It often happens that a given lemmy link didn’t match with my own login from another instance. This causes troubles to comment and participate in the thread. This is what I have learned so far. Is there a better method of doing this? Browser extension suggestions are welcome.
Context:
- Have an account
on instance
lemmy.test
and being logged in - Given a lemmy link
lemmy.example.com/post/12345
- Want to comment as
@username@lemmy.test
onlemmy.example.com/post/12345
Expected behavior:
- Opening links from
lemmy.example.com
automatically recognizes login fromlemmy.test
, commenting and voting done without problems
Actual behavior:
- Instance
lemmy.example.com
expects logins only from its own server, not other federated servers likelemmy.test
Manual fix (for web browsers):
- Check for the “federation link” (the icon with five-colored star, is there a name for this?) from linked URL’s page. (If the icon does not exist, check Observations below)
- Open “search” from own instance (
lemmy.test
> search) - Enter the “federation link” at search bar.
- First result should be a URL that’s compatible with the own instance: e.g.
lemmy.test/post/98765
Observations:
- If the link and its OP shares the same instance domain (
@user@lemmy.example.com
posting to!community@lemmy.example.com
), then the federation link should be the link itself (please confirm if this is actually true). - If not, then the “federation link” has to be obtained.
- INCLUDE HTTPS before domain, otherwise it won’t appear in the search:
https://lemmy.example.com/post/12345
OK
lemmy.example.com/post/12345
NOT OK
Matrix tackled this UX issue in the bud relatively early with https://matrix.to/. It still isn’t ideal, but much better than expecting users to install browser extensions or OS-specific hacks to properly handle ActivityPub links.