Why did you join lemmy?

Some people are really annoying about it or don't see other good stuff, but the open-source movement is a serious force for freedom imo.
- I'm sure I'm not alone feeling like all these corporations slowly stole the whole internet from us like we were frogs in a boiling pot. And we let it happen because it was convenient, but now the facade is crumbling and we're reaching late-stage.
  It's high time to seek refuge on better shores, and while I just got here it feels like Lemmy and the Fediverse more generally might be it.
- Yeah, it's extremely refreshing to find online spaces that are non-extractive again where one can exist without entities trying to sell you something. You start to realize the awful way that most tech treats its users. We've been getting boiled alive, slowly.
I'm the same. I signed up to Mastodon and really liked the concept but I was never a huge fan of the Twitter format and never actually used Twitter. I wanted a Reddit equivalent and ended up here.
Some parts, especially the apps, need a bit more polishing and I'm only saying that because I'm coming from using Infinity for Reddit. If I came from the official Reddit app the new lack of ads alone would help me ignore those quirks.
- In my experience, I have never needed an app on Lemmy or Mastodon the way I have for Reddit or Twitter. It turns out you can actually make a web interface that is lightweight and responsive when it isn't bogged down by a long list of arbitrary conflicting demands for data collection, advertising, and inflating corporate KPIs.
  It's still nice to have some good apps, but it is not essential and website-ending the way it is with Reddit.

Because Reddit has fully turned to the dark side lol. It’s been trending downhill for a while now but with the recent API shenanigans it became very clear it wasn’t going to improve. So here I am lol. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to find an alt (RIP Digg).

Same, plus curiosity and enthusiasm for FOSS. Can't wait until fediverse is developed enough to host also niche communities like 'cassette_futurism' or 'liminal_space'.
- Be the change you want to see :)
  Even just creating those communities, then populating them with a few of the top posts from reddit, would be a good start.
- There is a https://lemmy.ml/c/liminalspace community.
Absolutely, the API changes breaking 3rd party app support are the line for many users including myself.

Reddit’s new API rules for third parties. Unfair and I’m not happy. Hoping Christian makes Apollo for Lemmy if the audience is here to support it.

If Christian makes an Apollo for Lemmy I would be more than happy to pay for it.

This is a good point, and I hope each instance feels comfortable asking for a little bit of help on that front every so often. I imagine lots of people would be willing to donate a little to keep their Lemmy server alive.
How would one join a EU-based instance? VPN? Or is it the link I use?
So, I signed up with the lemmy.ml server(?) Should I scrap this account and sign on with an EU one?

I've been learning to hate reddit over the past few years between:

-its awful redesign

-it's focus on more social media aspects like group chats, friend lists, follower count.

-Shutting down third party apps

-NFTs

-WAY too many ads

Basically everything that an alternative like lemmy solves

The Android client I use will quit working at the end of the month if nothing changes. Reddit is becoming a publicly-traded corporation sometime this year, and that will no doubt cause big and mostly negative changes based on past experience. And old.reddit.com I suspect won't last long. So this is my redoubt, I can see it's a viable place to fall back to even if I don't completely understand Lemmy and whether it is sustainable if a huge number of Reddit users start using it.

Reddexodus due to them killing 3rd-party apps in a month. I'm weaning myself off reddit, as I don't think I could go cold turkey.

This place seems much nicer, inherently built to mitigate a lot of what I grew to hate about reddit-- namely the various bigotries, disinformation, and, well, the Nazis. And, frankly, I'm tired of the corporate-owned social media sites (even though Reddit managed to skirt that designation for a very long time), and the idea of FOSS, federated social media that's inherently better-moderated by people with zero tolerance for hateful people really does appeal to me.

So, I'm here checking the place out, and we'll see how it goes and how it grows!

Missed opportunity to say Reddexit.
Glad to have you here. People like you will make Lemmy a nice place to be.
- d'oh!
  that's nice of you to say, though! thx!

I really need some stuff to read on my phone while on the toilet. And reddit is saying I might soon not be able to do that in the way I prefer.

Well originally because I want to have a place in case r/piracy gets banned.

Now it's because of reddit's horrible decisions regarding their API

One tidbit about lemmy's early history: I was originally going to contribute to another reddit clone called postmill (despite it being written in php) many years ago, but one of the things that turned me off to contributing to it, was that the creator refused to allow having torrent links. So one of my main motivations in starting it, was to allow piracy.

Obviously because RiF is shutting down.

On the advice of someone else here I used Power Delete Suite to scrub all my posts and edit my comments to say why I'm leaving Reddit how I did it.

I highly recommend doing it if anyone is leaving Reddit instead of just deleting their account. This way it leaves a protest message and removes content from the platform.

I like how Lemmy is open source and you can set up your own server/instance to connect it to other instances.

I don't like ads.

It's really cool how there are separate communities very similar to Reddit/Twitter/Instagram and yet each community can actually communicate across these services with the same account.

Reddit has gone downhill over time and their API changes were the final straw that caused me to start looking for something new.

I was tired of reddit continuing to push their IPO agenda, too many influences that changed it from being what it was to a ad ridden dumpster fire.

Because Reddit plans to kill 3rd party clients. No sync no Reddit

If ljdawson could port Sync to Lemmy, that'd be awesome. Lemme is nice, but the app is kinda meh right now.
- I've always thought Sync was the best app. But ljdawson has not been so active recently, so I'd be pleasantly surprised if they started a new project now.
- Or at least, it would be cool if they could open-source it if he doesn't plan on continuing development. That way, it could be used as a basis for a new Lemmy app.

Was sick of the consolidation / enshittification of the net and everything that came with it and one of the ways I can contribute is to post on a platform like lemmy.

The memes are here, I trust the anime titties are on there way too.

Booba you say?

It was mentioned on Reddit. I wanted to give it a try. I'm not in favor of losing old.reddit.com or RIF and, like many others, am looking for a new internet home.

For me, if Reddit is trying to get rid of third-party apps, they're trying to get rid of me. I tried their official app and found it to be not fit for purpose. Especially compared to the superior offerings of third-party developers. The Sync app basically IS reddit to me. That goes away and so does reddit.

I'll be interested to see if Reddit backs down from their current stance in order to avert a mass exodus, and also if ekought people will actually leave to force their hand. Time will tell I guess.

I did the same. I checked out the official reddit app, and it's a steaming pile of garbage compared to Apollo on Android or Relay on IOS. Much like you, those 3rd party apps are reddit in my eyes. The official app is attempting to morph reddit into something other than what it used to be and always was in my eyes.
That being said, I've been on Lemmy far more than I've been on reddit today, and I intend to continue that trend if the powers that be at Reddit Corp. proceed with their poorly veiled attempt to shut down 3rd party apps.
Doubtful, they have the data about how many users are through the API so while I'm sure they don't expect everyone currently using through API to leave (after all they're doing this to get users on their own app) they must be OK with "xx%" leaving.
I think I saw someone post the share of users that were using the "standard" options (site and app) and it was the majority.
- But someone made the point that it might be the 5% which are producing 90% of the content leaving. Don't know if this is true, but there are a lot of 10+ year long redditors being vocal about the API issue.
- Given how bad botspam is on Reddit, I have to assume they don't understand their active user stats as well as they think they do

Mainly because its libre and federated, what pushed me over the edge was the reddit api changes (R.I.P in advance infinity)

Same here man. Infinity is/was/has been fantastic!
Infinity will always be amazing
- Blows my mind the amount of work the dev put into it for it to be open source and free. That app is so damn good.

Because I like the general interface of (old.)reddit but not its userbase. Nor do I think social media should be a profit-driven, as the practices to keep us engaged is clearly having effects on society in every corner of the world.

I also miss the days of old, when communities were smaller and you could actually get to know people.

I came for the drugs and hookers. So far, pretty disappointed.

The idea of having various communities of different sizes and all kinds of topics as we know it from reddit just fits so perfectly to the idea of the fediverse! No more big data companies - truly community owned places for discussion and sharing of information. I really hope lemmy will grow.

Its exciting seeing these few lemmy instances grow a LOT in the past few days. Federated services really give us a chance to break US tech's stranglehold on world communications. Together we're strong!
- is there an easy way for me to see the growth of Lemmy or specific instances? 🤩

Originally because I wanted to check it out when it first launched. I have been checking out reddit alternatives for a while and I've been waiting for a migration to happen from reddit, I figured they aren't going to keep old.reddit going forever. Wasn't expecting the api changes to happen first, but since folks are making the move I'm finally participating here because I want reddit style communities to succeed on the fediverse and there's a lot more people here now for that to happen.

I only used RIF to browse Reddit, hearing the app was getting killed made me jump ship here.

RIP RIF
I loved you you for years.

Various reasons:

Getting banned for random reasons even though I participated in good faith
Nothing being done about hateful posts and messages
The company following in Elmo's footsteps and their lack of transparency because corporate greed

I joined after Genzedong got quarantined. Transphobia is less common here which I really appreciate. On the other hand there isn't as big of a community of trans people.

Because i use RedReader and refuse to use reddit without it. The official apps and website are garbage can residue quality. I have actually had a lemmy account for a while and use mastodon almost every day, but never really made myself get used to lemmy. I am really hoping the RedReader dev ports the app to lemmy as i am not the only one asking and they seem open to the idea

https://www.reddit.com/r/RedReader/comments/13ylk42/update_3_reddit_effectively_kills_off_third_party/

I've been interested in the Fediverse for a long time but didn't have any reason to jump into it because the applications I was aware of did not appeal to me. If I don't use Twitter and Instagram, why would I be interested in Mastodon and Pixelfed? This all changed when Reddit announced their API change. Reddit is the only social media site I use, so Lemmy seems like the perfect reason to jump in.

Yeah big same here, Reddit is my go-to mindless scrolling app so I'm happy I have an open alternative
Agreeing with this one.
Except I made a Mastodon account to pad its numbers to make Elon feel bad and used the Mastodon account to follow Lemmy (and just used the site sans account). Once the API changes were announced, all in to make reddit feel bad with larger numbers over here.
Phone is grapheneos, use Linux, all FOSS; why did I take so long to do this? Either this or quit all social media.

Searched an alternative to Reddit after the news about API charges. Not because there shouldn't be any payments but the way this is handled.

Also made good experience with Mastodon and like the philosophy of the fediverse.

Mostly because of Lemmy spam on reddit intensified 😅 technically it is good alternative, but it lacks content.

Be the change you want to see!

I've been on Reddit since before subreddits were a thing. With the continuing degradation of the primary UIs the only things that kept it usable were the API and old.reddit.com. With one going away it would be foolish to count on the other staying around. I really thought that Reddit knew better than to go full Digg but I guess I was wrong.

So it's time to learn a lesson and move on. I've been enjoying Mastodon for the past few months but I also like to have a place for topic-focused communities so this is the natural place to come to. Looking pretty sweet so far. With the community-based federation model it seems like the closest thing we have to a Usenet 2.0.

Like many here, mostly because Reddit will restrict their API access and kill a lot of features (like the remind me bot) and beloved third party apps.

And I really dislike the direction Reddit is going... Adding a online status to your account, letting random people follow your account, rampant bot spam and I'm pretty sure they will go after the porn subs when they go public.

it has a large leftist community and hasn't been overrun with FBI and CIA just yet

Reddit moving against my preferred clients. I'm not abandoning the site completely until both third-party and old.reddit is gone, but thought I might as well have a foot out the door. Lemmy just seemed like the most closely related option.

This is basically the same reason for me. I'm purely using old.reddit.com on desktop and rif on mobile (though I rarely browse on mobile). Once old Reddit is gone for good, I'll be leaving Reddit entirely.

I like platforms that are owned by the users.

I joined a few months ago, when all of Reddit went down for hours... then only the new site went up at first before old and the API were restored.

It was like a glimpse into the near future. Thus I started my transition into Lemmy and Jerboa, from Reddit and QuantumBadger's RedReader app.

To be early enough to not have to turn the lights off in my favorite Reddit communities.

Just chillin, reddit is becoming toxic for me

I joined around the time /r/chapotraphouse got banned. I didn't and don't listen to the podcast, but I enjoyed participating in an online community with a leftist slant and the cultural values that come with that. And a community that was more about memes and joking than just dry politics all the time. It was cathartic, and I thought the banning justification was total bull shit.

When I learned about the Fediverse and these open source, decentralized services, they struck me as projects that more aligned with my personal values compared to Twitter and Reddit. So I joined up hoping they'd eventually grow to replace those.

I actually have probably been using the Hexbear instance more than the federated instances though I cooled down on that instance over time. Still go every now and then though, but Reddit still has some subreddits that didn't have an analog there or here. Hoping that's going to begin to change.

I had been souring on Reddit for years as I watched the default subs get worse and worse over time and saw cracks in the general community that I either was ignoring when I was younger or better recognized as I got older. I no longer identified with the "average Redditor"

Got fed up with anti-consumer behavior of companies. Projects like Lemmy are really the only long term reliable alternative to the communication style reddit showed me

Because I like the content and model on Reddit, and want to support a federated and open source Reddit alternative. Would be nice if Lemmy would grow.

Escaping Reddit's bullsh*t. I exclusively use Reddit using Infinity, Apollo and old.reddit.com. They are now killing the API (and 3rd party clients for that matter) and I don't think that old.reddit.com will live much longer tbh and I cannot be bothered to use the new Reddit. It takes ages to load and is WAY to bloated. Add the NFT Profile pictures and RPAN into the mix and you have a dead website in my eyes.

I've had my eye on it for a while. Now that Reddit is getting super corporate anticipating their IPO, now may be its moment.

same reason I joined Reddit when Digg was starting to behave like a Digg.

Because I was getting fed up wading though endless garbage on the sewage-plant also know as Reddit

I love Apollo and don’t agree with the BS that Reddit is doing. The Musk era of Twitter pushed me to try Mastodon and I’ve loved exploring the Fediverse since then.

/u/awkwardtheturtle

I learned of it awhile back through an arrrr acquaintance. I would lurk a little here and there. Didn't make a profile until I saw my RIF was going to die... Without RIF there is no reddit.

I've been curious about the fediverse since I first learned about it, which was probably about when Trump's social media company cloned Mastodon instead of creating their own site from scratch. I did some reading and glanced at some different fediverse sites, but couldn't entirely wrap my mind around how the fediverse worked and honestly I was overwhelmed by the server choice aspect, especially since so many Mastodon servers in particular seem focused on specific topics and there wasn't any one specific topic I wanted to interact with more than the others.

Once Elon took over Twitter, I decided to finally sign up for a general Mastodon server out of a voyeuristic desire to see what the people fleeing had to say about their experiences. Joining in the middle of the Twitter exodus meant tons of fediverse tips and explanation posts were being shared and I finally got a better grasp of how the fediverse as a whole worked. I commented on PeerTube from Mastodon, I tried PixelFed and learned the global feed was pretty much all Mastodon posts and wished there was a global PixelFed-only option between local server and entire fediverse, and I finally settled on Calckey because it's way more playful with emojis and text animations but still allowed me to follow all the fascinating scientists that had hopped on the Mastodon train and Calckey formatted their Mastodon posts well.

I had checked out Lemmy, too, when reading up on the fediverse because I use Reddit far more than any other social media site. I initially passed on Lemmy because of server choice paralysis again and also because it didn't look very active. Now that Reddit is making their API unaffordable for third party apps, it seemed like a good time to give Lemmy a chance. The official Reddit app and site are insufferable and I'd rather start over in a smaller community without the ads (I loathe ads) than deal with an app that's too cluttered with irrelevant features like NFTs or use a website that constantly begs me to switch over to that terrible app instead.

I hope this does well. I have been using the internet since the 90s and it has been a crazy evolution. I'd love if we move out from the walled gardens that took over. Maybe I'll just be on the fringes while the masses stay with the corporations, but at least there are good people in these fringes.

I haven't signed up for a Lemmy account yet nor settled on an instance to join, but I'm here through the magic of federation!

When I do probably join, it'll be because of the Reddit API going away. I use Reddit almost exclusively from my phone, and there's no way I'm using their official app with all those ads. Mobile web just results in constant nagging to use their app – plus they recently ran an experiment where they logged out some mobile web users to try and force them into their app.

Was looking for an alternative to Reddit, found Lemmy and really like the concept.

I miss dial-up BBSes and federated message echoes like FidoNet. This kind of stuff feels a bit like the good ol' days! (I'm old)

Check out https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmyBB

When I joined mastodon during the Twitter Diaspora I learnt more about alternativee, (actually) decentralized social Networks and mostly the Fediverse. I wanted to try something different and know more. Thanks of this I've actually realized how fucked up the enveroinment in other commercial social media platforms. I love that the Fediverse is decentralized and maintained by people like me so that companies and the American govt don't spy on me

At least here people are actually willing to have a conversation without ending up insulting you just because you have a different opinion and you're not a white bourgeois girl

I think I just searched for open source reddit and came across Lemmy. I'm really into FOSS and I like decentralized social media so it was a perfect match.

So Reddit might do away with API. Will that effect RSS feeds too? I look at Reddit but the subs I'm really interested in are tracked in my InoReader. If that goes I'll be done with Reddit.

Unlikely, because RSS doesn't count as API, but who knows for sure.
- That's what I would think too. Guess we'll see. Thanks.

@GoldenDoge Because it is a topic-oriented access to the Fediverse.
I don't have any experience with #Reddit or similar, but rather like that it's a kind of forum where the content is a bit more sorted than in the micro-/macroblogging software. Nevertheless, everyone with accounts from #Misskey, #Mastodon, #Friendica, #Hubzilla etc. can also comment and create posts in #Lemmy communities. So the circle of users is much larger than just Lemmy alone.

I wasn't too keen on Twitter and mostly spent time on reddit. When Mastodon came out I was intrigued, but the interface just wasn't something I was into. Lemmy seems way more up my alley.

As a bonus, you can still interact with people on Mastodon (like me!)
- So I'm completely new to the "fediverse" so does this mean now I've got a Lemmy account I can use that same account for Mastodon? I never really gave it a try as I wasn't a Twitter user

Freedom

Reddit's been spiraling downhill for years. Been searching for an alternative that's not the cesspits of Twitter and 4chan. API is getting killed, government and corporations pushing agendas, armchair experts, subreddit bannings, poor UI/UX, echochambers, hardly any OC, and many many other issues that I'm sure others have already mentioned. I'm dumping the site as soon as old.reddit goes down.

There's nothing but outrage culture on social media. Just looking for a spot to chill really...

Honestly just playing around w/ self hosting it.

Reddit is an absolute dumpster fire right now.

I've been chasing the old Usenet feel for decades. Reddit came close, but I can see the writing on the wall now. Lemmy's got the possibility to get closer.

I’ve been looking for a change from Reddit for a while now and as an Apollo user this is the push I needed. So far this seems like a much better alternative to Reddit!

Reddit is burning alive, twitter is burned down, facebook is dead, 4chan sucks, fark is old, and nothing else exists in this capacity.