From 9ae06f99ed1e004ba1d79b7ae13b1872646d7f92 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Hank Grabowski Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2025 16:31:59 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] User manual skeleton with Introduction, Document Overview, and Interesting Features sections first drafts done --- user_manual.md | 92 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------ 1 file changed, 82 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-) diff --git a/user_manual.md b/user_manual.md index 73ca844..afe0354 100644 --- a/user_manual.md +++ b/user_manual.md @@ -2,15 +2,15 @@ ## Introduction -[Friendica(https://friendi.ca/) is a free and open source decentralized social network project that +[Friendica](https://friendi.ca/) is a free and open source decentralized social network project that allows users and/or organizations to create a social network server that operates with a similar sort of user experience idiom as Facebook (posts/comments threads, groups, etc). It interacts with software projects like [Mastodon](https://mastodon.social/) (a Twitter-like decentralized social -network), [PixelFed](https://pixelfed.org/) (an Instagram-like decentralized social network), +network), [PixelFed](https://pixelfed.org/) (an Instagram-like decentralized social netwmaork), and [PeerTube](https://peertube.tv/) (a YouTube-like decentralized social network) to create a web of interacting users and content that combined create a network of millions of users across -thousands of servers called "the fediverse" or "social web". [Elena Rossini]() has -created [this great video](https://news.elenarossini.com/fediverse-video/) to help describe this +thousands of servers called "the fediverse" or "social web". [Elena Rossini](https://elena.social/) +has created [this great video](https://news.elenarossini.com/fediverse-video/) to help describe this concept in a very approachable way. The Friendica project itself is solely focused on the development of the server side software. It @@ -41,13 +41,75 @@ use them. Many of the features are self explanatory and common for a social netw Many of the workflows follow the same paradigm that the main Friendica website uses. Others are more unique and/or configurable. This manual attempts to make those features and/or workflows more clear. -## Unique Features +## Interesting Features -* Slow network assistance: Low Bandwidth mode and request timeout controls -* Focus Mode -* Non-infinite scroll -* Filters -* Per Network Capabilities Management +Relatica has some interesting features that some users may find particularly useful. This section +has an overview of those features with links to the relevant sections below. + +* ***Moderation Tools:*** Social networks will invariably have content that we don't want to see, or + worse content that needs to be reported for various reasons, see [Moderation](#moderation) + section. There you will see things like how to block (and unblock) users and report + posts/comments, how to manage your content warning/spoiler alert settings, adjust filters, etc. +* ***Multiple simultaneous users:*** I often need to toggle between multiple accounts, especially + for testing. Being able to easily have multiple accounts loaded at the same time lets me quickly + hop between the two. Many people use multiple accounts to have multiple online "personalities". + For example they may have a work account and a personal account. See + the [Your First Login](#your-first-login) section and [Profile Management](#profile-management) +* ***Slow network assistance:*** There are times when network performance can be very challenging + with a social media app. Ever been in a place where there is very weak antenna? Social media apps + can be very greedy in how they pull down multimedia assets. To help cut down on bandwidth + requirements when the network is slow there is a [Low Bandwidth Mode](#low-bandwidth-mode) which + allows the user to only download new images on demand. Slower networks, or in cases of an + over-burdened server, it may be necessary to manually adjust how long Relatica will wait for a + response before it times out. This is adjustable as well, see + the [Network Request Timeout](#network-request-timeout) section. +* ***Focus Mode:*** Focus mode is a mechanism that allows the user to lock the app out from all but + seeing their own posts, creating new posts, or editing old posts. The user can specify how long + they want the app in that mode, with an override available only after solving a puzzle of + whichever difficulty they decided when they set the lock. See the [Focus Mode](#focus-mode) + section. +* ***Non-infinite scroll:*** One of the biggest problems with social media apps is getting lost in + the infinite timeline of content. This was first implemented back in 2006 and since used + throughout all social media. Without a little "inertia" of clicking on a "More" button you can + scroll for an hour or more and not realize how much time has gone. Relatica *intentionally* does + not implement this. One of the benefits of not using a social network or social network app + incentivized to keep you clicking forever to make more money is that we aren't using this common + psychological trick to keep you in the app. +* ***Filters:*** As mentioned as part of the content moderation point above, Relatica has + implemented a complex filtering mechanism to let the user selectively hide or totally remove from + view posts that contain content they don't want to see. That filtering can be any combination of + words in the post, hashtags, specific account authors, or web hosts. See + the [Filters Screen](#filters) section for more details +* ***Per Network Capabilities Management:*** One of Friendica's greatest powers is its abilities to + interact with many different types of networks. That can sometimes create problems for users that + don't want interactions from some networks to potentially spill into others. For example, someone + may want to be able to read Threads posts but they don't want to reshare that content since it + would then be injecting Facebook/Meta content and callbacks into the rest of the fediverse. This + allows users to customize what is possible to do with the various social networks beyond whatever + the inherent limitations of those networks are. See + the [Network Capabilities Settings](#network-capabilities) section for more information. + +## Your First Login + += Fix show rules button on logged out += Fix circles data not loading correctly + +* Splash screen +* Loading screen +* Sign in screen + * Where you will manage your one(or more) accounts + * Login Types + * Standard login (default and should be used) + * Username/password (should be able to get access to device's password vault) + * Steps + * Select "Standard login" + * Enter in your server's name (without the https://) + * Hit "Sign in" button + * Will be prompted to re-affirm you agree to your server's rules. Same as when you created + account. Must accept to continue (see snack bar prompt when refuse) + * Will be taken to WebView to adjudicate. + * May need to login in the WebView if not already. + * Once completed brought to your home screen ## Tabs @@ -55,6 +117,7 @@ unique and/or configurable. This manual attempts to make those features and/or w #### Timeline Types +* Discuss partitions * My Posts * My Network * Global Fediverse @@ -76,6 +139,8 @@ unique and/or configurable. This manual attempts to make those features and/or w * Copy URL * Copy Post Text +## Authoring Posts/Comments + ### Notifications ### Contacts @@ -135,6 +200,11 @@ unique and/or configurable. This manual attempts to make those features and/or w ## Moderation +Relatica helps users with this via a +few moderation tools. First, it's possible to block accounts that the user dislikes, see +the [Blocking a User](#blocking-a-user) section. Second, it is possible to report posts/comments +to the server your account is logged into, see + ### Reporting Posts/Comments * No API method for doing reports so must be done in Friendica UI proper @@ -146,6 +216,8 @@ unique and/or configurable. This manual attempts to make those features and/or w ### Blocking a User +* forces timeline reloads + ### Managing User Blocks ### Filtering