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On the future of Lemmy vs reddit (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 11 months ago by fresh@sh.itjust.works to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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Please indulge a few shower thoughts I had:

I wouldn't worry about Lemmy having as many users as reddit in the short term. Success is not just a measure of userbase. A system just needs a critical mass, a minimum number of users, to be self-perpetuating. For a reddit post that has 10k comments, most normal people only read a few dozen comments anyways. You could have half the comments on that post, and frankly the quality might go up, not down. (That said, there are many communities below that minimum critical mass at the moment.)
Lemmy is now a real alternative. When reddit imploded Lemmy wasn't fully set up to take advantage of the exodus, so a lot of users came over to the fediverse and gave up right away. There were no phone apps, the user interface was rudimentary, and communities weren't yet alive. Next time reddit screws up in a high profile way, and they will screw up, the fediverse will be ready.
Lemmy has way more potential than reddit. Reddit's leadership has always been incompetent and slow at fixing problems. The fediverse has been very responsive to user feedback in comparison.

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[-] CorrodedCranium@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Lemmy is now a real alternative. When reddit imploded Lemmy wasn't fully set up to take advantage of the exodus, so a lot of users came over to the fediverse and gave up right away. There were no phone apps, the user interface was rudimentary, and communities weren't yet alive. Next time reddit screws up in a high profile way, and they will screw up, the fediverse will be ready.

I definitely think having mobile apps is an essential step. I was looking at alternative platforms such as Raddle.me but using a mobile browser was an extra hurdle (similar to using the official Reddit app) that kept me from regularly checking in.

Lemmy has way more potential than reddit. Reddit's leadership has always been incompetent and slow at fixing problems. The fediverse has been very responsive to user feedback in comparison.

I could see this causing issues later. We've already seen issues arise with some instances using the .ml domain or not being updated immediately.

Defederation is another beast all together. Most of an instance might be fine but a few problematic communities could create problems leading to arguments and, as much as I hate the term, drama.

[-] danielton@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

I definitely think having mobile apps is an essential step. I was looking at alternative platforms such as Raddle.me but using a mobile browser was an extra hurdle (similar to using the official Reddit app) that kept me from regularly checking in.

I agree. Some of the alternatives to Reddit are vehemently against mobile apps (ahem, tildes), so I doubt those will ever take off. Not everybody sits in front of a computer all day. But I think some of those don't actually want a big userbase, which seems counterproductive for a forum, but whatever.

Lack of an API is what's keeping me from using kbin, honestly. I know they're working on it, but Lemmy already had an API long before the Reddit protests started.

[-] NikkiAtNight@artemis.camp 1 points 11 months ago

I'm using the Artemis app for kbin right now. They have it all ready to ship they just need to tie some stuff together before the main instance kbin.social is upgraded to support the api. The public beta for artemis just came out and has the api features enabled through the "test" instance artemis.camp, which still federates with everyone else. With the pace being made they should be done in the next week or two

[-] danielton@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I was one of the first batch of beta testers, but being required to join another instance to use the current version of Artemis is not something I'm willing to do at this time.