Ask Lemmy

We need to build a space for them to migrate into. Most of what I see on Lemmy is, frankly, whiny. If we want to grow we need to set a better example.

We should make one fully centralized mega instance and contain all the Redditors over there.

Personally, I think the big thing is that we need a tool to see who is defederated from who. We don't want some poor sod somehow thinking that since they are leftist that Hexbear or Lemmygrad would be a good place for them.

Currently, it seems most Lemmy users are very technically inclined, there are a lot of software devs and sysadmins. I certainly don't mind that, but I would love to see a more diverse demographic. I do feel like some people here seem to think that technical knowledge strongly correlates with the ability to have intelligent discussions, which I don't.

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Diversity is paramount for social media, otherwise it becomes an echo chamber or worse.

Say what you will about the average redditor, but remember at a certain point they're just the average person.

I mean, love me some Linux nerds and Germans as much as the rest of you but lemmy needs more.

In my opinion, everyone who is like "we only want more people who understand the fediverse" are stupid.

How are people supposed to learn and understand the fediverse if they don't try it?

The more people we get off of corporate bullshit, the better.

I support it because I want more people to talk about shows with

Lemmy is undeniably smaller but it feels a lot more free, like I'm not walking on eggshells when posting here.

On Reddit I have to mince my words on a lot of subs and be careful about using certain words, lest I want Automoderator to effectively shadowban me. Reddit is ruled by tyrannical power mod assholes who likely got slammed into lockers and beaten for their lunch money in high school, and are now using their role as an internet janitor to exert a repressed power fantasy. And don't get me started on the Tintin-looking supreme cuck who owns Reddit Inc either.

Put it this way, Lemmy is a place where you can post about Luigi Mangione, or about the people involved in Elon Musk's DOGE operation without risking a ban.

The more we can do to move people to the fediverse, thereby reducing corporate control, the better.

This is probably in response to the thread here.

I know I said something that may be taken this way, and I stand by it so I'll repeat it here:

There was something in retail I learned. There are people who will come in on sale days, and they will demand perfect customer service, and demand the lowest prices, and ask for more sales and bring coupons, all while talking about how they spend so much money there and that they’re so loyal. Then they’ll leave and you’ll never see them again

You can spend time and effort with them, the ones who only care about the cheapest place, or you can spend time with the customers who are actually there regularly. The ones who get to know your names, who are loyal, or enjoy a sale sure but also will be there even when there isn’t one.

I don’t want to attract users simply because reddit bad, and cater our experience for people who can’t bother to learn just the basic tenant of the fediverse. I want to cater our experiences for those who are here daily, and the ones who are genuinely interested. It’s the longer slower approach, but we’ll stay more true to our goals

I'm not afraid of saying that yes, that is my opinion. I've helped a lot of people migrate here away from Reddit, and I also hold the opinion that sign up is a bit daunting for users - but it's not impossible and it's gotten much easier than it was even just a few years ago.

What I see more often from people dipping their toes into the fediverse is constant complaining and whining. I've been through... 5-6 waves of new reddimigrants, and each time there are a quiet majority who pick up the fediverse and start running with it, and I've chatted with a good many of them. However, there's also a major chunk of people who immediately start complaining. There isn't feature parity, it's more confusing, it's less stable, why can't it do video - all of which have been answered a thousand times and are constantly improving.

To me it's exactly like the people shopping for sales. They come in, demand the absolute best service, complain that their niche communities aren't thriving, and refuse to even stick around for a week to see what it's like. If they aren't willing to even do the bare minimum of finding out "What is an instance?" then they're not going to stick around when we tell them that none of us can afford to host video, or that we will never have stability like Reddit, or this, or that. So I say let them leave. We came here to the fediverse because we want to build something different, and we know there are shortcomings that come with it.

If people want to join earnestly and help us build something here, curate small communities that we can be proud of, then I welcome them with open arms. If they can't even bother to read the first two sentences on the joinlemmy page, well, you make your own success there.

Who's "we"? I don't run a lemmy instance. I'm not against new users. I'm also not opposed to a lot of hard work and money going into making the experience better, but since I'm not providing either - who's "we"?

In reality we should.

To many in lemmy are to happy to stay in their special little corner.

I don't think Lemmy is going to catch on. There's too much friction every step of the way, at least in my experience with it. I still enjoy using Lemmy, but I can see why the majority of people won't end up making the switch

What I've seen many times is people stating the opinion that we don't need to grow. We're not some big commercial platform and we don't need to satisfy some investors. Growth will come naturally. Or it won't.

My opinion is, judging by the numbers... We aren't growing for quite some time now, so Lemmy will most likely stay what it is. I'd love if it were a super attractive place, though. And everybody would like to join.

Sane defaults are always a good idea. I'm a bit split on the "minimal effort" though. Minimal effort is letting some algorithms dictate what to consume, simple truths, and not bothering with complicated stuff like freedom or privacy.

And what I often see is people trying to solve such problems solely by technical means. And I think that's not even half of it. We mainly need a nice and welcoming atmosphere, nice and interesting people, good content...

I'm happy to stay in my weird little corner.