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I really want to like Lemmy (lemmy.world)

submitted 23 hours ago by moseschrute@lemmy.world to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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I hate big tech controlling social media. I desperately want social media to be federated.

I really love community-driven social media like Reddit. Lemmy feels… too small. I really loved that Reddit let me jump into any niche hobby, and instantly I had a community. Lemmy, you’ll be lucky if that community even exists, and if it does, chances are nobody has posted in ages.

On the other hand, Lemmy is full of political content lately. I’ve basically been doom scrolling everything US election-related, and it’s really starting to take a toll on my mental health.

I know I can filter content. I know I can post and be the change I seek. Yet, it feels like an uphill battle.

Not sure what the point of this is, or if it’s even the right community to vent about this. I just really want to replace Reddit, but I find myself going back more and more (e.g. r/homekit is very active compared to Lemmy version).

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[-] Allero@lemmy.today 3 points 11 minutes ago

Unfortunately, there's no easy way around it. Fediverse is small, and while we should always encourage people's migration, it will probably remain small for the time being.

And freedom to express everything combined with people learning their behavior on algorithmic content will be an issue until a strong Fediverse culture is established. The times of pioneers are over, the times of "truly a place for everyone" are not yet there, and in between, we have a very weird mixture, sometimes bringing out the worst of many people.

I hope Fediverse will survive through this phase, and if yes, bright times will be ahead. But it will take a lot of work. Many non-political communities have already started blocking political content, and for the time being, I believe that's for the better. People need a place to chill and have a corner of their own, not face what they ran away from in the first place.

[-] PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 4 points 52 minutes ago

Use one of the apps so you can filter out content. "Trump, Trump's, Republicans, Musk" seems to take care of the problem so far.I think I have some communities blocked and maybe a user or two aswell.

[-] lukstru@lemmy.world 1 points 3 minutes ago

I don't want another app. I use lemmy exclusively in the browser, and that feature is missing :(

[-] JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.ee 5 points 1 hour ago

I know I can filter content. I know I can post and be the change I seek. Yet, it feels like an uphill battle.

It doesn't look like you mentioned subscriptions, which gets you out of the 'all' / 'filtering' side of things entirely. But just as with Reddit, you'll need to spend time building your personal feed over time and tweaking it.

The good news is that there's no limit to your subscriptions (unlike Reddit's cap of 50 displayed at any one time), but that you'll need to use the right tools to search the Fediverse to find those communities you want to subscribe to.

The main tool I typically use seems to have a bug right now (based on the recent software upgrade?) but I suspect will be back up in a few days. You might take a look at this, tho, plus other resources.

[-] feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Block FlyingSquid, it improves the community a huge amount.

[-] JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.ee 5 points 1 hour ago

Block FlyingSquid

You mean the user that moderates some Star Trek stuff and Out of Context Comics? What's the problem..?

[-] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 9 points 4 hours ago

You'd be blocking half of Lemmy.

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Do it before they drag you into an argument, lose, then ban you.

[-] LavenderDay3544@lemmy.world 14 points 7 hours ago

I like it as a platform but the userbase just isn't there.

[-] Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 15 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Don't let your desire for something you want right now ruin something you can have in the future. At one point r/homekit didn't exist, didn't stop you from not caring.

[-] BigBenis@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

If the BlueSky migration keeps up the pace, I think it will be a good bet that Reddit to Lemmy will be the next big user migration. There's signs it's already started, within the last year I've been here I've seen the community and sub-communities grow significantly and there's been an increase of self-proclaimed converts over the last several months.

[-] Scolding7300@lemmy.world 7 points 4 hours ago

I don't see the connection between Lemmy and Bluesky/reasoning, can you elaborate?

[-] niktemadur@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Probably the hope, not completely unfounded, that the migration from one "legacy" (from the 00s) platform to a more recent alternative service - twitter to Bluesky - will help inspire people in other legacy platforms to also realize that alternatives do exist now, they are part of a broader conversation that they weren't a part of even two years ago.

Even a year and a half ago, this place felt like it hadn't yet installed the drywall, the wiring and tubing was incomplete. Now it feels more seamless, ready for a spurt of growth.

"Hey... Bluesky isn't all that bad, I'm glad to be out of the clutches of a billionaire asshole, and not feel utterly lost here", now cue what OP believes a number of people will also think: "Hmm... maybe I'll check out Lemmy, too. See what the alternative to reddit is like."

Some of them could have tried it, didn't like it, might come back and be like: "Hey, Lemmy's not too bad since last I last looked a year ago", and here's a clincher that definitely wasn't here a year and a half ago: "The app works pretty good", and there are a lot of new apps, having a choice gives a sense and weight of legitimacy.

[-] mrvictory1@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

I still remember the DDoS attacks

[-] 0xD@infosec.pub 3 points 3 hours ago

Dreams.

[-] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 21 points 11 hours ago

I know I can post and be the change I seek.

Imo, this is your answer. I'm not sure exactly other solution you want. Content will not appear on Lemmy without someone first posting it. Advertising the platform to help draw people in is also important.

[-] todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 9 points 9 hours ago

You have fallen for the ultimate trick: wanting a "big" community.

You only get that from big, centralized social networks that want to maximize the amount of content you are fed, because it maximizes your ad views, and their profits.

Embrace the smallness. Lemmy still has room to grow, and having lot of different options for communication that aren't all owned by billionaires is a good thing. The fact that it isn't constantly trying to earn your attention is a feature, not a bug.

[-] Chozo@fedia.io 16 points 9 hours ago

I don't think it's that we want "big" communities, necessarily, as much as we want active communities. For instance, if there's a niche game I want to talk about, it's currently a roll of the dice whether or not there's a Lemmy community for it, and then if it does exist already then it's pretty much guaranteed to see 2, maybe 3 posts per week, tops.

That's really the only thing I miss about Reddit, being able to pretty much always have a discussion on any topic you'd want, at any given time.

[-] Blaze@feddit.org 2 points 3 hours ago

For instance, if there’s a niche game I want to talk about, it’s currently a roll of the dice whether or not there’s a Lemmy community for it, and then if it does exist already then it’s pretty much guaranteed to see 2, maybe 3 posts per week, tops.

Why not create a thread on a genre community like !jrpg@lemmy.zip or !fgc@lemmy.world ?

[-] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 9 hours ago

For niche things, you kinds have to go to reddit.

I mean the worst of reddit is on mainstream topics like politics anyways. You're less likely to see toxicity in like a gaming subreddit. (Less likely than politics anyways)

[-] Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online 6 points 9 hours ago

People wanting more activity than the small exclusive private club Fediverse has become isn't a trick or capitalist fallacy, they just want other people to see their fucking posts. Is that so strange and wrong? Why post things if no one is going to see them? You're seriously missing the point of a social media, if you really think having small nearly dead spaces is a good thing.

[-] DarkDarkHouse 2 points 5 hours ago

A while back there was some issue with the Lemmy code and people kept being served posts that were over 6 months old. Peple started replying and the original posters were often "wow, you found my post!" It was kind of awesome.

[-] mintiefresh@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 hours ago

I believe in Lemmy and the fediverse. But the subreddits with content I like aren't here yet. So I still have to go back for that stuff.

But I always check here first.

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago

Jokes on you the political content here is from the redditors who pretended to quit their award fueled addiction by also joining lemmy.

Seriously though, compare c/Politics to c/Worldnews or c/News. There is a very large dissonance between the comments shared despite both communities posting the same news info..

[-] GhiLA@sh.itjust.works 22 points 15 hours ago

Politics is the one thing we all have in common.

The good old days where everyone watched the same five TV shows and discussed them are over.

[-] NorthWestWind@lemmy.world 11 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

US Politics is the one thing ~~we~~ you all have in common.

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[-] UntitledQuitting@reddthat.com 7 points 13 hours ago

firefly was mid, there I said it.

[-] CafeFrog@lemmy.cafe 6 points 9 hours ago

Straight to jail. Right away.

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[-] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 23 points 15 hours ago

The Fediverse is virgin territory. The trails aren't blazed for you here; it's your job as an early adopter to make it the way you want it to be. You want a community? Start it and participate in it.

[-] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 1 points 44 minutes ago* (last edited 44 minutes ago)

I just realized, it’s no wonder much of Lemmy’s current base is in their 30s (and older.) The social aspects of the internet we grew up with was more forum-based. The slower pace we currently have here isn’t a deal breaker, because we knew a time where this was normal. We participated in and built communities because if we didn’t, they wouldn’t exist. There was no pre-made social media behemoth for us to get lost in.

But people who’ve grown up with modern social media didn’t have that experience. They’re accustomed to riding fast-paced rapids, where things quickly change, and where algorithms control their feed and direct the whole experience. That’s their normal. By contrast, Millenials and older came online to gentle, quiet streams. We had to learn to row the oars manually (creating novel communities and content.) That gave us greater control over where we’d go and what we’d see.

Lemmy is a gentle stream right now. People who come here expecting white water rafting are going to feel like something’s missing. People who grew up with pre-made online communities probably never took the steps to build one up before.

I’d love to see younger people taking up the mantle of building a new corner of the internet. Especially in an era where personal control is increasingly limited by powerful monied interests, learning how to create and run communities can be very empowering.

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[-] ZK686@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago

The thing I like about Lemmy is that they're not banning you over stupid shit.

[-] TheFrirish@jlai.lu 15 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Depends on your instance honestly

[-] goferking0 9 points 13 hours ago

Oh they're still doing that just easier to make a new space after that happens

[-] secret300 20 points 15 hours ago

I hate reddit as a platform but I still have to use it every once in a while because people won't move to Lemmy/mbin/piefed.

I honestly don't understand it. People complain that they don't use the fediverse because it's small but somehow they don't realize if they just migrate over then it won't be.

It's aggravating how dumb people can be but hey, that's the world we're living in. I'll continue to use Lemmy and visit reddit if I have to.

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