I mean, the real problem is twofold. First, that there's no reliable notifications at all. Lemmy via web, or in the apps, you don't get notifications. I've yet to get a single one about anything. This means that voting is rng.

That's amplified by the fact that the instance is open. While bots aren't going to get in, it simply doesn't matter if they're was a an attempt to limit voting to accounts on the instance because it's trivial to make one.

Now, I'm not complaining about open signup! I prefer that. But it makes it very easy to stack accounts. Not that closed signups prevent it, that just slows it.

But it makes the semblance of democracy paper thin. So, you get a handful of people able to sway decisions with little or no way to prevent it. Since anyone with sense is using VPNs to begin with, you can't even rely on ip addresses to counter the issue.

That being said, I'm still behind the experiment. It's worth trying. That's because we already have the backstop that any forum has: there's someone with veto power, should they choose to use it. The dude abides. We all have to trust the host to even be here. We therefore have to trust that he will both honor the voting, but step in when there's a problem and veto things. I do trust him for that.

What's funny is that there's zero chance I would do what he's doing. No way in hell I'm going to pay for the upkeep of an instance, put in the work for it, and not make it very clear that there's limits and that I would stomp all over dumb shit. But it is still worth trying.