cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19004972
Let’s be honest, the real reason Lemmy build most of its traffic is because of Reddit users. But the thing is, outside of the mass exodus in the west that too from the PC era.. people discover and join Reddit not because it’s another social media like Facebook or Twitter that people need to reserve their usernames on like a brand or celebrity but because Google Search is kinda… actually absolute trash by SEO and machine learning crawlers.
Most of the world (I am from India btw, hello~) join or even discover reddit because they’re trying to search for actual solutions, recommendations, advice or even reviews by actual experienced people without having to go through another YouTuber which can stem from troubleshooting a router, finding an actual FOSS option or seeking immediate solutions to the recent CrowdStrike fiasco for example. After having to visit reddit every time whenever using a search engine including for education to career advice, I ended up directly signing up with reddit a decade ago.
Recently, Reddit even restricted its search results to Google only in a business partnership meaning those using Bing, DuckDuckGo to Ecosia or even SearchGPT wouldn’t be able to access Reddit answers anymore. Say, if someone searches for how to block ads on chrome as example - Solutions like uBlock Origin come into existence and continue to exist because of the combined community in Reddit that Lemmy is trying to preserve.
Unlike others, am not saying Lemmy would be dead but it would be pretty much like Discord-Telegram or Tumblr instead of wiping Reddit or correcting Facebook. Reddit is not something you discover from word-of-mouth or join from peer pressure unlike other social media which is even truer for Lemmy but because it actually helps and is useful to people.
Lemmy can’t be taking the path of 𝕏 (Alone Mask’s Twitter) but any of the good platforms were before the Enshittification with Facebook’s way~
There are MANY reasons that Lemmy won't replace Reddit.....the list is almost endless, with each individual reason not being a hurdle on its own that can't be solved. However the combined number of problems is just mind blowing.
There is one chief problem that sums up all the little problems quite nicely. It's the Fediverse culture. It's somehow a platform that is designed to be open and free, but because of the userbase comes off as a walled garden. If you're not a programmer, or a linux user, or have techie interests, it's not the platform for you. And in order to even be comparible to reddit, it has to be a platform for everyone.
As it stands though, Lfmmy is a disjointed, unorganized mess that if you aren't part of their clique, you're not welcome. If you say anything bad about linux, or star trek, or github, you get downvoted to hell. Ask me how I know.
Oh, and for the record, linux is ALSO a confusing hot mess for the average person. But until linux developers accept this, and make a linux distro that is as easy to understand as windows, it's userbase will remain something akin to a rounding error for windows userbase numbers. And I'm saying that as someone who's remaining on Windows 7, because everything since has been hot garbage.
There is a group of people who created a community here because their sub got banned. They cannot be more far from linux or tech, still they do well, their community is active and they are able to discuss.
Sometimes I feel like the complexity of Lemmy is exaggerated. People ask you about it, "go to Lemm.ee, use it the same way as Reddit. And as Reddit, don't hesitate to block political communities"
People said the exact same thing about reddit being only good for technology enthusiasts and porn in the early days.
In my experience that is just how it goes on the internet. Nerds, furries, and porn collectors, are the early adopters for most places. The normies follow along years later.
You are right. I made a post about why I liked my iPhone in the Apple Enthusiasts community, and some Lemmy users were furious.
I've seen your post. Ouch - you stumbled upon some nasty circlejerking there. On multiple levels.
Plenty people here expect you to treat their "vision" as above everything else. Including your agency ("free will"), issues that you might want to solve, etc. That makes them unable to tell the difference between "criticising Apple" (a fair thing to do) versus "treating someone who bought an iPhone as an emissary of Satan" (what they're doing against you).
To make things worse plenty muppets there are putting words in your mouth, regarding Samsung vs. Apple.
If it's any consolation, it isn't just Lemmy. The whole internet of the 20s feels like this nowadays.
TL;DR: I know that feel, bro.
That needs to stop. Did the moderators jump in?
No. My post got 40% down votes. One particular user insisted that I was using Samsung flaws as an excuse to like the iPhone. That I should admit that I just wanted an iPhone and my criticism towards Android were invalid.
I felt like talking to cultists. But I don't think mods needed to involve. Lemmy is what it is.
Sad to hear.
I think they should to an extend, especially if the topic is Apple, being Apple to like Apple products seems like an evidence.
I sometimes wish voting (or downvoting) could be limited to subscribers the subscribers of a community. Do you think this could help reduce cases like this?
That's a cool idea. There have been somewhat related discussions, but I can't find any exactly like that. Maybe you should file an issue on GitHub for them?
https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/3895
https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/4086
Sounds like a good idea in theory, but in practice would kill the entire usefulness of the subscribed view if people have to subscribe to entire magazines / communities / whatever only to vote on one particular stuff in them that is relevant to them.
You're not gonna get many linux users respecting your opinion on tech if youre such an outlier. Windows 7? Cmon, ya gotta expect to get pushback on this right? Not just Linux nerds either... like Who do you tell this bombshell to and they're like "yeah ok that's normal?"
I've heard the same kind of stuff about lots... lots of things that "will never catch on". Every one of those doomsayers were wrong. Some of them unfortunately, but still, they were all wrong.
Linux has been in existence for 30+ years. How long do you think it will take for Linux to overtake Windows or Mac? How long for it to even reach 10% of computer userbase? Because right now, after 30+ years, it's at an all time high of 4%.
I'm smoking weed about it.
If not simply moderated out of the community because 'fostering dialogue is an important goal'.