Similar experience here. Lemmy is definitely what you make it, and interacting with communities and posts really helps keep it grounded.
I’m with you on the politics thing, but tbh I think that’s just a reflection of the world in general right now.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
84 points (98.8% liked)
Casual Conversation
4082 readers
13 users here now
Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.
RULES
- Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling.
- Encourage conversation in your OP. This means including all information that can initiate conversations when you can and also engaging in your thread when possible.
- Avoid controversial topics (e.g. politics or societal debates).
- Stay calm: Don’t post angry or to vent or complain. We are a place where everyone can forget about their everyday or not so everyday worries for a moment. Venting, complaining, or posting from a place of anger or resentment doesn't fit the atmosphere we try to foster at all. Feel free to post those on !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world
- Keep it clean and SFW
- No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.
- No support questions. See !techsupport@lemmy.world
Casual conversation communities:
- !casualuk@feddit.uk
- !casualeurope@piefed.social
- !forumlibre@jlai.lu
- !batepapo@lemmy.eco.br
- !esp@lemm.ee
Related discussion-focused communities
- !actual_discussion@lemmy.ca
- !askmenover30@lemm.ee
- !dads@feddit.uk
- !letstalkaboutgames@feddit.uk
- !movies@piefed.social
- !television@piefed.social
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
In year 1 I quickly gave up on any reasonable political discussion here.
Weird, I've been here 3 years too and I find the political discussions here to be largely pleasant and on point.
Its definitely easier when you only ever agree with people.
I'm in Lemmy for five years. Initially lurking; then 2023 happened, and gave this place enough of a critical mass to let me interact more with it. So for all intents and purposes let's say I actually joined the place roughly at the same time as you.
Unlike you I don't avoid the political discussion, but I curated my feed to have less of it.
I miss some stuff from Reddit. But even without Lemmy I'm not touching that place with a 3m pole. That place was making me sick, and after those years I do notice my psychological health improved by a lot.
Reddit is just a dumpster fire now. It's a shame it used to be pretty good
I just checked it now and... wow. That place went downhill.
Yep it's really bad. Loads of the accounts are just bots now it's a real shame
How do I determine if I’m a crazy or a normal person?
Everyone is crazy to someone, that is normal! The duality of social media sanity
that’s crazy
Not on .ml so you've got a strong case for normal.
Quick, what do you think of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea? It's the only way to know for sure lol
do you incessantly rant that anyone who disagrees with you or has a different life experience is a terrible awful unredeemable person that deserves to be killed or punished for daring to not be you or hold the same opinions and values as you?
if so, you're crazy.
I'm also going three years in, although on my fourth account. Just banned from my first and only community today, it was one based on hate, though, so I must be doing something right.
I'd say there's slightly fewer jerks on Lemmy compared to offline, and far fewer compared to Reddit.
We could use more crazies, though, they keep things interesting!
Can relate. Did you meet people in person from here or did you find out people you know in person are also on Lemmy?
I'm also 3 years in 🥳
It certainly has evolved and feels more civil. For now!
Heavily agree with the political discourse part. I still chime in every now and again because I don't like echo chamber stuff and I sometimes get surprised but I generally don't like sharing it here.
Happy cake day!
What happened 3 years ago? Why is it smaller now?
It was when reddit killed (or tried to kill) 3rd party apps.
Lots of folks, me included, couldn't be bothered with the official reddit app which was pretty poorly done compared to other mature apps.
Edit: As to why it's smaller now - I have no real evidence but I'd guess he is saying people migrated back to reddit.
Ahh. That makes sense. I forgot about that. That’s when I basically stopped using Reddit but I wasn’t aware of this alternative at the time.