The outlook of having to use the official Reddit mobile app. No thanks. Even if the Fediverse only has a tiny fraction of the user base of Reddit, I'll still encounter more original content in an hour on here than I'd come across during a whole day on the ad-infested active battery-drainage that is Reddit's sorry excuse for a mobile app.
Asklemmy
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
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If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
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"Just in case" is a little optimistic. Come 1 July, RIP.
The decline of reddit.
I'm making an account here just in case Reddit actually ends up killing third party apps.
I made my account about two years ago, same with mastodon etc., because I switched to Linux back then and was looking for more Open Source and Privacy Friendly projects. But back then Lemmy had pretty much no users, so it was so boring that I quickly was on Reddit again. Now I saw how many people started to switch to Lemmy, and I remembered that I already have an account here, sooooo yea I try to be more active here than on Reddit now again.
Commenting from kbin. I actually feel kbin is a more reddit-like site and beginner friendly. and I love that we can interact from different sites.
I am more of a forum-type user and not a microblogger, so I liked that aspect of it all. I dislike Mastodon because of the "shout to the void" style that people post on there. I like a site that has sub-communities that all aggregate into a front-page, but this is a little different as I subscribe to individual sites rather than a moderated community within a monopolated site like Reddit.
So rather than a Reddit alternative, I actually like it as a re-thought forum. I've also enjoyed the culture of the fediverse of "we're not here to attack everything you say" so I've felt more open to comment rather than lurk.
I had been on Mastodon since November last year and never felt that "shouting to the void" feeling. But I understand that is not for everybody.
Microblogging sites with no algorithm like Mastodon or Calckey, require you to invest time to follow, comment and care for other people's content to make friends and followers.
But as you said, some people don't like or have time for that, and forum like site like this are better. I actually giving this a try, because or Reddit I wasn't the most engaged user either.
I think microblogging in general feels pretty "void shouty". Like, the void is populate, but you're still stating a conversation with no one in particular.
As many have said and will say, the recent Reddit changes (at least to an extent). In my case, the announcement really just accelerated my plans. I've been interested in the "Fediverse" for a while now, and I've been largely convinced it may be one solution to what I see as the malfunction of our modern internet. When I was younger, I was convinced the access to information and the ability to connect with others from across the globe would reap great rewards for all involved. In more recent years, I've come to wonder if social media was a mistake and whether the internet as it is will do more harm than good. But the "Fediverse" - decentralization - gives me some hope.
So, I've been keeping an eye on ActivityPub projects. I've been messing with PeerTube for a while, but not much else. I could never really get into Twitter, so I couldn't really get into Mastodon (I tried a few times). "Reddit alternatives" were on my to-do list. I kept putting it off, but like I said, the recent announcements finally inspired me to start looking more closely. I was actually surprised to find an alternative as good as Lemmy, even if it isn't perfect. Kind of kicking myself for failing to find the motivation sooner.
Reddit was my primary content aggregator. I'm from the old days, though, and they almost lost me with the redesign. With old.reddit.com
though I could keep the experience I preferred, so I stuck around.
Now that they're pricing out third party mobile clients, though, I'm done with it. I do like that experience, though. I've use Diaspora for years now (after similarly jumping off the FB ship) so I when I found out there was a fediverse alternative with a similar feel I jumped at it. Doubly so when I saw that it was mostly associated with those of the leftist thought. I'm not that active on Diaspora because of all the alt- and far-right shitheels that migrated there when fucking FB got too "woke" for them. I've blocked more people there than I've followed. Lemmy's socialist bent is refreshing, though I'd like to see more libertarian socialist (e.g. anarchist, bookchin communalist/Rojava's democratic confederalist) discussions happening. I'm new though so maybe I just haven't found them.
I've been posting on message boards forever (Game FAQ, IGN, RealGM to name a few), and reddit was my next foray. I was pretty sad to hear about the API news and I saw Lemmy mentioned in one of the threads, so I decided to join.
same as most people reddit refuge after the 3rd party app disaster i liked mastodon though rarely use it as microblogging was never my thing so i figured id jump on here
I came here 3 years ago when I started looking for reddit alternatives, for a while i lurked here then i eventually visisted it less and less until now
Tbh i feel a few weeks ago the site was basically dead with most posts on front page having less than 10 upvotes and low engagement on all the posts so the new people joining gave the site a revival in a way or something
I joined lemmy.ml maybe 6 months ago as I was exploring the fediverse. Fell in love with it, and spun up an instance with my partner. It's been sitting here quietly most of that time, but has exploded recently!
I am more or less active for 2 years on Lemmy. I got here because the fediverse is awesome but it lacks on content and users.
Been looking for an alternative to Reddit for awhile, and I only view them with third party apps. So if that goes away I need for find a new place.
I came over about a year ago. Reddit has had big issues for a while, so I was lurking through alternative frontends, and when I learned a Fediverse alternative was getting pretty decent, I felt an obligation to help make it happen. I might have come from lurking on /r/piracy when they started banning piracy more actively.
Ultimately reddit is a for-profit capitalist venture. Has been from the very start, and that profit motive has directly driven it further from the userbase year after year. Advertising, badges, money-grabs, abusive staff, blocking high-quality communities, API blockages, all this was basically inevitable and it's only going to get worse.
The API changes were what pushed me over the edge. I had been sick of Reddit for years, but every other service I tried to move to was basically just getting its links and news from Reddit a few days later, so I just dealt with it so I could be informed.
I needed a critical mass of people to pick a service, and it looks like Lemmy is the place!
I've been looking for a reddit alternative for at least a year now, although I wasn't too focused on it. I did try one (I can't remember the name) but didn't stick around because there was so little activity. The API change was the last straw. I actively looked for alternatives and someone recommended lemmy.
Had I known about lemmy before, I probably would have been here since last year, at least.
For those old enough, we've been through something similar before with Digg. Now its reddit's time. I believe Lemmy might be the most logical next step
I jumped on the Mastodon train last April when the population started to grow more quickly. I've always been more of a forum/message board user than a microblogger, though, and was hoping this space would take off in a similar way (if not for similar reasons, or for them, as the case may be).
I'm very bullish on decentralization for the forum/aggregator space, since that's fundamentally where these types of communities have their roots anyway, so I'm excited to see people showing up.
Hopefully we're nearing a population size where significant quirks can get ironed out, but with an audience that is technical or avant-garde enough to put up with them for a bit.
Honestly, if someone could just mirror reddits content using the API key onto here, i'd have no reason to go back to reddit, the only thing I miss is keyboard shortcuts from RES
I joined like a year or so ago when I first heard about Lemmy. I haven't been too active but the nice UI and pretty interesting posts keep me coming back.
Recently decided to create two communities for things I'm interested in:
been interested in the fediverse for a while now, the decline and recent events of reddit pushed me to create a lemmy (and mastodon) account
The API changes will threaten boost which is the platform I used to access the app and have done for years, this was the trigger. But my general desire to get off the platform was what pushed me to make the switch. Reddit has become increasingly difficult to enjoy for anything other than a meme site. Which I didn't really mind but the people made it hard to want to post anything of substance. I also discovered Lemmy as an active ish community and I like the structure of the fediverse. Overall I saw Lemmy as a good alternative with a strong enough user base. I hope that we don't get seen as outsiders when we inevitably crash servers with the numbers that will be arriving soon.
voice in my head
I wanted reddit, but with the ability to archive my data for later usage. Ie, I wanted to be able to have all my content readable at least even if where it was posted went down (whether briefly or permenantly)
Lemmy lets me run my own instance, so it works great for this. Gives me some sort of control of my destiny, while still being able to participate in essentially message boards.
My very first comment on Lemmy :)
I am looking for a social network that has the interest of its community as a top priority.
Reddit (similarly to Stack Exchange, these days) prioritizes its business goals against the best interests of the users and the volunteers that provide, moderate, consume and discuss the content.
These companies are nothing without the community, while the community can live without these companies.
A business that operates the platform that supports a community is entitled to profiting from it, but it cannot happen at the expense of the commuinity itself.
The recent changes to Reddit's API policies are worrying on their own, and have significant impact on users, moderators and the creators of the third-party services/apps that have made Reddit much more enjoyable. But I feel these changes have much more profound implications about the balance of power between the platform provider and the community, as if the former pretends to own and control the content and how the community is allowed to consume it, which is not even remotely acceptable.
I hope Lemmy is the place I am looking for.
The new Reddit design and API fees. It's ironic because the entire reason I joined Reddit was because of the Digg redesign. Digg almost sold for $200 million before the redesign, but eventually sold for $500k a few years later. Reddit is just speed-running the same story, and hoping the sale happens before the fallout.
R/piracy after the vote for only sexy pirate pictures
To sail the high seas, following the path of all those who plunder the vast ocean.
I found out about Lemmy a few years ago when I started looking more at the Fediverse, but I never really felt a need to create an account here as I could just browse around. It wasn't until recently due to Reddit's announced changes that I wanted to start interacting here more.
Apart from the inevitable performance issues at times and some weird UI issues I've found (lack of error messages when things silently fail, unable to navigate away from a page when something hasn't been saved, no dedicated community settings page) I'm enjoying my time here.
Not sure when Lemmy first entered my social media walkabout, but it was quite some time ago now. I have been searching for a place to replace Reddit for years. It has been a slow search. That search has now speeded up since the latest changes. At present, I am using Kbin to gain access to the Fediverse. It feels the most user-friendly. Not that I have been here long, minutes. But I have lurked for some time.
I am not looking for a direct Reddit replacement. I think many are, so lack of users. Different rules, jargon, etc.... Do not bother me.
Formerly part of the Digg exodus. Now it looks like I'll be part of the Reddit exodus. Fingers crossed that we can get traction started here!
It feels a little more like pre-September internet than Reddit
Getting banned for a ridiculous reason by power tripping Reddit mods!!!!!!
First time? I have like 5 suspended accounts
I'm pretty sure I heard about lemmy before, and I was interested, but there just wasn't enough activity to sustain my interest for more then a minute. Now I've come here from reddit, there's a lot more activity, and I feel like contributing is worth more than on reddit, like maybe we can build something good.
Also reddit is just an obnoxious rage machine. I've kept deleting my 3rd party app and then reinstalling, unable to finally quit. But swithing to this seems easier than fully quitting social media altogether. I hope, anyways.
I don't remember. First of all, I knew about fediverse thanks to Elon Musk, when he decided to buy Twitter on April last year. So, I went to Mastodon (my first instance was a tankie one, by the way, and I didn't notice it on first sight). Afterwards, I was learning more about fediverse services, like Pixelfed, PeerTube, Lemmy and others. So, I've a Lemmy user since the 28th of April, 2022. But I've also a kbin.social user since yesterday.
I think these reddit news had nothing to do with my decision to create an user on Lemmy. But they do have everything to do with my decision to be more active here.
Looking for federated forums, this was close enough.
I'm not on Lemmy (I'm on Kbin) but I'm a fellow Reddit refugee.
I've been waiting for another aggregator / tree comment community to form with enough popularity to sink time into. Once I started getting awkward combative messages on a regular basis in even niche subs I recognized Reddit had reached the end of its use for me. Online pop culture is toxic as hell and being on reddit since the near beginning it was pretty obvious how that was seeping in
Not that reddit was ever a great place, but it was at least silly, and informative
I think I found out about it from stuff like open-source news in 2022, and made an account but never really used it. Now, with the Reddit API changes, I gave it another try and I love it!
I came here after GenZedong was quarantined for not blindly following western war propaganda.
Hoping other new users will learn to re-open their minds after being boxed into Reddit/western liberalism for so long. (Won't hold my breath but I do hope)
I'd heard about Lemmy a good while back, but there wasn't much interest in it until the Reddit API kerfuffle.
I really like the concept of federated social networks and breaking free of the big tech rage-baiting algorithms. Just give me a list of topics I can follow and let me sort and filter them how I want. Don't suggest or recommend things to me, especially if they're designed to make me angry just for sake of engagement.
Lemmy seems like it has a lot of potential in that regard, and I'm hopeful it's able to build a respectful user base. I'm primarily here to feel out the landscape and be the change I hope to see in the world.
I joined Lemmy for the same reason. I'm not ok with the way social media companies use recommendation algorithms to increase engagement and make their users feel shitty. Since Reddit is going public soon, I'm sure they're going to start coming up with new, manipulative ways to increase engagement, which means it's time to jump ship.