Rant

idk im just kinda upset and at a fuckin loss. What kinda website perma bans a user for life and logs all their info just to make sure they don’t come back?!

The same sort of website that permabans all accounts from a user except the one he uses to moderate some small ~~comm~~ subreddit. Fuck Reddit and fuck everything Reddit.

And, like, I get you didn't like the Fediverse. Yes, it could use a bit more activity. ...but to be frank, it's probably the best alternative to Reddit you'll find. And sorry for my uncalled advice, but: if that isn't enough then at least don't go back to Reddit, that place is a shithole and it'll make you feel like shit.

(I actually got a few specific questions answered here in the Fediverse. Orchid identification, spider identification, a bunch of Linux questions. In Reddit getting the actual info is always a chore, that place is too noisy for my tastes.)

Invite your friends. Make it bigger. S'easy.

So, the thing I've noticed about Lemmy is, a lot of people want to create topics and share them around. As someone who browses /all, I sometimes wanna block someone who posts the same article 10 times in a row (in different communities/instances) and then never interacts with any of them. That last bit bugs me. I swear, if Piefed (which is alternative software to Lemmy, but they're mostly compatible) ever does something where it integrates crossposts... I'm jumping ship. The cool thing about federation is, you can do so easily. Export your settings, join a new instance, import... it's supposed to be seamless. I haven't tried it yet.

Anyway, the users I see often (there are a few) that I really value are the ones who start conversations and then they actually respond to people. Not everyone but they do respond. I think that is really the way to be. You/they/I don't have to respond to everybody, but by responding to a few people, I feel that that encourages others to respond as well.

The problem is, or part of the problem is, a lot of us come from Reddit, and a lot of us were mistreated by mods or admins. I myself was banned for saying people who harm children should face stiffer punishments. I think that's okay in and of itself, but the timing of my comment, they felt it was juxtaposed with the timing of the Trump-Epstein stuff. Reddit is owned by Condé Nast which is a right-wing publication house, so I guess it was a corporate decision. So people tend to wanna control things (or at least themselves) here, so you get more leaders or "leaders" or would-be leaders than followers. More OPs than commenters. And more mods than there are people to join and actively participate in those communities. So, engagement is the key!

Sounds like you have no agency nor the ability to change. In other words, you're fucked.

Why are y'all downvoting the mfer? This is a "rant" community, and they're ranting. It's a worthwhile perspective to hear. Sure, they should spend their time making this a better place instead of pining over the corporate cesspool that's written them off, but that's a perspective you can upvote in comments.

What can I do?? What other alternatives do I have?

Lots of things, but how about one of them is to start help building this place into a good replacement for what you miss about reddit!

You don't have to start big, or ever get big, just poke here and there, and wherever feels natural to you!

Also metafilter is cool too I guess.

Their permabans are not permanent. Use VPN. Or just wait a month or two. AND DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE SAME SUBREDDITS. At least do not do it right from the start. That's important.

Be the change you want to see

So make a community, foster and grow it, be the change you want to see.

It's not the size of the meat, it's the motion.

You can't find your way around a permaban?

Create a new account with a work profile on your phone.

Or a browser (different/new browser)

Or use a VPN

Etc etc.

Do it while connected to a coffee shop

Change the router IP at home