this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2023
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We have a chance to build a new community here. How do we avoid the mistakes of /r/newzealand? (lemmy.fmhy.ml)
submitted 1 year ago by FatalChessInjury@lemmy.fmhy.ml to c/newzealand
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Hi all, as with most of you, I'm an immigrant from Reddit. I never used to go on to the NZ or regional subreddits because frankly, I felt very unwelcome and those places were extremely negative.

How then do we build a new community that is based on being positive and accepting, even of those with different points of view, political leanings, religious beliefs or lifestyles? Everyone deserves a voice, no one deserves to be shouted down or made to feel unwelcome or belittled because they have differing thoughts.

Even festering cunts like Brian Tamaki and his ilk, deserve a seat at the table. We live in a free country and that means everyone should get a voice. Everyone gets to speak their piece, even if you don't like it.

How do we stop this community devolving into yet another online echo chamber?

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[–] Dave 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I personally disagree with that approach, especially in the case of more extremist stuff, but will be happy to admit I’m wrong if it works out.

I don't want to give the impression that this is welcome. In general, "extremist stuff" discussions cannot be had in good faith.

I am already noticing people here who seem to think this is going to be a haven for whatever they want to say, and I think it can quickly get out of hand.

Lemmy has a reputation. Until about a week ago, the vast majority of people using Lemmy were people that were kicked off reddit (and to be fair, this is true of most non-mainstream alt communities). Because Lemmy is federated, and other servers exist that will allow this content, we can politely but firmly point people in the direction of a more suitable community. We can also prevent federation with these instances, to reduce the amount of this content people see in the All feed.

Lemmy.nz also has open registrations. Many instances do not, and you are required to apply for an account. I fully believe as we grow we will end up needing this.

I would suggest being clearer that hate speech is not allowed here (which I think is the case?). The Beehaw admins have recently made this crystal clear: https://beehaw.org/post/524300. I suggest a similar statement would help people to understand your position on moderation.

Thanks, this is a good suggestion. I feel it strikes a nice middle ground - it makes it clear that hate speech is not allowed, while not requiring a spoonfed itemised list of what is and isn't ok - I don't want a community of people who require such a list. If you need a rule to tell you not to use hate speech, then you've already broken the rule about not being a dick.

I will work on something, which can be updated over time. When we eventually require registrations, it will make a good starting point for entry requirements. To be honest, I'm not sure where the line is. I think I need to start a discussion on e.g. whether hating on Christopher Luxon is ok.