I recently made an mbin account bc I like the idea of one account that does both threads and microblogs (only want microblog for a couple mastodon people, don't want to need multiple accounts). So far I'm finding the setup of mbin in general a little confusing, and I can't join their matrix for some reason.

I also want to know if there is any way to show the entire picture on threads in interstellar, as it currently shows the middle third, and I'd rather see the whole image while scrolling. I know the app is capable of it since it does that on microblogs. Also, are there any mbin apps (preferably for Android) other than interstellar?

Basically just what the title says, how well do they work together/interact with each other and how can it be improved?

I don't like microblog-style social media, but there are some people and/or organizations that I'd like to follow (for example, Nick from the Linux experiment). To my knowledge, I pretty much just have to keep mastodon around to see microblog content. I'd really rather just follow the few people I want to from here and otherwise maintain the current functionality of Lemmy.

One option could be to have a client that uses both platforms together, but I think that would just be clunky (like the title of this post, sorry about that). Another would be to add the ability to follow people into Lemmy, but I think that may mess up how Lemmy is intended to work. The last option I've been able to come up with is turning a mastodon user into a community, kind of like the reverse of what mastodon does to Lemmy communities.

I know a lot of people probably don't want microblog-style functionality on Lemmy (I'm one of them for the most part) but I think the entire concept of the fediverse is kind of a moot point if the various different platforms can't actually interact properly. Right now, it seems like mastodon is the only one that really talks to other platforms the way they're all supposed to. I'd really like to be able to access all of the fediverse's content from right here on Lemmy, because it is my favorite fediverse platform and part of the point of the fediverse is to only need one platform for all of the content.

Let me know what y'all think about the current state of interoperability between Lemmy and mastodon (or just fedi platforms in general) and what can and/or should be done to improve it.

I recently started using firefox and was very frustrated with how large the UI was, how it autofilled entire URLs while i was trying to search something, and how it changed my system's titlebar buttons (minimize, maximize, close) to windows ones when I changed the theme from the default. I just found out about about:config and was able to solve every major issue i had with firefox literally within minutes, so why do they hide most of the settings?

it makes way more sense to just put the settings in the settings menu. also, why hide the compact density option? on a 1920x1080 display the default is about an eighth of my screen, my taskbar is only like 60% of that. having tried a couple of firefox-based browsers, i can confidently say the only thing any of them do better (aside from telemetry that can be easily turned off) is their settings. why does firefox hide most of the settings?

Not sure if anybody on here is actually looking for one, but I went ahead and made a community for Tuxedo OS. The community is for the distro and not the computers (bc I only use the distro) but given that there is no tuxeo computers community rn its fine if you post stuff for the computers.

I want to know what kind of apps/programs y'all recommend to people or just use personally. This is just in general, could be anything from a game to a media codec. I personally use Linux but stuff for other operating systems is welcome too.

I'm trying to watch some DVDs on my laptop (tuxedo os w/ external optical drive) but VLC won't play the video, only the audio. It played the menu once but I couldn't replicate it. Pretty sure i've downloaded all of the necessary codecs. Y'all have any idea how to fix it?

Edit: just switched to the flatpak (system had the Ubuntu package by default) and it works but the options to use VLC directly from the devices menu in the system tray are now gone.

I've been interested in trying mobile Linux for a while now, but the spare devices I have (Samsung s9 and Nexus 7 2012) aren't supported by any I could find. I know it's possible to make it supported myself, but that is well beyond my skills. What would y'all recommend as the best project(s) to try out, especially with the plasma mobile DE (should it be called Mobile Environment instead?) and with support for those devices?

Blocking keeps my feed nice. See people being assholes? Block them. See a post discussing something I don't want to hear about? Block them. See a community I don't want to hear about? Block them. The greatest thing about social media is the ability to never have to interact with someone again at no detriment to them. Blocking is good.

I'm fairly new to the fediverse, but my understanding is that different platforms are supposed to be able to share content between them. I have always hated most social media and reddit was the only one whose layout I could stand, so my favorite fediverse platform is Lemmy. I do have a mastodon account but if I can get the same content here I'd rather just delete it and use a platform I like. Is that how it works? If so how do I do that/know when I'm doing it?

TL;DR: see title

Linux has many issues, but in comparison with other operating systems the only one that actually makes it a worse option is certain apps and games not working. Sure some distros suck, but you can just use the good ones. Sure drivers can be a pain, but plenty of distros do them for you. Yeah you'll have some issues with Bluetooth or wifi or something like that sometimes, but no more often than on windows (mac too probably but I've never used Mac so idk).

Maybe you hate how windows is set up, maybe you hate how some de is set up, just use one that you like. Dont like gnome? Well despite many distros using it, it is not the only option. Try kde, try cinnamon (I hate it but it would be unfair to ignore it), try cosmic when it comes out or popshell in the meantime. Don't want to lose your current os and be stuck here? Use a VM or dual boot.

All that works fine, it just takes a second to set things up how you want them to be and then you can just use your computer. With a "beginner" distro (I'd recommend pop os, tuxedo os, or mint) cli should be optional in everything you'd actually be doing. The only thing that is a genuine problem with Linux as a whole is that a lot of apps and games just aren't compatible, be they a less popular app who's users rely on it or a really popular game that refuses to enable Linux compatibility in EAC.

I know that projects like wine (and proton) are around and are making a lot of progress here, but this problem still remains the only one that an average user with a distro intended for normal use will be expected to deal with. What do y'all think?

Edit: fixed(?) spacing, hopefully it's easier to read now

Edit 2: wanted to add that as far as I've seen, most of the time people have like one app that doesn't work or doesn't work properly while everything else works fine, and they are either unable or unwilling to switch.

One of my friends just attempted suicide like 30 minutes ago. Thankfully he's alive (I know bc he texted in the gc, and he didn't say it like a joke) but I'm not really sure what to do. I told him I'm free to talk if he needs to (I am not able to go see him in person) and another friend who lives near him said about the same. We also had another mutual friend commit suicide not that long ago. What do I do?