Fediverse

It's funny if so - I was so old on Reddit. But this means I'm old enough to remember Usenet so this platform is comfortable for me.

I don't think it was difficult at all to sign up though, doesn't seem like a barrier to entry.

I kind of fit the description so I certainly can't argue with you.

I think a big part of the reason you're so spot on is because of the timing. Painting with broad strokes here, but the group you mentioned is kind of the group you need for something like Lemmy to be built in the first place. And I fully appreciate Lemmy had been around for awhile now, but let's be honest, it's only recently become 'popular' thanks to u/spez.

I hope the username will expand as more people find out about Lemmy. I think with that will come feature changes (more likle9in the form of third party apps) as a more diverse group of people start using Lemmy.

Right now, the fediverse is not very user-friendly for non-tech people.

I mean, there's instances de-federating from each other, weird federation sync anomalies still going on between instances, users have to create and maintain multiple user accounts on multiple instances if those instances have defederated each other, even the 'official' jerboa app for lemmy shits itself if you try and connect in to an instance that's one sub-dot version lower than what it was built for - plus it crashes on 1/3 of my android devices, some of the best lemmy apps have been removed from app stores due to non-compliance with app store terms and have to be installed manually from github. It's all still very DIY right now instead of plug-and-play....and if lemmy is to appeal to anyone other than tech nerds, it needs to become much more user friendly and much more plug-and-play.

I tried explaining it all to my wife (who is still a Reddit user) and she argues that lemmy on fediverse sounds way too complicated...and she's not wrong.

There are a many people over the age of 30 on Reddit as under. People like us make up 50% of reddit users.

Honestly wouldn't mind Lemmy being a 30+ monoculture. Let the kids stay on their TikBooks and SnapFaces where they make porn or whatever else kids do these days.

Yes. I have yet to run across 💀💀💀 or 🔥🔥🔥 in any reply thread as well as popular slang. Also AITA posts with some of the worst advice known to humankind. Thank god it’s over!

Reddit evolved into in something unrecognizable over the last 5 years as it’s popularity exploded.

This is me 46 *nix user, nerd

I am around 20 and use lemmy, but I agree my friends need instagram

I don't use Linux, but other than that...

sure. but i also can't help but feel like when history looks back on the fediverse it's more likely to be in the geocities and anglefire category than some seismic shift in social media.

I hope for the later, but realistically feel it will be the former.

I think that's probably accurate, but it needs context. When I discovered reddit, I was a teenager and I just lurked for a long time. At the time, the typical redditor was closer to 30 years old and a tech worker. I was a lurker because I didn't yet understand how to write a thoughtful, worthwhile comment. So there might be some lurkers right now because of that.

All kinds of people gravitate towards conversation, but older users will be more comfortable engaging in conversations at first. Reddit is not a good place to converse right now. We just need to focus on building community and encouraging conversations.

I feel it's complicated for the non-tech users but interestingly I have started to see some folks coming to Lemmy because I (a tech friend) started using it and advertising to them. I think it's these early adopters who play a major role in bringing the non-tech folks and people from other diverse culture.

Get off my lawn.

can confirm:

• 28
• DevOps Engineer
• daily linux use

2* y.o. Linux user & sysadmin/sre/devops/younameit checking in.

I am still gonna use reddit for porn only, using patched Reddit app (by Revanced manager). 😂

I am younger than that demographic and not the most techy person, so maybe not exclusively. But yes, in my experience with Lemmy and Mastodon that is the trend.

For everything except the memes I agree. The memes are clearly not generated by 30+ year olds though, and there are a lot of memes. (all of those 196 communities)

Absolutely It's really nice how this affects the tech related serious communities but damn is it heartbreaking how bad the memes here are

I'm all 3 of these, and that's likely why I felt so comfortable joining and have had an easy transition. I want more diversity here, diversity is the spice of live, it gives you new ways to look at things, and spurs creativity. But I don't want it to become overwhelmingly popular like reddit was. I believe there is a point when a site becomes too mainstream, and overrun by... okay, I hate to use this word, but normies. I feel like I haven't enjoyed reddit for the last 10 years because of it becoming so popular in that way. And with reddit, I would have to dig down deeper and deeper into less popular, more niche, subreddits to get away from it. I suppose if that happens here, I can do the same, and even join smaller instances as an additional solution.

The fediverse is more complicated, it's not as easy to comprehend how the entire federese works and interconnects. That might dissuade some users from joining. But in my opinion, it feels like a good litmus test to me.

tl;dr - I'm an elitist fuck that wants more diversity but without being overrun by dumb people

I (37M) am a broadcast TV tech director so I guess that puts me in the "techbro" world, however, I wouldn't consider myself an "early adopter." I'd say really I'm just tired of corporate social media and all the algorithms and BS. And I'm not alone.

Why am I on Mastodon and Lemmy:

I was looking for something genuinely different, something human focused, something better. Hopefully the Fediverse can be that and hold the line against the likes of Meta. I've gotten four people in my close friends circle to give Fedi a try on three different platforms, all within the last two weeks.

My solution here:

We can't expect hobbyist server hosts, pro bono web devs, and volunteer modmins to pay to advertise this place. Memories of the marketing classes I was forced to take in college are screaming at me right now that what we need to do is begin an honest to goodness word-of-mouth campaign for the whole of the Fediverse... and by that I don't mean "posting aggressively" about it on Facebook, Reddit, Threads, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter, BlueSky, etc, etc.

Scary as it may be to some of us "techbros," we need to go touch some grass and actually talk to people in the real world. "Word of mouth" means face to face, in person, and it's possibly the most powerful advertising tool ever devised. I'd genuinely advise taking a cue from fundy Christians... evangelize... talk to your friends, your family, your co-workers about what you like about the Fediverse and what they might like. Listen to their problems with Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, TikTok, etc... offer a possible solution that they could give a try. Obviously, don't be pushy or a dick but also, if they do take the leap, help them get settled. Help them find a platform they'd like and how to find the communities and users with whom they'd like to interact.

Perhaps there are some onerous barriers to entry to places like this, but there are loads of people out there genuinely looking for better online communities and just better social media in general. This place -it's various platforms and numerous instances- can be that for a load of people, but they won't know about it unless we tell them.

My take today after observing for some weeks, is that Lemmy fills all MY needs. Reddit will probably not die. Threads seems to be a hit.

I just don’t care enough. Yeah, I wish everyone stopped using Reddit and Meta apps, but Lemmy is certainly not ready for 500 million new users right now anyway, and if they were, moderation would just be hell again.

I haven’t used Reddit since Apollo shut down unless it’s the only place still I can get in touch with some business, and I’ve blocked Threads on my network and devices.

I’m very happy with this. It would be nice if some cool, open source, free, tolerant and loving network would pop up to save 14-18 year olds and our next generation from manipulative commercial SoMe, but honestly Lemmy would probably never be that.

My only concern currently is that lemmy.world want to allow Threads for the time being while I see absolutely nothing to be gained from that.

I'm not that old! I'm still a linux user and tech enthusiast though, so you're not that off.