Basically what the title says. Tell us about yourself and how you got here!

  •  xeger   ( @xeger@lib.lgbt ) 
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    01 year ago

    Hi all! I’m Tony, IRL friend to @Veraticus and tech omniheurist.

    I’m here because I disapprove strongly of Reddit’s money grab, and – as we’ve seen with so many other products where the community adds value – we can’t rely on corporatations to fulfill their half of the bargain that we make for these “free” services. The Fediverse offers a fragmented, content-sparse alternative, but if enough people are willing to make the leap, it will be more beneficial to us users in the long run than any walled garden of content.

    One challenge is that I’m used to lurking, not posting. Obviously that’s going to have to change!

    •  anem0ne   ( @anem0ne@lib.lgbt ) 
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      01 year ago

      Welcome!

      Totally understand the lurking v. posting hurdle; it always takes a bit of time to feel comfortable in a place before really wanting to contribute. What would help make that easier?

      •  xeger   ( @xeger@lib.lgbt ) 
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        1 year ago

        I’m not sure it’s a matter of comfort so much as willingness to put forth effort / supply of interesting life experiences.

        What drew me to Reddit in the midst of the pandemic was the sheer number of posts by people who had something salient to say – a question, a point of view, a piece of creative output. With so much content, of such an intellectual bent compared to Facebook or Twitter, it was easy to scroll and be entertained: just subscribe to a dozen subs, absorb, and discover new subs as people crosspost and link to subs you haven’t heard of.

        Commenting is its own art form and that’s typically how I contribute to Reddit. I’d say I spend more time reading the comments than posts, and I’ve written orders of magnitude more comments than posts.

        The crux of the issue is critical mass. How will Lemmy achieve it? I’ve spent a few minutes searching for communities so far and the search interface is frustrating. As a neophyte to this whole Fediverse initiative, my first impression is that distributed search will be the cornerstone of its success.

        • Great comment. To me success comes one comment at a time. It’s taken me days to get a feel for all this new stuff and I have lots to learn still. This thread is the first time I have engaged.

          I totally agree with the UI being a challenge. I remember when I joined reddit years ago I was all wtf is this hot mess. Now it’s second nature. I figure the same will happen here. ❤️