It's a smaller neighborhood here dude.
Yep! We smol.
I see that now
cozy. lets just think of It as cozy, why don't we... ahhh, much better!
There's definitely regulars I recognize, but still plenty more I don't.
Yeah, there are a handful of extremely prolific posters who are awesome and keep the whole thing fresh. Then there are a couple dozen that I see at least a few times a week if not more. After that, I see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces.since I scroll All.
But even reddit had a similar pattern on a larger scale proportionate to the userbase. There were like a dozen prolific posters (or bots) whose threads got the most engagement even when they were reposts of someone else'searlier post.
I like to think of it like movies and tv, where a few prolific actors and actresses are everywhere and in things that get a lot of attention, but there are also a ton of people also participating but without as much attention because they are in fewer popular things.
If someone browses hot or new they will absolutely see the same few people the majority of the time since those are the most active people. Browse Active and there are a lot more that arrived a few hours after the post was made.
Part of it is also because you will notice the people you recognize, but scroll past the people that you don't.
Having to check over usernames from the moderation side, I notice a lot more variety than I'd think about otherwise
Because it is dawg.
Total users are like ballpark 1 million, and most don't post much or at all -- e.g the 1-9-90 rule.
By comparison Reddit and twitter are the most trafficed sites on the internet
Smaller community, so the power users (like myself, FlyingSquid, The Picard Maneuver and others) will undoubtedly be more prevalent than the many, many other users that barely post at all.
I'm not usually an internet commentor, but I try to chip in on Lemmy sometimes. I think most people just treat it like the rest of social media today, where the smart idea is to just lurk
I guess it makes sense that the majority of the userbase is just lurkers
It’s called a community. If Reddit doesn’t seem like this anymore, it’s because half those people are actually AI.
I can’t speak to Lemmy specifically but my Reddit years were ages 15-30. I think I got my fill of arguing on the internet then.
I write a lot of comments on Lemmy that I end up deleting before posting because I just don’t want the hassle of arguing with someone about it who is being deliberately obtuse or arguing in bad faith.
That’s not an indictment of Lemmy specifically, but I think my lack of interest in those arguments comes with age and I suspect my story isn’t unique, the demographics will line up for a lot of Lemmy users.
Small town vibes where you actually recognize people at the grocery store kinda thing.
Be the change you want to see.
Got it. Creating bot accounts now
Honestly, that's one of the cool parts of old internet (forums, chatrooms, etc.) is getting to know people, you get to know the community 😊
Like the others said, the ratio of posters/lurkers on most social media sites is 10/90, and i think that lemmy is on the better, more active side of things. in a 30k community that means that you will see about 300 people commenting regularly, and 30 of them will be very active.
i also like the smaller scope here, fewer comments mean that my opinion will be engaged with more.
I rarely commented on reddit, because one little comment in a swarm of 2500 will not even be noticed. It's different here, and i wrote over 400 comments this year! i maxed out at about 100 on reddit because my comments wouldn't even be noticed most of the time if i didn't filter by new.
Be the shitpost you want to see in the world.
That's very much possible.
That's why I try to be as nice as I can on here.
There are very few times when I initially joined Lemmy where, I admit, I was a bit shitty towards some users (old Reddit habits). This can get you banned, or blocked, or you can build a reputation pretty quickly. And since we're not a lot, that can limit your interactions quite a bit. So I changed my attitude pretty quick. And frankly it's been much more enjoyable this way since.
Reddit did things to us all. You couldn't like be nice to someone bc you would get your ass handed to you. EVERY comment had to be so defensive, and primarily what worked was snark. Here... is different, most of the time (and when it's not, we can block and move on:-).
I almost never comment on anything. I imagine most users are like me.
Yes, I do see the same names popping up all the time.
The ratio of commenter/poster to lurker is always pretty lopsided. I also never read user names.
The trick is not to read the usernames. I imagine myself surrounded by millions of mostly sensible people!
I post more on Lemmy since I think people will actually read what I wrote. I used to post a lot on Reddit too, but that was MANY years ago.
However one of the big reasons I post is to hopefully get the conversation started. I figure with zero comments someone is less likely to post. With one stupid comment, someone might respond.
Yeah, that's what you get with smaller communities, you tend to see the same people over and over.
After the reddit exodus I started creating memes for the first time and posting them on Lemmy. I've learned that it's harder to be funny than I thought. Also a lot of time/effort and I have actually important things in my life that I focus on. Reposting was also kinda fun but what's the point really
Kinda yeah. BUT my comment to lurk ratio is still less than I did on Reddit. So even my few contributions are still more than I ever really did on Reddit.
Does anyone recognize me?! I need validation for my useless contributions. Valor and accolades!
The majority of individuals on platforms like Lemmy—and social media more broadly—engage almost exclusively as passive consumers. Their involvement often begins and ends with the simple act of upvoting or downvoting content. This limited interaction speaks volumes about the nature of digital engagement, where consuming information or entertainment takes precedence over meaningful interaction or contribution. The absence of deeper engagement is not a failing of the platform itself but a reflection of broader societal tendencies.
People, in general, tend toward passivity, a trait that extends beyond online spaces and into areas like civic participation. In the United States, for example, voter turnout remains notoriously low. People express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, they crave change, and they criticize institutions, yet they shy away from taking the minimal steps required to enact that change, often hiding behind a hand-waving comment involving the words "systemic," "structure," and/or "institutions," a transparent way of excusing their unwillingness to actually act. As though they themselves are not parts of those systems, structures, and institutions. The same individuals who will upvote or downvote content online without a second thought are often the ones who abstain from voting in elections, an "upvote/downvote" that directly impact their lives.
What is even more concerning is that this passivity is not merely a result of laziness or apathy, but something ingrained and encouraged by modern society. Our institutions—whether educational, political, or corporate—tend to value compliance over initiative. Decision-making, once seen as a marker of personal agency and responsibility, is increasingly viewed as a burden. People have been conditioned to prefer being told what to do rather than take responsibility for their choices.
If a decision goes wrong, there's an inherent comfort in being able to place blame on someone else. This social conditioning makes being passive, fading into the wallpaper, not only acceptable but desirable for many. And yet, these same people will often feel deeply dissatisfied with their lives. But, rather than do something about it, they continue to be helpless, wishing someone would decide for them to improve their lives and then forcing them to do it.
While it's easy to express frustration with the passive nature of online participants, it is also, sadly, understandable. They are products of a society that rewards inaction more than action, where engagement is often reduced to the simplest and least effortful gestures. These platforms reflect the broader societal trend toward disengagement from real, consequential decision-making, reinforcing and reflecting a vicious cycle of passive impotence while they wait for someone or something to fix things for them.
I disagree about the value of commenting and posting. If I don't have anything to actively contribute, and I know it, I'm doing you a favor by STFU. Entertainment and disengagement have nothing to do with it.
If I'm using this platform as a news aggregator, that's 100% passive and legitimate and respectable.
Yes. I've been posting to subs around here too. I like it cause everybody will probably see your post and you'll get engagement from real people. We also have common interests on here that things are pretty interesting.
Lemmy is still far from being another reddit. So it is definitely normal to see the same active users. For example, I see blaze alot.
It's a village vibe, grab onto the grapevine
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