Connections tab redesigned

Connections are one of the parts that makes Manyverse unique. Most social apps hide from you the metadata on which servers you are connected at the moment, because it's always the same servers owned by the corporation, constantly tracking your activity. In SSB, servers are interchangeable and transparent resources owned and managed by the community, and the user should have full control over who they are connecting to, emphasizing relationships of trust.

It's somewhat easy to design UI and UX for posts, reactions and replies, because those are common in many social apps. But there was nothing similar to Connections out there to draw inspiration from. Designing it was difficult. Until now, this Connections tab has confused people, because it just displays a bunch of peers, they pop in and out irregularly, and it's not clear what you should do on that screen.

Last year, a friend of mine (and one of the backers on this OpenCollective) gave me a great idea to improve that screen: make it automated and reduce the amount of information and input it requires from the user. The new Connections tab gives you a simple diagnosis of your current connectivity state, and if it's impaired, presents step-by-step recommendations to improve it.

The Connections icon on the bottom is also a good summary: it's now a gauge that goes up when the situation is good, and down when it's bad, and if it stays bad for too long, calls your attention with a red color. Your attention is a precious life-resource that belongs to you, so Manyverse asks for your attention only when it really needs it in order to keep the app serving you well.