We all have essentially the same answer.
How did a non-ex-redditor get here?
Dunno if I count but I read an article about Fediverse tech in like idk 2020, which lead me to mastodon and lemmy. I created an account on kbin but rarely used it except curiosity before API shit hit the fan.
deleted by creator
If you don’t mind me asking what was the hobby
Reddit likes to create some big periodical drama with its changes. Some of them already had me uneasy, and the way they gave their back to users with the API changes made end up doing what I had pending.
I used to browse Reddit, and I was about to make an account there at one point, until one of my friends warned me that artists with certain art styles are getting banned and harassed due to mods accusing them of using AI, even in the face of proof otherwise.
If there’s anything that AI image prompters cannot do that artists can, it’s provide WIPs, timelapse drawings and Paint Tool SAI files. Which is why I always have them ready if I ever get accused.
It underlines fundamental leadership problems within their communities. Good moderators don’t tend to align with corporate interests — preferring a sterile and saccharine approach to discourse breeds shitty mods and shitty users.
Independent and authentic is everything Reddit is not.
I like the idea of decentralized social media. Having a single for-profit company moderating all content feels sleazy.
The beauty of the fediverse is that there’s independent competition. If you don’t like how a certain space is being run, you can choose another or create your own. It’s ironically very “free-market capitalistic”, in contrast to the political leanings of the user-base. Lol
people keep mentioning the fediverse what is it and how do i get involved.
I’m probably going to explain it poorly, because I’m not a computer science person, but the fediverse is the umbrella term for the all the independent and interconnected servers using the same protocol to communicate and build federated social media. Meaning it’s not centrally controlled, like we’re a bunch of ships at sea tied together instead of all using the same port owned by one entity (like reddit).
So, Lemmy and a few others for something reddit-style, Mastodon for something twitter style, and so on. All would fall under the umbrella of the “fediverse”.
As for getting involved, you could try to add content to attract people here and entertain those who already are (that’s what I’ve been doing), or if you’re tech-savvy, you could even create your own federated instance.
It’s so easy to switch from one instance to another (in fact many people advocate having alternate accounts on multiple servers as a rule). Anyone can start a community and truly moderate it how they choose, or choose a server with the rules that they choose. It’s not surprising that the Federverse has succeeded in creating spaces that are much more healthy, especially for vulnerable people. It is impressive how stark that difference is; harassment and abuse are accepted as given on just about every corporate media, with very little recourse.
It’s ironically very “free-market capitalistic”
Decentralization inherently means free market.
Also, whatever we got or what people think we got well it ain’t a free market.
Content there is artificial. Getting banned for providing uncomfortable historical fact in the “wrong” sub, perma banned.
At some point, makes you wonder who is filtering these discussions.
R/canada and r/worldnews shared high ranking mods who are known white supremacists.
Yeah the mods are there to ensure that conversion does not get derailed.
I have seen same “prompt” reposted on the same sub, until they can get their desired discussion and prior posts removed when convo exhibits any critical thinking.
The API change, I still have RIF on my phone as a reminder of why I moved here.
API change protests. I am not giving up in just 2 days.
I used to use the official Reddit app, but you know, the more people that join the better.
Definitely the API debacle.
Sync stopping development and switching to Lemmy brought me with it.
Content here is robust enough for me to mostly keep me off the other guy. Just been waiting for a few more niche communities to make their way over here to be perfect.
Not sure how many knew about “Compact Mode”, but when that quit so did I. Was once as simple as appending “.compact” to the end of a Reddit URL to switch to a nice, simplified interface without ads.
@partial_accumen had the same idea. i.reddit.com was too good of an experience for Reddit to keep around, despite hardly being maintained for almost a decade.
Corporate douchebaggery
API changes and spez being a cunt
I still use Reddit, but less after the API changes. I was already using Mastodon and aware of Lemmy when that happened, but the biggest server previously was lemmy.ml, and even that wasn’t very active. I put it in the back of my mind to check on again in hopes it would gain relevance. Reddit pissed off a bunch of its users, so it did.
Lemmy.world launched around then, and I’d heard of its admins by way of their well-known Mastodon server so I signed up.
They banned me
Same. Fuck them.
The API changes were the last straw; but it had been heavily destroyed by astroturfing for years before the API restrictions finally just pushed me over the edge.
Technically, the fediverse would be even easier to astroturf. Luckily we’re early enough that astroturfing is foolish on Lemmy.
I keep hearing or reading about the fediverse what is it exactly?
Maybe. I feel that Reddit cares little about bots and astroturfing. It drives up the engagement numbers. Independent server operators care more, but have fewer resources. Time will tell.
This seems to be the case so far. I hope it scales. Lemmy servers actually have an incentive to eliminate those things - they drive up server costs and could lead to defederation. Plus, they are usually running a server for the sake of enjoying giving people a place to socialize.
Ever tried getting an obvious bot/spam account banned from Meta? Good luck! Those accounts are generating ad impressions, so who cares if they’re fake? Meta could invest the profits generated in 2 minutes and fix the problem for good, but their incentive is to keep the problem just below the threshold that people leave the platform.
