The server returned this error: FetchError: invalid json response body at [Redacted]. This may be useful for admins and developers to diagnose and fix the error
Like Trainguyrom wrote, you're probably the first user on your instance trying to access it. Try the link again. It's the proper way to link to communities using Lemmy. Your link doesn't give people on other instances the easy option to subscribe to the community.
EDIT: Interestingly enough it looks like someone went through the first page of my profile and downvoted each comment of mine. Hmmm, how very strange ;P
Try the link again. It’s the proper way to link to communities using Lemmy.
I'll try the link, and if it works, it works. If it doesn't, I move on. It's not my job to try to make it work, it's supposed to "just work".
Your link doesn’t give people on other instances the easy option to subscribe to the community.
I'm aware, I was just trying to give a pointer to the forum (assuming the link doesn't work for others as well), so people can manually subscribe if they wanted to, as a community service.
That is how Lemmy works. Not my fault if you didn’t know that.
But, I did know that. I literally click on a link, if it works, it works, if it doesn't, if I get an error message, then oh well, and I move on to the next thing.
I'm not attacking Lemmy, I'm saying this for any website and any web link.
So you're saying you did know that Lemmy has the thing where if you're the first one to ask to get community data from another instance the link will give you an error and you must click it again (or reload) to get the instanced version of that community for your instance, and then say that it doesn't work?
That doesn't sound to me like you knew how Lemmy works. I can agree that it should be more hands-off for the user and the server should silently just do the thing to get the instanced community before sending data back to the client, but that's a different argument.
it should be more hands-off for the user and the server should silently just do the thing to get the instanced community before sending data back to the client
Understanding how much data it might be potentially requesting, I'd even accept a "please wait while we load this community" screen that then redirects to the community once its been loaded onto your instance
Understanding how much data it might be potentially requesting, I’d even accept a “please wait while we load this community” screen that then redirects to the community once its been loaded onto your instance
This would be closer to my and others expectations on how a web link should work.
Yeah, that would work as well. I'm sure there are times when there isn't a community that someone made such a link to, and at those times it should show an error screen, obviously.
So you’re saying you did know that Lemmy has the thing where if you’re the first one to ask to get community data from another instance the link will give you an error and you must click it again (or reload) to get the instanced version of that community for your instance, and then say that it doesn’t work?
Yes, I did, and that's bad design, bad programming, and goes against the expectation of every last freaking human being on the Internet as to how a link should work. And I'm saying that as someone who was a software developer for their whole career, and uses Lemmy on a daily basis, prolifically.
Edit: forgot to mention, I tried reloading twice, went back and re-clicked a couple of times, as well as when I did my reply I embedded that original link into the reply and then I tried it again from there, so I tried to resolve the link a bunch of times over a seven-minute period.
Sound's like you're just being obstinate, then. It works, just not how you would prefer (well, I would also prefer that it didn't give an error screen like that, but that's besides the point). This is still early days of an open source project, and for that one should have a bit more understanding than for corporate products. A lot of other services also started out very unpolished and took time to get better.
The good thing is that you should be able to contribute and make it so that it doesn't do that since you wrote you were a software developer for your whole career.
Sound’s like you’re just being obstinate, then. It works, just not how you would prefer (well, I would also prefer that it didn’t give an error screen like that,
The WTF are you calling me obstinate then?
but that’s besides the point).
No, that's exactly the point. You even agreed, responding to me as well as responding to others, that's not working as what most would consider as normal, with a preference on what a more normal response to clicking on the link should be.
The good thing is that you should be able to contribute and make it so that it doesn’t do that since you wrote you were a software developer for your whole career.
I've contributed to open source projects before, so I've already done my bit for "King and Country". I'm recently retired. But since you care so much about it, I'm sure you can contribute.
You should take a step back and realize I'm not attacking Lemmy, I use it, and I support it. I am just calling out a design and implementation point that needs refinement, as like you mentioned, is what's done in early open source projects.
EDIT: If I could do the work to make it work better I would.
EDIT:
obstinate
adjective
ob·sti·nate ˈäb-stə-nət : stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion