Reposting this here as the /r/buyfromEU post has been removed: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j0xkqa/lemmy_as_an_alternative_to_reddit_using/

Hello everyone,

This sub seems to get some traction in the last few days, which seems like a good opportunity to present Lemmy, an open-source alternative to Reddit.

What is Lemmy in one sentence?

Lemmy is an alternative to Reddit, you can visit https://phtn.app/ to have a look at the content, and install an app using https://vger.app/settings/install.

The more detailed explanation

That was the very easy version. No need to understand federation, servers, or any technical jargon. If you are still reading this, this means you are interested about how things work behind the scenes. If not, you can skip to the FAQ section.

But as we are European, the servers question should be quite familiar to us. Lemmy works like email: you use a provider to get access to the service, providers are operated by different people, but still allow everyone to use the same service. Think about email providers like mailbox.org, posteo, Soverin, Tuta mail, Infomaniak, Mailo etc.

Servers as analogy to countries

Lemmy works the same. You access the same content but via different servers. Most of the servers on Lemmy are operated by European volunteers, sometimes in a non-profit.

A list of links, with most active users first

• 🇪🇪 Estonia: https://lemm.ee/
• 🇩🇪🇦🇹🇨🇭 Germany, Austria and Switzerland: https://feddit.org/ and https://discuss.tchncs.de/
• 🇪🇺 EU-hosted: https://lemmy.zip/ (special mention to their detailed reports like this one: https://lemmy.zip/post/33065677)
• 🇫🇮 Finland: https://sopuli.xyz/
• 🇫🇷🇧🇪🇨🇭 France, Belgium, Switzerland: https://jlai.lu/
• 🇬🇧 UK: https://feddit.uk/
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands: https://feddit.nl/
• 🇮🇹 Italy: https://feddit.it/
• 🇩🇰 Denmark: https://feddit.dk/
• 🇵🇱 Poland: https://szmer.info/
• 🇸🇪 Sweden: https://feddit.nu/
• 🇵🇹 Portugal: https://lemmy.pt/
• Catalonia and Basque country: https://lemmy.cat/ and https://lemmy.eus/
• 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: https://feddit.bg/
• 🇱🇹 Lithuania: https://group.lt/

Can all servers access the same content? Yes! See for instance, the Europe community hosted on feddit.org: europe@feddit.org:

• https://feddit.org/c/europe
• https://jlai.lu/c/europe@feddit.org
• https://feddit.uk/c/europe@feddit.org

So, should you join the server of you country?

You don't have to, as all the content is available from every server. However, there is an added value to use a server you share a language or country feed: the Local feed. This is a feed that shows you communities hosted on that server. Compare for instance

• https://feddit.org/?dataType=Post&listingType=Local&sort=NewComments
• https://feddit.uk/?dataType=Post&listingType=Local&sort=NewComments
• https://jlai.lu/?dataType=Post&listingType=Local&sort=NewComments

The Local feeds are different, and are in different languages.

What are the strengths of such system compared to a centralized site like Reddit?

• Nobody can own the entire platform. If a server admin goes power tripping, people will switch servers, move the communities elsewhere, and leave that server. Same if a mod goes power tripping. It's billionnaire proof.
• Everyone can start their own server and join the network. Admins are people you can relate to, they are not an American CEO only aiming to extract profits from you.
• As the platform is open source, a lot of mobile apps and interfaces are being developed (more on that later).
• Lemmy is not the only technology working on that platform, other project like Mbin or Piefed work too: https://fedia.io/m/europe@feddit.org and https://piefed.social/c/europe@feddit.org

Experiences of new joiners

A few people have been trying out Lemmy after seeing it mentioned in the "Buy European" flyer that has been posted around, you can see their experience here: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j0cl2u/ive_actually_moved_to_lemmy_reddit_alternative/

Frequently asked questions

Let's end with a few frequently asked questions

I heard that Lemmy developers have extremist political views, isn't that a risk?

As Lemmy is federated using an open protocol, there are other options to connect to the communities without using Lemmy itself.

The first one is Piefed: https://piefed.social/c/buyeuropean@feddit.uk

The other one is Mbin: https://fedia.io/m/buyeuropean@feddit.uk

However, those are stil a bit less mature than Lemmy, so for instance if you want to use mobile apps a lot, Lemmy is still a better choice.

Also, Lemmy is open source and open licensed. If the original developers do anything crazy or try to take control of the whole platform, anyone can “fork” the project, effectively making their own version without those changes.

On top of that, every Lemmy server is managed by different people. You can see regular criticism of lemmy.ml (the server managed by the Lemmy devs) on threads such as this: https://lemm.ee/post/33872586 or even dedicated communities like https://lemm.ee/c/meanwhileongrad@sh.itjust.works

That shows that even the Lemmy devs are not protected from criticism.

What if my server goes down?

This is always a risk. The usual recommendation is to go for a server that is managed by a few admins (feddit.org went the extra mile and is managed by a non profit: https://fediverse.foundation/) and have contact information and status pages in their sidebars (example for lemm.ee: https://status.lemm.ee/ and feddit.uk: https://stats.uptimerobot.com/XzEqqSB3Ay).

Most of the instances listed above have been around since July 2023 and the API fiasco. The cost to host an instance is quite low (can go as low as 0.03€ per user per month https://feddit.org/post/2600584) and admins may ask for small donations if needed.

Can I switch servers?

Lemmy has a built-in feature to export and import your subscriptions and block lists from the account settings. Switching to a new account takes a few minutes. You can keep the same username and avatar if you want people to recognize you from your previous account. As there is no karma system, you're not losing anything.

What interfaces and applications are available?

I've mentioned https://phtn.app/, which is also offered directly by some servers like https://p.feddit.org/ or https://p.feddit.uk/.

For people enjoying old.reddit, there is https://old.feddit.org/ , which can be used for every instance on https://o.opnxng.com/

Alexandrite is another one: https://alexandrite.app/

For mobile apps, there is an extensive list on https://www.lemmyapps.com/, including former Reddit clients like Sync and Boost, but also new ones like Voyager, Thunder, Summit, Arctic, Jerboa all actively developed.

There isn't enough content

That's a classic chicken-and-egg problem. Lemmy currently has 48k monthly active users , which is quite a lot compared to centralized alternatives like Discuit (less than 220 commenters ). Of course, with such a userbase, you can only sustain so many niche topics.

A good way to discover active communities is https://lemm.ee/c/communitypromo@lemmy.ca

Quite a few people on Lemmy use both Lemmy and Reddit at the same time. Lemmy because we believe in the platform, Reddit for the specific niche content.

Several communities have the same name, it's confusing, active communities are hard to find

Reddit has a similar issue: you have /r/games as the main gaming community, but there is also /r/Gaming, /r/videogames /r/gamers, etc.

How does someone know what the main community is, whatever the platform? Looking at the number of subscribers and active members.

There was the example of "patientgamers": if you search for that topic in the search bar, the most active one is definitely https://lemm.ee/c/patientgamers@sh.itjust.works with 1130 users per month.

The others have barely 63 monthly active users: https://lemm.ee/c/patientgamers@lemmy.ml , or 1 : https://lemm.ee/c/patientgamers@lemmy.world

To find active communities: https://lemm.ee/c/communitypromo@lemmy.ca There are regular threads with active communities on topic such as gardening, movies, board games, anime, science, etc.

There is too much political content

You can block entire servers and specific communities in your account settings.

Instances to block to avoid political content

• https://lemmygrad.ml/
• https://hexbear.net/

Communities to block

• https://lemmy.world/c/news
• https://lemmy.world/c/politics
• https://lemmy.world/c/world
• https://lemmy.ml/c/worldnews
• https://lemmy.ml/c/usa

With those blocked, you are avoiding 95% of the political content. There might be a few other communities that pop up, but blocking them is still one click away.

On top of that, some apps like Voyager allow you to block keywords directly in the client.

Feel free if you have any questions in the comment

Hello,

I've been thinking of this for a long time, but have there been any serious attempts on getting the subreddits of your ethnic group / country on switching to lemmy?

Feels pretty lonely on lemmy, since there are only 6 (including me, and afaik) arabs/1 other person from my country. And i'm guessing it can feel barren for some in the same way.

Would it be a good idea to go on subreddits like r/denmark, r/estonia, r/arabs, r/kurdistan (for kurds), etc and promote lemmy? What do you think would be the response? What communities would we do? Is it a good idea?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60936421

Just got the email there (to see how bad it will be.) The full text is:

Hey.

You're getting this email because you were first in line.

Before the homepage. Before the platform. Before most people knew something was even happening.

So... welcome. You're officially invited to become a part of Groundbreakers, a small group of early supporters helping shape what Digg becomes next.

If you're just tuning in, here's the short version: Digg is coming back. Not as a throwback. Not as a museum. But as a reboot of the original social news site—rebuilt for how the internet actually works now.

And we want to build it the right way: with real people involved from the start.

We're gathering on Circle, a private online space where we'll share early ideas, rough screenshots, updates from the team, and weird internet energy in all forms.

👉 Join the Groundbreakers Community

What to expect:

– Early access to updates, mockups, and experiments – A front-row seat to how Digg is being rebuilt – A chance to give feedback, share ideas, or just watch it unfold – A community of smart internet people who showed up early—just like you

Also: you probably noticed there's a $5 charge to join. That's not about access. It's a simple way to keep things human—a small hurdle that helps make sure the people coming in are, well, actual people. No subscriptions. No gimmicks. Just a quick check at the door.

And since we're asking for it, we figured we'd put it to good use. > Proceeds will go to a nonprofit we'll choose together inside the community.

Thanks for being early. And for helping us build something new on top of something iconic.

See you inside, —The Digg Team

Some notes:

• There is a high amount of em dashes, and it reads as ai.
• The link isn't personalised, so giving them your email is pretty useless.

Well, looks like its going to still be shit.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this; I thought it could be relevant.

I've been wondering about this for the past week and given the trouble Lemmy users have had with the Nicole spam, would it make sense for large Lemmy instances to switch to a whitelist approach for federation?

Instead of automatically federating with every new instance, what if we set up a system where federation had to be requested and approved? New instances could submit a request to federate, and the panel of federated instances could evaluate it before accepting. Any instance added to the white list would ideally be whitelisted across participating instances.

It might help with moderation challenges, reduce spam and bad actors, and give communities more control over the content that appears. BUT it adds unnecessary friction and turns the Lemmyverse into a closed space which goes against the idea of federation.

Curious what other people think and how we can brainstorm an approach for this kind of moderation issue long term.

Edit: please do participate in this conversation instead of downvoting ?

Seems like it's an issue for potential new joiners

Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1jv1usc/soon_we_will_going_to_have_our_own_social_media/mm6tiji/?context=10000

It's a website dedicated to searching alternatives for those unaware.

I was invited to comment here by u/BlazeAlt on Reddit last week regarding ways to lower the barriers to joining the Fediverse for average users — so here I go.

I'm sure a lot of this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I do have some specific starting suggestions at the end.

With corporate, single-instance social media, there's one place you go sign up, and you're in. You can find things that interest you with a simple search, and you can find people you know either by their names (Facebook) or by a very simple handle ([at]nickname). And if you're trying to build up an online identity — say, for your new podcast — if you're handle is unique enough you can end each episode with "and you can find us at MyNewPodcast on all the socials!"

Federated social media requires you to choose an instance before you can even sign up. But...

[average user voice]

• What the hell's an "instance"?
• How do I choose one?
• Why do I have to choose one?
• What do their names mean?
• What does the instance I choose say about me? -Does choosing one over another have any effect on the experience I will have?
• How does someone on another instance find me?
• How do I find someone on another instance?
• How do I find topics on another instance? -Does my choice of instance affect my access to those topics?
• Are the rules different on each instance?
• Who sets the rules?
• Where do I find them?
• What if I want to change instances?
• Will anyone be able to find me?
• How will they know I'm still me?

[/end average user voice]

Federated social media also requires weirdly complicated handles. [average user voice]

• Why are there two @ signs?
• What does it mean if there's a "!" instead of a "@" at the beginning?
• What the hell are all these weird domain names?
• Why can't I be just [at]TheSameHandleIUsedOnTwitter?
• If I'm trying to create an online identity, what's to stop someone from using [at]MyHandle[at]SomeOtherInstance.url and posing as me?
• What's the Lemmy equivalent of a blue check?
• If there isn't one, how can anyone be sure someone on Lemmy saying they're me really is me? -I mean, other than starting my own instance with recognizable name — but then I have to learn how to host my own instance.

[/end average user voice]

To be clear: I'm not literally asking these questions. I'm just illustrating some of the hurdles to adoption I described above, and some of the ways in which federated social media is exponentially more complicated than corporate social media.

As for solutions, I don't have an all-encompassing proposal at the moment. But a good place to start would be to agree upon a single default instance for new users to sign up, so that instead of being faced with "first choose an instance," it would be...

Welcome to Lemmy.URL, where you can join Lemmy communities for any topic, all over the world! What do you want your username to be?

• [____________]

OK, do you want your username to use a common lemmy "instance," like...

• [ ] ____________ [at] lemmy.URL
• [ ] ____________ [at] lemm.ee
• [ ] ____________ [at] etc.

OR would you like more custom username connected to a particular Lemmy community, like...

• [ ] ____________ [at] sci-fi-fans.url
• [ ] ____________[at] knittingnuts.url
• [find Lemmy instances where your username is available]
• [I know which Lemmy instance I want to join first]

Choosing a community-based username doesn't affect how you use Lemmy — no matter what community you chose, you'll have access to all the same content, communities, users, and feeds.

The [find Lemmy instances] button would lead to a page where you check off various areas of interest to then get a curated subset of relevant instances with a reasonable amount of information about them to help new users select one.

The [I know which instance] button would have you fill in the name of the instance, check if your username is available, then take you to that sign-up page.

So...something akin to join-lemmy.org, but with a flow closers to what I've described above, with very few, easy, "common" default choices, and a little more help through the process of choosing a specialized instance (if you want one).

This onboarding suggestion doesn't solve most of the problems/questions in my bullet lists (ideas still forming), but it would help prevent what happened to me the first few times I looked into Lemmy, which was that as soon as I saw I had to choose an instance before I did anything else — with pretty much zero information on what that meant or how it would affect my use of Lemmy — I said, "I don't have the time for this."

BTW, as I write this, my first Lemmy post, I will also add that the comment fields need to be WYSIWYG for if Lemmy ever hopes to be populated by refugees from Reddit, etc. Creating the quote section above was a huge pain in the ass, that required multiple rounds of [Preview] [Edit] [Preview] [Edit] [Preview] [Edit] [Preview] [Edit].

Food for thought. Cheers.

The pinned thread on r/RedditAlternatives is over a year old: https://old.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/1anols3/social_websites_with_nested_comments_v7/

A few issues I've identified:

• Only the largest Lemmy instance (LemmyWorld) is listed.
• Some sites like kbin, tipestry, and pcmemes have shut down since the thread was posted.
• I'm not convinced that sorting by 'Similarweb Rank' is that useful. I think a metric like 'Monthly Active Users' would be more meaningful.

Can we compile better, more up-to-date info?

Does anyone know if sites like Discuit, Disqus, Raddle, Saidit, Tildes, etc. publish MAU statistics?

!fediverse@piefed.social

• LW has a 3 days delay with aussie.zone https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/40460535
• lemmy.ml is known for arbitrary instance bans: https://feddit.nl/post/16246531
• !fediverse@lemmy.zip has a single mod, and not willing to create meta posts to call for more
• other fediverse communities are inactive

One thing to note is that this community being on Piefed allows us to use some unique Piefed features, such as only subscribers to the community being able to downvote.

I think people who want to signup for something will not ask this many questions, they will just jump in. These are often just excuses to stay complacent on Reddit.

Edit: they signed up! They were just being analytical I guess.

If you still have a Reddit account, feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the Digg relaunch compared to Lemmy/Mbin/Piefed :)

https://old.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/1jizbyz/reddits_new_block_update_will_adversely_affect/