- cross-posted to:
- datenvisualisierung@feddit.de
- wolnyinternet@szmer.info
Two timelines I created of the total users at the top 10 Lemmy instances as a bar chart race and as a line chart. The line chart only includes the current top 10 Lemmy instances as of the 9th of June 2023 because Flourish only allows ten lines at a time.
I used the Federation to determine the current top 10 Lemmy instances as of the 9th of June and the 14th of July 2023. The website only has sorting function for the current data, and the instances have to opt in to be included. Therefore, it is likely that some instances are not included. Furthermore, the website seems to only contain data from the last year, so the website do not have documentation on the top instances prior to this period. Additionally, I excluded instances that have had quick growth in total users but not in posts and comments.
What this doesn’t show is active users, just total. For quite some time we’ve been one of the most active large instances. I don’t remember the exact timing, but we’ve held the spot of 3rd most active for some time, we just now have total users to match that.
I’ve known about Lemmy for a few months and just registered with Beehaw because it looked active and had a funny name.
What has been the biggest driver in activity? I’m curious how a community like Beehaw bootstraps itself into existence
In short, engagement. A bunch of us migrated off another Reddit alternative which promised a lot of what we set out to do, but in our opinion failed in moderating itself and actually promoting a nice environment. This core group of individuals has been enthusiastic about carving a little space for ourselves on the internet for like-minded people and that dedication that comes alongside engagement is what kept us active and slowly growing.
I’m curious, was the Reddit alternative non Lemmy based? I know there have been a bunch of attempts have been tried, but I didn’t keep up too much.
They are not lemmy based, no.