not the only one willing to bump on over for the health of the network :)

The problem is that both piefed.zip and piefed.world, despite being generalist instances, are secondary to their primary instances (lemmy.world/lemmy.zip). Piefed.world is still on version 1.2.7.

We need a new instance that is run as the primary instance and actively maintained and supporting a local community.

yeah thats fair, i would like to see that too!

I used jerboa briefly and it didn't make me use .ml

Good to know, I wasn't sure anymore

Shouldn't the closest server be suggested?

Gonna say it again, but I like there being a minor barrier to entry on Lemmy. Like, if you can't even be bothered to pick a server then we don't want you here. If you want your social media to be spoon fed to you, fuck right off. If you want a reddit or Facebook clone, you're part of the problem.

Having a basic understanding of the Fediverse should be a prerequisite. Having to choose a server is a feature, a bare minimum. And as much as I want to see more content and more engagement here, I don't want to see it dumbed down either.

They can try

As for a specific instance, maybe point to medium-sized servers, so bigger ones don't get more stressed than they already are, and the user isn't greeted by a barren default feed were they to join a smaller one?