we need more users
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I've been one of the people saying "we don't need more users. we need quality over quantity" and i was wrong.
the way it's going, lemmy needs active users who post content sothat the network stays relevant. networks like the fediverse benefit from network effects and that means that if we have more users, that improves the value and quality of the fediverse overall.
So please, everyone, when you can, make advertisement for the fediverse in your personal area. Go talk to friends, make attractive stickers and put them everywhere, stuff like that. We would all benefit from it.
edit: source for the graph
I send my friends memes. They ask "Muad'dib, where do you get these great memes?" I say I get my great memes from Lemmy. They instantly lose interest, because Lemmy is full of tankies and kinphobes
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Please link
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Would the default instance be run by the app dev? Or in collaboration with some instance? It would maybe be risky to do with an unaffiliated instance because if they didn't like it they could disallow these types of accounts or signups.
Piefed.ca would be a great candidate, they have a nonprofit foundation or something dedicated to this kind of stuff
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They know there are other options, but they won't join us on the fediverse. That's because no celebrities or influencers have moved to the fediverse.
And as for reddit users, most of them just like "huh? I like staying here" or "the lemmy devs are tankies and lemmy is a toxic tankies dumpster"
But that's okay with me, at least we have fewer toxic people.
That's because no celebrities or influencers have moved to the fediverse.
George Takei
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I've been one of the people saying "we don't need more users. we need quality over quantity" and i was wrong.
the way it's going, lemmy needs active users who post content sothat the network stays relevant. networks like the fediverse benefit from network effects and that means that if we have more users, that improves the value and quality of the fediverse overall.
So please, everyone, when you can, make advertisement for the fediverse in your personal area. Go talk to friends, make attractive stickers and put them everywhere, stuff like that. We would all benefit from it.
edit: source for the graph
I think you're right
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If we defederate Hexbear and ml, that will go some of the way to easing those bad experiences for new users
ml is run by the devs of Lemmy so unfortunately that's not realistic, you could be missing on a ton of information if you want to subscribe to Lemmy development or information related communities
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Just talk up Lemmy, the issue is most people doesn't realize there's another option to the popular toxic trash fires.
Yeah. They could move to an unpopular toxic trash fire.
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I send my friends memes. They ask "Muad'dib, where do you get these great memes?" I say I get my great memes from Lemmy. They instantly lose interest, because Lemmy is full of tankies and kinphobes
This is the central reason I choose not to engage with most posts. It's a toss up whether I'm talking to a rational human being or I happened to walk into the side of the antinatalist hyper accelerationist ML willing to die to defend the most obscure take about consent or something.
I would love a more healthy, less terminally online discourse on Lemmy.
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Just wait and let Reddit have another controversy and we’ll get another infusion of converts.
Just wait
this is how something like Digg swoops in and steals all the users
Digg? Now with AI? That Digg? You mean the Digg that lost all its users to Reddit in the first place? Not happening.
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Would the default instance be run by the app dev? Or in collaboration with some instance? It would maybe be risky to do with an unaffiliated instance because if they didn't like it they could disallow these types of accounts or signups.
App dev can be outsource, but it really doesn't matter who run the hard coded instance. It could by. Sh.itjust.works. it would be an issue if the app took off and the instance wasn't ready for the influx.
Maybe it picks an instance at random to distribute the load.
My original idea in my head was that the app developer would run the instance that was hard coded
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Part of the issue (I feel a large part ) is that the learning curve is too steep to get on Lemmy
Now I'm not saying it's hard at all; but it's significantly higher than simply "go to a main page and create a user name and password". Lemmy needs a sign up page that just random signs you up to an active instance (per the instances permission) and automatically subscribes you to the 50 most active instances to just get you started up.
Making a getting started page that's as idiot proof as any .com would probably go a long ways into upping our numbers here.
Random instances are problematic. As others have said you might end up on one of the weird instances. More likely though... you just end up on a dead instance, take one look at the "local" feed and think that's all the content.
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ml is run by the devs of Lemmy so unfortunately that's not realistic, you could be missing on a ton of information if you want to subscribe to Lemmy development or information related communities
The devs can make accounts on a less controversial instance if they want their news to be heard by the rest of us
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I've been one of the people saying "we don't need more users. we need quality over quantity" and i was wrong.
the way it's going, lemmy needs active users who post content sothat the network stays relevant. networks like the fediverse benefit from network effects and that means that if we have more users, that improves the value and quality of the fediverse overall.
So please, everyone, when you can, make advertisement for the fediverse in your personal area. Go talk to friends, make attractive stickers and put them everywhere, stuff like that. We would all benefit from it.
edit: source for the graph
Here is my super unpopular take: ultimately you / some / we have misunderstood "quality over quantity".
It doesn't mean "we don't want more users", it means that the best way to attract more users and growth of the platform is to focus on being the best fediverse we can be. Actively trying to attract more users is a foot gun - even in the unlikely event you're successful, you reduce the quality of the experience for everyone.
Focusing instead on the health, vibrance, management, and activity of the platform is the best way to attract more users.
Perhaps another way of saying the same thing: the most fertile market segment are those users who used to be active monthly. They were here trying to participate at some point but lost interest. Why? Pretty solid guess is that they were still logging in to reddit for the special / niche interest subs, and after a few months got sick of checking lemmy.
IMO, dead special interest communities are the cancer consuming the fediverse. Nothing wrong with a small active community, but a small community with a half dozen posts from 3 years ago is a big sign saying "go back to reddit, this place is dead".
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Please link
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Most people on Reddit avoid the larger subs like the plague though - but then when they come here, they don't know what to avoid or even to pay attention to, e.g. is !Chapotraphouse@hexbear.net a lively and fun, exciting place, or a toxic cesspit hellhole?
And at least that one is honest about what it is, whereas lemmy.ml markets itself as a community dedicated to discussing FOSS! (Which, among other things, yes is one of the variety of things discussed there, although somehow that description seems to be missing a fair bit of information that would have REALLY helped out a ton in educating people what communities to participate in).
Most people on Reddit avoid the larger subs like the plague though
This doesn't really seem to make sense to me.
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Unfortunately, most people are too unintelligent and lazy to learn about the reasons to support reddit-alternatives, and move to them.
Wow. This is peak "I am so smart". You're not smart for downloading an app. Embarrassing
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I've been one of the people saying "we don't need more users. we need quality over quantity" and i was wrong.
the way it's going, lemmy needs active users who post content sothat the network stays relevant. networks like the fediverse benefit from network effects and that means that if we have more users, that improves the value and quality of the fediverse overall.
So please, everyone, when you can, make advertisement for the fediverse in your personal area. Go talk to friends, make attractive stickers and put them everywhere, stuff like that. We would all benefit from it.
edit: source for the graph
Was on subs about gaming and the most upvoted post was some gay shit about lgbt.
As bluesky you are a brainwashed community that s unapproachable for the majority. On every political issue you are an enclave of opiniated ppl that dont even represent 5% of real opinion in the real world. I come here time to time just to laugh at the collective retardness. It s incredible how you can 't comprehend the issue isn't the software it s the user. And that s why nothing gonna change -
I've been one of the people saying "we don't need more users. we need quality over quantity" and i was wrong.
the way it's going, lemmy needs active users who post content sothat the network stays relevant. networks like the fediverse benefit from network effects and that means that if we have more users, that improves the value and quality of the fediverse overall.
So please, everyone, when you can, make advertisement for the fediverse in your personal area. Go talk to friends, make attractive stickers and put them everywhere, stuff like that. We would all benefit from it.
edit: source for the graph
the big dip in 2024, oct might have something to do with people going back to reddit and other social media trump news?
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It’s quality and quantity. The quality has held despite a drop in users. Just wait and let Reddit have another controversy and we’ll get another infusion of converts. Popularity may only threaten more bots and scams.
the sudden rise in 2025 early on, was the massive purges reddit was doing, banning almost anyone left and right, and hitting all thier accounts at once. when they usually never try to multi-ban you before. they did take thier foot of the pedal though, because they realized they were banning too much, lowering thier faux engagements with bots. reddit switched to more insidious bannings in the background.
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Here is my super unpopular take: ultimately you / some / we have misunderstood "quality over quantity".
It doesn't mean "we don't want more users", it means that the best way to attract more users and growth of the platform is to focus on being the best fediverse we can be. Actively trying to attract more users is a foot gun - even in the unlikely event you're successful, you reduce the quality of the experience for everyone.
Focusing instead on the health, vibrance, management, and activity of the platform is the best way to attract more users.
Perhaps another way of saying the same thing: the most fertile market segment are those users who used to be active monthly. They were here trying to participate at some point but lost interest. Why? Pretty solid guess is that they were still logging in to reddit for the special / niche interest subs, and after a few months got sick of checking lemmy.
IMO, dead special interest communities are the cancer consuming the fediverse. Nothing wrong with a small active community, but a small community with a half dozen posts from 3 years ago is a big sign saying "go back to reddit, this place is dead".
Would it almost be better to prune old communities? I agree it's off-putting to find community for an interest and seeing last activity like a year ago, doesn't make you want to post since it seems inactive.
One thing about how reddit/lemmy works though is people subscribed (assumedly still active on Lemmy elsewhere) might still see that content vs a forum where no activity means very few visit the site.
