When a user lives within an instance, the user is only capable of creating a community in that instance.

My original thought process was the following:

I want to set up an instance in which the focus is nature and science, and so people that share the same interest can join in. However, I do not want to set limits on the types of communities that can be created, because I also want users to be able to build communities about their other interests without needing to be searching for another more appropriate instance.

However, after reading comments from a few users, I have considered a different perspective too. Users that join into this instance may appreciate being able to browse specifically content about science and nature when sorting through “Local”, and diluting this content with off-topic communities can worsen that experience. By setting a tighter boundary on the types of communities that are created, we may be able to provide a better “Local” experience for the average user.

So - I would like to hear from you.

Would it be worth restricting the topics of allowable communities, even if that means that some users will need to hop in between instances to create their communities?

If yes, than how should the boundaries be drawn?

Some cases are easy to define. A sports-betting community is certainly off-topic, and a Nature Sketching community certainly on-topic.

But what about a community about “Sensors”? One can argue sensors fall into ‘engineering’ and not necessarily ‘science’, but I still think that there is significant enough overlap. So, if anyone has some good tips on how to define the boundaries, please let me know.

Of course, even the boundaries can be ‘soft’, and common sense can be used, but I think users would appreciate knowing what to expect.

  • SalamanderOPMAEnglish
    14·
    2 years ago

    Maybe extending the boundary of topics to the complete STEM fields (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) + Nature can broaden the range enough without diluting the theme. One suggestion.

    • fossilesqueEnglish
      8·
      2 years ago

      The humanities and sciences are neural networks that complement each other. It should be fuzzy logic based on both tone and theme. I would invite STEM. We need to talk to each other more.

    • elavat0rEnglish
      7·
      2 years ago

      I would really appreciate a broader STEM theme. While I enjoy the natural sciences, I probably don’t have quite as much that I could directly contribute to those topics. My hobbies tend to fall more in the math/AI/programming/art sphere, so I have been wondering how broad the “science” umbrella was intended to be.

      However, I am probably not going to start any communities of my own (at least not at this time), so I would also be content to contain those sorts of topics to relevant communities outside of our instance, if that’s what everyone prefers.

      • macracanthorhynchusEnglish
        8·
        2 years ago

        And though I like an overall science/STEM theme as my core, my personal hobbies drift towards the biological - gardening, beekeeping, homebrewing, mushroom-hunting, etc. I think it would be fine to allow all of that stuff here, or to limit the instance more tightly than that. It doesn’t really matter - federation means there can be 15 different beekeeping communities on 15 different instances, and as long as all the Lemmy beekeepers subscribe to them it’s just… not a big deal. And then if one instance goes down for an hour (or forever) the actual human community of beekeeping lemmings isn’t fractured, we’ve just lost one appendage.

        I think once Salamander has made their choice they should just publicize it and then we can all abide by it. No matter what is chosen, I do like publicly belonging to a “science and nature” tribe on Lemmy instead of a “default” tribe or “communist memes” tribe.