I was making scripts, styles, mags, and posting content several times a day every day trying to build kbin and encourage engagement, and on that front, it pretty much never got better.
Your work is appreciated. :)
It feels a bit lonely, I do wish more lurkers would consider joining the convo. There's lots of talk about things being stale and dead, not many active niche communities, but 98% of people aren't contributing. It's okay to not be a content creator, but a single comment a week is better than no comments ever. I might be a taaaad salty, because of how much effort I put in, and that the lack of interactions and engagement is pretty much the ONLY thing keeping kbin from reaching it's full potential.
I could not agree more, LOL. Props for powering through that feeling, I'll go check out some of your magazines soon. Unfortunately, this is a problem that feeds itself, as people don't want to post because people aren't posting. Someone's gotta be first on the dance floor if we want to see /kbin thrive. I've been quite busy with IRL stuff, so I haven't been able to post as much lately. What you said about even a single comment every once in awhile really makes a difference.
Speaking of microblogging, I still don't know what those are somehow lol. are they like mastodon tweets or toots or whatever? 😭
Yeah, that's basically what they are. Being unfamilar with them is no problem. The great thing about #kbin is that options are available, but not forced on us. #Microblogs could become more useful/relevant with the introduction of the #allContent tab being created. Having an aggregated view is really helpful for easing into how it could be used. One way I've been messing with it is to have an overview of magazines so I can more easily be aware of any content that needs to be moderated. I think they could be useful for other stuff besides one off #tweets/#toots so you can group related posts to look back on -- themed posts over a span of time (like #inktober posts, #caturday etc). I also regularly use them in @learnjapanese for my #japanesepractice.
When I first joined Kbin I posted threads due to being a reddit refugee but have started posting microblogs as time went on. I have also noticed some magazines have more threads while others have more microblog posts. For example kbinmeta has more threads while the most active magazine I moderate has mostly microblogs.
Microblogs on /kbin are essentially short-form posts. There are times where microblogs revolve around a specific topic, but this is not always necessary. On /kbin, they are generally associated with keywords (hashtags) that allow a microblog to be sent to a magazine that targets/accepts the tag, which then appears in the microblog feed. However, on Mastodon/Twitter, you can simply write posts that get grouped with the posts of other users or your own previous posts without replying to a specific original post.
Writing microblogs and utilizing tagged keywords allows people to search for the information the writer deems fundamental to the topic they're writing about. This enhances discoverability and reduces noise, as you are able to quickly browse any and all posts that are specifically tagged with those keywords. Furthermore, microblogs may generally incorporate multiple identifying topics as you group together these keywords/tags.
For example, the @cats magazine will have an influx of posts on Saturdays from Mastodon instances which are tagged with #caturday. Writing microblogs in this way makes it so creating a thread every Saturday in @cats isn't necessary. This has a nice side effect of minimizing the need for megathreads that were found on Reddit.
Additionally, you can also search for (and click on) #japanesepractice to review exercises that I have completed in the past. There are additional posts in the @learnjapanese magazine that would not include this information. By using this tag, you can access the posts that specifically pertain to my studies.
This is in contrast to /kbin threads, where the content of the thread is the centralizing topic of discussion as opposed to the keywords.
For example: our replies are centered around what the OP has asked instead of any keywords in the original post or subsequent replies. However, /kbin is more unique than typical forums, as we can #tag the comments to achieve a similar functionality to microblogs. Honestly, I would like to see this feature be utilized more, but ç'est la vie.
To see related #Japanese language-learning content, consider checking out @Japanese. While @Japanese will include language-learning content, it will also include content beyond simply learning Japanese itself. This may prove useful for finding resources and content for written and spoken immersion. @Japanese may also be updated to include content related to more general Japanese-language content as well.
Regarding the #microblog section found here in @LearnJapanese, you may use this space to complete Japanese language-learning exercises, ask questions, provide answers, or find others that are inexperienced and experienced alike. However, please note that users from Mastodon will only have their posts federated to @LearnJapanese if #learnjapanese or #japanesepractice is the first tag embedded in your post. The way /kbin currently works is that by using #Japanese as the first tag in your post, your post will be sent to @Japanese instead.
This section may also be useful for posts that you may feel don't necessitate its own thread. In that sense, this area can act as a "daily discussion hub" akin to the megaposts found on Reddit. That being said, though this is a space for questions and whatever else--you're still permitted and encouraged to post questions among other things as threads too. We look forward to seeing beginners and veterans alike engaging in discussion with one another. お当該頑張りましょう！
Attached below is a link to a list of recommended resources.
Please feel free to add a reply if you have a suggestion, or have critique regarding any resources I have provided. If one is providing critique, please also include an alternative. I am not perfect, but I am open to suggestions. By teaching me, you help future users that stop by to read our conversations. Thanks, and best wishes on your Japanese-language learning journey.
II. A and B are close friends. Complete the dialogue using the volitional forms.
A: 1. (Let's eat at a restaurant tonight.)
今晩、レストランで食べよう。
B: 2. いいね。(Let's make a reservation, shall we?)
いいね。予約しようか。
A: 3. そうだね。 Let's invite Yui, too.
そうだね。ゆいちゃんも誘おう。
B: 4. いいよ。 How shall we go [there]?
いいよ。どう行こうか。
A: 5. Let's go [there] by train.
電車を乗ろう。
A: 1. (What's wrong?)
どうしたんですか。
B: 2 stating the problem
文法は難しいと思うし、先週のテスト成績は良くないんです。
A: 3. giving advice
と一緒に勉強したらどうですか。
B: 4. (I will do so. Thank you.)
そうします。ありがとう。
日本語練習Genki教科書 L13-5-B [2023-12-15] Japanese
B. Answer the following questions. Use ~なら whenever possible....
日本語練習Genki WB L15-2-II [2023-12-13] Japanese
II. Complete the dialogue, using the volitional + と思っています。...
日本語練習Genki L13-5 A [2023-12-11] Japanese
またちょっと練習しました。多分この練習がもうしたと思ういます。しかし、復習はいい習慣だと思います。...
✨ What is your favorite thing about kbin? ✨
Here are mine! A handful of things come to mind right away, but there are plenty more:...
What are your thoughts on Microblogs vs threads?
When I first joined Kbin I posted threads due to being a reddit refugee but have started posting microblogs as time went on. I have also noticed some magazines have more threads while others have more microblog posts. For example kbinmeta has more threads while the most active magazine I moderate has mostly microblogs.