Idk how to explain it and I imagine it’s been said plenty of times by now but it’s just, way easier to engage with posts here, usually on Reddit I’d just ignore the whole commenting aspect and just scroll through media.
I like this change, it reminds me of older social media platforms I used to use that were fairly small, player.me for instance.
It’s not a shitpost, but I’ll allow it Here is my shitpost as tribute.
Lemmy has been giving me Old Internet Forum vibes so far and I love it. The shift towards centralized corporate homogeneity over the last 15ish years has been a horror show to watch and it feels like it’s starting to crumble a bit, which I’m eager to see happen.
Just gonna sit back and watch twitter take itself out
You get it! I miss forums so much, but Lemmy scratches the itch so far. The internet used to be about individuality and now it seems to just turn people into what it wants.
Having less users is a benefit for the most part (as long as there’s enough content to keep it alive)
On Reddit, I often felt I was whispering in a crowded room. What’s the point of no one is likely to see it, read it, or engage? I think that’s one reason I’m more willing to engage on Lemmy.
Absolutely true. Like 90% of the time I posted/commented something on reddit, I was just ignored. On Lemmy I get replys/votes every time
Totally agree. Discussions are more engaging here, and posts are more relevant to their communities. You’ll hear some people try to explain that this is just due to the smaller user base, and it’ll quickly become less friendly as it gains more people… but I don’t think so. For one, the lack of an overall “score” for each user (like Reddit’s karma) means there is no value in creating re-posting bots that try to capture the maximum number of upvotes by copying older successful material. Less bots posting old content means more real people posting current ideas.
Lemmy right now feels much more like traditional forums which is a good thing I think. Only time will tell if it actually stays like that or not long term.
This has been my general sense of it as well, and likely the reason why Tildes is also popular for those looking for a Reddit-alternative. They’re quieter platforms allowing for a more engaging conversation between people of similar interests. I’m excited to see how this all shapes out.
I think there’s more attempt by “lurkers” to actually post here. And a lot of those lurkers are suddenly like, whoa, I can comment on something and my voice is actually heard? People are reading this even though I didn’t post to the thread in the first 20 seconds of it existing?
Lemmy is in a sweet spot that old early 2k forums had. Active enough to engage with people but small enough where it’s not trashy and circle jerky.
People overestimate how many users you need to have a healthy community. As you say the forums of yore were quite small and worked perfectly fine.
I think the big 3rd party app developers leaving Reddit and coming on here will be a huge boon. Most hardcore power users use the 3rd party apps once we have some great options it will be even better
I have made 3 comments on Lemmy these past few days. It isn’t much; I’m mostly a lurker. But I’d average like 3 comments a year on Reddit so I’m doing pretty good myself.