this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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Unpopular Opinion

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Title. Alt account cause obviously.

Been on lemmy for like 2 years, at first it was okay, possibly because I started on lemm.ee (RIP), possibly the influx of new users from reddit has changed things, who knows.

But now I keep seeing all the same things happen here that happened on reddit. People abusing rules that go unenforced, mods removing posts/banning users only when they take offense, users (and even mods) fighting each other over instances like rival gangs, communities propped up by single users, all of it.

The only actual differences I've found are that there's no ads, and some instances have a more gated sign-up process to deter bots/spammers. That's it.

There are some good faith users of course, but it seems the vast majority just want to be in a safe space echo chamber and talk shit about each other. It's like that meme from the office: corporate needs you to differentiate these images, and one is reddit and the other is reddit wearing a lemmy mask, they're the same image.

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[–] ptz@dubvee.org 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

People abusing rules that go unenforced

Can say that at least some of that is due to a lot of communities getting created during the initial 2023 Rexodous, abandoned shortly after, and picked up later by new mods. They often don't change the community sidebar info. Suggestion there is to reach out to the mods (polite DM or even a meta post in the community) asking that the specific rule be enforced or removed.

To a lesser but still important degree, there's nuances to the interpretation of every rule. As an example, I've removed many posts in this community that have the exact same title as this post. The difference is those were not-at-all thinly veiled rants about getting modded or banned from another community/instance (rule 5) where this one is describing specific aspects of the platform.

mods removing posts/banning users only when they take offense

Mods are people, people are fallible. Beats an overaggressive modbot, though. Also keep in mind mods put up with a lot of shit you don't see (abusive DMs, persistent trolls, absurd conspiracy theories and rumor mongering over in YPTB, rules lawyers who come within one Planck unit of the spirit of every rule just because they can, etc). We also don't get paid, and it's a neverending job where you're severely outnumbered and outgunned. Often, if you sincerely apologize and express regret they'll reconsider. You'd be surprised how far a genuine apology will get you. And I don't mean some phony-baloney "sorry I said the quiet part out loud" apology but actually realizing you fucked up and owning it.

users (and even mods) fighting each other over instances like rival gangs

I'm going to assume this is related to the recent LW defed announcement, and I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole other than say "about time".

communities propped up by single users

That's something you can help with. Unless it's a mods only community, which I don't think is what you're referring to, then you can absolutely tag in and contribute. I'm guilty of lurking, especially lately as I've been super busy with work, but used to try to post content to random communities to help grow them.

There are some good faith users of course, but it seems the vast majority just want to be in a safe space echo chamber and talk shit about each other.

Honestly, just try to notice which users those are and block them. Seriously, don't be afraid. Blocks are free and cut out so much of the immature bullshit around here. The comment sections on news/politics articles here (from my perspective) has gone from a raging dumpster fire of echo chamber circle jerking to a ghost town because I've just blocked so many people who do nothing but comment low effort knee-jerk reactionary garbage. The plus side is the actual insightful comments really stand out that way.

The point is, to a large degree, the experience here is what you make of it. Don't be afraid to curate your experience, and don't give into FOMO just because you've blocked a lot of communities, users, and instances