309

Why are so many people so fixated on Lemmy's growth? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by AstralPath@lemmy.ca to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

126 comments fedilink hide all child comments

...relative to Reddit's size?

I see so many posts and comments voicing disappointment with Lemmy's lack of massive expansion.

I too want to see Lemmy gain more users, but I do not want it to grow to Reddit's size. If Reddit is the yardstick, I'd say that a population that large attracts a lot of negative behaviours; degeneration of discourse, amplification of echo chambers and hive mind behaviour, etc...

I started on Reddit in 2010 and found that by 2016 things were really bad in comparison. A fun and engaging site was experiencing an obvious devolution that persists to this day, accelerated by Spez's enshittification of the platform. Obviously the fediverse insulates us from that occurring here but I think you get what I mean.

Do you you think Lemmy is too small? I don't. I've been here since the great migration last year and have had a really good time. I see a lot of familiar names in the comments on a daily basis. It actually feels like a community here. I guess I just don't understand the fixation on the size of Lemmy's user base. Curious to hear your thoughts.

[EDIT] Thanks for all the responses, everyone! Lots of perspectives I hadn't yet considered.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] papalonian@lemmy.world 48 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, I'd actually forgotten about it since I've been here for so long but the joke "there's a sub for everything" is actually completely true and one of the things I miss, even if it's an inactive community you can 80% of the time find a subreddit with a few dozen posts to check out. I used to just hit "random" until I found an interesting one. I feel like I'd cycle through all the communities on my instance in a couple of days.

That being said I love the small feeling here compared to Reddit and if I had to choose between "small community with conversation" and "unlimited dopamine trickle tap" I'd rather it stay as it is

[-] morrowind@lemmy.ml 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

The smaller subreddits are still good on reddit, as long as they have a good focus. They are effectively their own little communities

[-] ExtraMedicated@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Yes. I never had too much trouble on reddit, but I only stuck to specific subreddits and stayed away fron news or politics.

[-] andrewthe95th@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Yeah, my reddit account is exclusively for the communities around a couple mangas I read. As soon as the SpyxFamily and Akane-banashi communities here reach comparable levels, I will gladly jump ship.

this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2024

309 points (93.8% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27258 readers

1945 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.