Only thing which isn't great is the fragmentation of communities. For example having several different soccer communities, or several diff gaming ones, etc.

[–] ante 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I don't necessarily see this as a problem. Part of me yearns for the days of vbulletin and phpBB forums, where each one was small enough that it had its own unique culture and feel. You "knew" the people you were interacting with and were able to build camaraderie with fellow forum members. I couldn't tell you the username of 99% of the people I engaged with on Reddit. Having a huge, monolithic community ala Reddit completely destroys any sort of community culture.

This is the best of both worlds, in my eyes. Naturally, certain communities in certain instances will become the community for a topic, but with the added benefit of being able to find a smaller, more focused community elsewhere.

[–] suth 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I agree, I hated when some of the subs I was in would brag about hitting a number like 100,000 members. After a certain point more members doesn't add any value at best, and and at worst actually hurts the quality of the community. The bigger numbers were just an ego thing for the mods.

[–] ante 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Yup, for a very long time I used reddit for nothing but r/NBA. You often had quality posts with substance and users generally knew what they were talking about. Compare that to today, and every single thread is filled with nothing but memes and shit posts that don't actually add anything to the conversation, and trying to wade through the mess to find worthwhile insights often isn't even worth the effort.

[–] Saneless 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

The problem is how do you know how a community feels?

I search for "word" and see 12 different servers for the exact same word, which would I go for? For now it's the one with the most subscribers

[–] christhebaker 5 points 2 years ago

You browse it and lurk for a bit and see which ones you like the most.

[–] Buffalox 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You can't trust the subscriber numbers, it appears it's only counting subscribers from the server you are on.

[–] Saneless 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Then that makes my point even more valid. It's just not an ideal way to choose

[–] Buffalox 1 points 2 years ago

Yes it's a bit clunky.

I open the different communities and look at the content, then subscribe if I like it.

[–] ante 3 points 2 years ago

Well, presumably, you visit the community and check it out. There is nothing wrong with what you're doing and it's exactly how the natural gravitation to certain communities I mentioned will happen. If you're not interested in anything other than the content that community offers, then you're set. If you want to explore more and perhaps get different insights and perspectives on that topic, you're free to go visit any of the other 12 options and check them out, too.

[–] Nameproblem 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's early days though, (among the rapid increase in numbers), as people move and instances get discovered and linked the best communities for everyone will rise.. Might not be just one though... To keep the football community example, there could be a good instance for match treads, but another could be great for championship clubs or non league or whatever... Fragmentation or choice? :)

[–] lorcster123 4 points 2 years ago

Yeah to be honest it probably doesnt matter all that much. Another point would be that theres several communities I would like that dont even exist on any instance so its not even a complaint yet lol