members of my instance can't import their Instagram archives. between myself, the host admin, and the members, no amount of troubleshooting has led to a solution. i'm getting radio silence from you and others on your team while i frantically grasp at straws to find a fix to an issue you said would be addressed months ago.
the core project needs work to succeed. the features you've shared recently are nice-to-have's that won't ever reach their full potential if there are roadblocks to even get started with Pixelfed. once again, i'm imploring you to find ways for more people to contribute and to focus efforts on the core experience before all the add-on features & spin-off apps like @loops, Groups, and the like.
like i've said in past posts, the ground you and your teammates have covered to replicate the expected experience of a photo-sharing platform in such little time and without the unlimited resources of an global behemoth like Meta is nothing short of a tremendous feat—an inspiration. i admire the tenacity and consistent commitment. that said, i'm concerned that the roadblocks will lead to the project's undoing. the radio silence i'm met with when it comes to the features that don't seem to interest you all / don't seem sexy / aren't a priority / whatever the reason is especially frustrating when you expressed that i should reach out for support when i mentioned that i was launching an instance. i've been an unofficial brand ambassador to Pixelfed on Instagram for years now yet i can't help but feel like nothing more than an annoyance in y'all's mentions.
if this seems too broad and nebulous, the issues i'm experiencing that have led to failing to support people migrating from Instagram to Pixelfed include:
• instability with the Instagram import feature (this should be prioritized or removed because it's the primary attractor for people considering migrating)
• inability to migrate from other Pixelfed instance, namely pixelfed.social
• lack of communication or dedicated support (do you need a team of people to collect & sort requests for people unfamiliar or uncomfy with filing a pull request or with using a Microsoft-owned platform?)
• instability with core experience (there are quirks and bugs and frustrations around every corner while new Groups and Loops features are being rolled out
• inadequate controls in the admin console and support for admins (changes are slow or refuse to commit and there's no indication as to what happened or if anything is working, server-side changes are often not reflected in the console, submitting instance to the directory leaves it in limbo for weeks instructing you to contact pixelfed.org support which is non-responsive meaning another roadblock / dead end for supporting the migration away from Instagram
i want to help. i want to make this a thing. i want to help people break free from the clutches of corporate-controlled social media and i'm willing to volunteer my time. but i'm sending up flares and not getting much of anything in response. if someone as dedicated to the project as me is hitting a wall, how are the masses who are apathetic about Meta's actions—much less Pixelfed as a response to those actions—supposed to make the leap?
