At least on the communities i follow. Every so often I come across a thread where i recognize most of the users there even in the big communities with over 30k members and I haven’t even been on lemmy that long.
It’s a smaller neighborhood here dude.
Yep! We smol.
IllegallySmol
But so fierce.
Hey, it’s just the cold water.
“I was in the pool!”
“I’m a grower not a shower”…
“It’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion of the ocean”…
I see that now
cozy. lets just think of It as cozy, why don’t we… ahhh, much better!
Hey watch your hand!
There’s definitely regulars I recognize, but still plenty more I don’t.
Yeah, there are a handful of extremely prolific posters who are awesome and keep the whole thing fresh. Then there are a couple dozen that I see at least a few times a week if not more. After that, I see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces.since I scroll All.
But even reddit had a similar pattern on a larger scale proportionate to the userbase. There were like a dozen prolific posters (or bots) whose threads got the most engagement even when they were reposts of someone else’searlier post.
I like to think of it like movies and tv, where a few prolific actors and actresses are everywhere and in things that get a lot of attention, but there are also a ton of people also participating but without as much attention because they are in fewer popular things.
If someone browses hot or new they will absolutely see the same few people the majority of the time since those are the most active people. Browse Active and there are a lot more that arrived a few hours after the post was made.
Part of it is also because you will notice the people you recognize, but scroll past the people that you don’t.
Having to check over usernames from the moderation side, I notice a lot more variety than I’d think about otherwise
haha! oh wow!
There’s dozens of us. Dozens.
Because it is dawg.
Total users are like ballpark 1 million, and most don’t post much or at all – e.g the 1-9-90 rule.
By comparison Reddit and twitter are the most trafficed sites on the internet
‘Had to look up the 1-9-90 rule
I can’t speak to Lemmy specifically but my Reddit years were ages 15-30. I think I got my fill of arguing on the internet then.
I write a lot of comments on Lemmy that I end up deleting before posting because I just don’t want the hassle of arguing with someone about it who is being deliberately obtuse or arguing in bad faith.
That’s not an indictment of Lemmy specifically, but I think my lack of interest in those arguments comes with age and I suspect my story isn’t unique, the demographics will line up for a lot of Lemmy users.
That’s not an indictment of Lemmy specifically
For me this is a major, glaring problem with Lemmy. The obtuse and bad faith arguments are a constant problem here. Some of the things that get upvoted are wildly wrong, openly biased, and would be ridiculed in most other settings.
If not for instances like Lemmy.ml and hexbear it wouldn’t be so bad, but even if they disappeared, the Lemmy user base is an echochamber that’s out of touch with reality.
How so? Can you list some examples of upvoted things that are wildly wrong?
That’s very much possible.
That’s why I try to be as nice as I can on here.
There are very few times when I initially joined Lemmy where, I admit, I was a bit shitty towards some users (old Reddit habits). This can get you banned, or blocked, or you can build a reputation pretty quickly. And since we’re not a lot, that can limit your interactions quite a bit. So I changed my attitude pretty quick. And frankly it’s been much more enjoyable this way since.
Reddit did things to us all. You couldn’t like be nice to someone bc you would get your ass handed to you. EVERY comment had to be so defensive, and primarily what worked was snark. Here… is different, most of the time (and when it’s not, we can block and move on:-).
Hard agree. Lemmy feels like a town hall. A few important people providing updates on reality and we engage in discussions based on those topics. Honestly. As long as it doesn’t get corporate or super weird I’m okay with that setup. It feels a lot more like a community this way. Whereas Reddit felt like a stadium packed with people. You can shout. And no one knows where it came from.
A few important people providing updates on reality
The problem is if those people get burned out for carrying a sub-Lemmy by themselves.
This is a good way to think about it. I’ve also been trying my hand at being a bit nicer to tankies. Oops… I mean communists.
I’ve also been trying my hand at being a bit nicer to tankies. Oops… I mean communists.
So, I’m finding things reversed, I spent most of my time on reddit going at it with idiot conservatives, just blasting through their talking points and not being polite at all.
Tankies are different because they … it’s not selfishness, it’s not just seeing themselves as the ultimate victim of “evil libruls!”, they really believe the world would be better under their fairy tale. It’s even different from a lot of religious nutjobs I’ve met, who can’t wait for their God to come back and burn everyone who didn’t appreciate how awesome they specifically were, like their dad who worked at the CIA doing Kung-Fu.
Fortunately the tankies have weak arguments, the best of which is “China #1 now!!!”.
I’ll just come out and say it: there is an enormous difference between a communist and a “tanky”. For one, only one of those actually believes in communism, and for another one of them is capable of rational discussion without resorting to the “your (sic) stoopid (sp), nuh uh YOU are!” schtick. I have found it more protective of my sanity to block the other type.
Hmm I don’t know which communists you’re debating on here but there are quite a few who i can say have made me reconsider my position enough times. I don’t know whether that’s because of how good they are at debating or how inherently strong their points are but i would be inclined to assume the latter. Maybe you’re just arguing with the blabbermouthed “cAPitALism Bad” folks
Some are just ‘west bad! China good!’, the last one was actually trying but I’d read Das capital and simply felt base Marxism was hopelessly outdated as a darwinism era construct social model, obsoleted by game theory and other more modern behavioral frameworks.
I’m a moderate centrist on most issues, I think we need more social support systems to counter balance the power of corporations and the rich, I just understand a powerful government isn’t a panacea, you’re just shifting the power and therefore corruption to a different body.
Have you read Consequences of Capitalism by Noam Chomsky and Marv Waterstone?
No, I’m sure chomsky would be great.
I don’t disagree with the criticism that we have far too unregulated capitalism, we need to go way back the other way.
My issue is the stupid, faith-based, communism will solve everything, even though it never has before.
Capitalism is corruption by the rich, communism devolves into corruption by the powerful, always.
In the past the people only had freedom when the king and the nobles checked each other in power, which is why the founders created checks and balances. Now the king has been replaced by the government while the nobility are the rich and corporations.
If both are balanced against each other (which has happened a few times in the past) then we have increased freedoms, often because they have to lobby the people in their struggle with each other.
When they join forces, we have fascism, which is when things are the worst. That’s where we’re going now with our current system. That’s a problem.
The book does discuss a bunch of these topics, especially the history between capital business interests and the US government.
I think communism gets too muddy with everyone’s different idea of what it is, especially do to all the different countries that have ‘tried communism’ to various degrees of success. I think socialism is more tangible to talk about. Changing the structure of businesses to a democratic organization between the workers, where the profit they generate goes to where is democraticly decided (such as fair wages vs reinvestment into the business). Changing the social organization of society would be revolutionary, as it at odds with the profit motive of capital interests
Interesting to hear
It’s called a community. If Reddit doesn’t seem like this anymore, it’s because half those people are actually AI.
Smaller community, so the power users (like myself, FlyingSquid, The Picard Maneuver and others) will undoubtedly be more prevalent than the many, many other users that barely post at all.
I literally scrolled through looking for your comment.
I do in fact recognize all those users including you
But do you recognize me!?
I don’t remember you, but i remember that post about google maps
I think it’s good that you don’t remember me. I always obey the rules of good grammar.
I see you everywhere and I enjoy it. Thanks for contributing to all the conversations. O7
Yeah, you are very recognisable, but people like me, who lurk most of the time, comment maybe once a month.
Not very memorable.
deleted by creator
Non respect
some of those are also the same kind of power tripping neckbeard discord mods we fled from by leaving reddit. (fragile ego ban incoming in 3…2…1…)
Why is it whenever I see a comment like this, the modlog always shows the person bitching about the mods having several sexist/racist/homophobic/misinformative comments that have been removed…? 🤔
because that’s the excuse mods use to get rid of differing viewpoints. Anything they disagree with is suddenly ‘bigotry’.
You know we can see what you posted that was removed and not just the reason the mods gave, right?
And most of it was rooted in facts
“COVID vaccinations were effective, but not safe.” - ichbinjasokreativ
Also the claim that immigrant workers are “uneducated rapists,” and weird nonsense comparing trans people and how “they mutilate their genitals” to circumcizing a baby.
“Facts.”
All of this is accurate information. Covid vaccines were widely adopted at the same time as spikes in lung related hospitalization, in covid-negative people. Refugees were advertised to us in europe as being the well-educated middle class of their respective countries, which turned out to be a lie and the offiacial, government issued statistics on violent crime and spicifically sexual crimes showed massive increase since we let millions of them into our country. Also, the fact that mtf trans people need to insert stretching devices to prevent their mutilation wound from closing is true as well. Reality isn’t always comfortable.
You wanna mod instead, go do it.
I don’t understand what neck beard means. I see it used, but I still can’t really figure out what it means. The other thing I don’t understand is incel, not that you used that word but it’s another one that I see used frequently that I don’t understand. Are the two related? Also, I’m old In case you couldn’t tell
Neckbeards: having “facial” hair that basically only covers the neck. It’s the idea that these guys who don’t have the facial hair to grow a full beard have poor hygiene.
Incel: Involuntary Celibate, shortened to incel. Someone who can’t get laid for one reason or another. The propblem being the people who generally self-identity as incel, who are usually toxic and sexist.
These aren’t necessarily linked, but incels are usually the type to have such poor hygiene as to have a neckbeard.
Ohhhh. Thank you!
I thought neckbeard referred to a hipster beard. That makes more sense now.
Weirdly, sex has changed in the last couple of decades. When i was young (back in my day 🤦) women could get laid anytime they wanted and men had to put in a little effort. So when i hear involuntarily celibate, i just think ‘don’t be a dick. You’re gonna have to work a little for it,’ but i guess they’re not getting any because they’re misogynistic?
Lots of people just can’t or don’t get laid for plenty of reasons, shyness or some kind of disinterest does not an incel make. An incel is mostly synonymous with what you probably think of when you hear basement dweller, but inverse the elitism and with an added sexual element. extreme misogyny, extreme entitlement towards women, extreme resentment towards the sexually active, occasionally fixated on the idea of masculinity, and overwhelming self hatred.
From Wikipedia:
“Neckbeard” is a pejorative term and stereotype for an adult man or teenage boy who exhibits characteristics such as social awkwardness, underachievement, or pretentiousness.
And incels are described as:
An online community of young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually, typically associated with views that are hostile toward women and men who are sexually active.
Certainly not related communities but could conceivably overlap. Not surprising that a lot of Internet trolls fall into one of those categories.
the same kind of power tripping neckbeard discord mods
I’ll never understand the intense and visceral anger some people on the internet have towards facial hair. Also really leaning into the 4chan-esque Everyone Online Is Dudes trope.
Because a neck beard isn’t facial hair. It’s neck hair. Neckbeards are usually indications of poor hygiene rather than some appreciation of facial hair
I can’t believe I’m defending neckbeards but…hey if Ringo Starr can rock the neckbeard, it’s not all bad!
And I’m sure loads of people with neckbeards have overall poor grooming and hygiene, but I’m also sure plenty have good hygiene.
Lol, Ringo does not look great in that photo and it’s partly due to the neck beard.
Ringo is a king, my friend ✌🏻
Honestly, that’s one of the cool parts of old internet (forums, chatrooms, etc.) is getting to know people, you get to know the community 😊
I’m not usually an internet commentor, but I try to chip in on Lemmy sometimes. I think most people just treat it like the rest of social media today, where the smart idea is to just lurk
I guess it makes sense that the majority of the userbase is just lurkers
It’s the rules.
Tres interresant
HEY, no frenchies allowed.
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
it’s ironic coming from you, I literally recognize you
Not everything online needs an /s
If only that were true
Welcome new member!
Be the change you want to see. Post and comment. Start a sub.
That’s more difficult than it would seem. Especially since the niche stuff i would be interested in fostering is… well… niche. And lemmy isn’t that large. YET!
One dedicated person is sometimes all it takes to Kickstart a community. Every lemmy comm or their subreddit ancestors started the same way
One person can suffer from “shouting into the void”. Finding at least one other regularly poster helps a lot
I’ve started a few communities. I have to admit that attempting to be the one dedicated poster has burned me out of a hobby and made me not want to post anything anymore. It certainly isn’t for everyone.
The way I do it, is not to stress about keeping up a posting schedule. I just keep posting interesting stuff I find in the community and eventually more people gather. It’s how I started /r/piracy
What interest is it?
Have a look at [email protected] for list of existing active communities
[email protected] for people who make communities grow
Mostly just anime specific communities and other hobbies. Thanks for the info though. Maybe I’ll get around to making a community
[email protected] us usually fit for discussions about specific animes
Feel free, yesterday I discovered we had [email protected] , so sometimes it’s just there, but unknown
Might i say that you’re always doing a good job of promoting these communities as well. Kudos to you!
Happy to help !
The majority of individuals on platforms like Lemmy—and social media more broadly—engage almost exclusively as passive consumers. Their involvement often begins and ends with the simple act of upvoting or downvoting content. This limited interaction speaks volumes about the nature of digital engagement, where consuming information or entertainment takes precedence over meaningful interaction or contribution. The absence of deeper engagement is not a failing of the platform itself but a reflection of broader societal tendencies.
People, in general, tend toward passivity, a trait that extends beyond online spaces and into areas like civic participation. In the United States, for example, voter turnout remains notoriously low. People express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, they crave change, and they criticize institutions, yet they shy away from taking the minimal steps required to enact that change, often hiding behind a hand-waving comment involving the words “systemic,” “structure,” and/or “institutions,” a transparent way of excusing their unwillingness to actually act. As though they themselves are not parts of those systems, structures, and institutions. The same individuals who will upvote or downvote content online without a second thought are often the ones who abstain from voting in elections, an “upvote/downvote” that directly impact their lives.
What is even more concerning is that this passivity is not merely a result of laziness or apathy, but something ingrained and encouraged by modern society. Our institutions—whether educational, political, or corporate—tend to value compliance over initiative. Decision-making, once seen as a marker of personal agency and responsibility, is increasingly viewed as a burden. People have been conditioned to prefer being told what to do rather than take responsibility for their choices.
If a decision goes wrong, there’s an inherent comfort in being able to place blame on someone else. This social conditioning makes being passive, fading into the wallpaper, not only acceptable but desirable for many. And yet, these same people will often feel deeply dissatisfied with their lives. But, rather than do something about it, they continue to be helpless, wishing someone would decide for them to improve their lives and then forcing them to do it.
While it’s easy to express frustration with the passive nature of online participants, it is also, sadly, understandable. They are products of a society that rewards inaction more than action, where engagement is often reduced to the simplest and least effortful gestures. These platforms reflect the broader societal trend toward disengagement from real, consequential decision-making, reinforcing and reflecting a vicious cycle of passive impotence while they wait for someone or something to fix things for them.
I disagree about the value of commenting and posting. If I don’t have anything to actively contribute, and I know it, I’m doing you a favor by STFU. Entertainment and disengagement have nothing to do with it.
If I’m using this platform as a news aggregator, that’s 100% passive and legitimate and respectable.
I comment but rarely. I’m a lurker
Like the others said, the ratio of posters/lurkers on most social media sites is 10/90, and i think that lemmy is on the better, more active side of things. in a 30k community that means that you will see about 300 people commenting regularly, and 30 of them will be very active.
i also like the smaller scope here, fewer comments mean that my opinion will be engaged with more.
I rarely commented on reddit, because one little comment in a swarm of 2500 will not even be noticed. It’s different here, and i wrote over 400 comments this year! i maxed out at about 100 on reddit because my comments wouldn’t even be noticed most of the time if i didn’t filter by new.
Be the shitpost you want to see in the world.
I almost never comment on anything. I imagine most users are like me.
Yes, I do see the same names popping up all the time.
Can confirm, browse Lemmy daily but almost never comment.
That’s honestly crazy to me. What’s the appeal of lurking?
Not the person you asked but another lurker. Social interaction is hard, even posting this I’m having second thoughts about it, but I still like to feel like a member of the community.
Congratulations to you on interacting! I agree with everything you said.
I’m certainly not one of the lemmy celebrities, but I’ve got nearly 900 comments on lemmy where I doubt I had 100 on Reddit. Not going back to check.
Lemmy is a just nicer place to comment than Reddit: smaller audience, kinder communities, much less intimidating. I don’t consider there to be any pressure to make posts or to comment, but if you do, I doubt you’ll regret it.
Either way, I personally am happy to have you here.
My published comments are probably about 20% of comments I start. I just give up most of the time because it wasn’t important or I can’t word something how I like in the moment
If I notice that I am spending too much time trying to cover all the bases so someone can’t nitpick or acktually my reply I just give up and hit cancel. I appreciate an entertaining comment thread, what bug the shit out of me are people that reply to a comment with an obscure edge case or who are just pedantic for the sake of being pedantic.
Sometimes what you were going to comment is already there, you updoot and move along.
Just happy to observe and take in people’s ideas and views
If you’re satisfied then that’s enough i guess. 2 comments in 1 year is crazy
To learn…
