That'sWhyI'mHere.ObiWan

I'd say the network effect is a big part. A lot of the established communities are there, so people stay there.

I do my best to stay off there, though. One thing that helped me drastically cut down on Reddit interactions is donating an Euro to PieFed for every comment I make on Reddit. (besides, either it works, or I help keep the fediverse running and improving. It's a win-win :P)

Also, stop using X. Like why do so many foreign companies even still bother? Drives me nuts.

There will come a reckoning for the Internet. Corporate social media will eventually crumble. Nothing lasts forever and these corporations are overextending themselves.

Most people aren't very savvy with going outside normal areas, so they follow where others are. Unfortunately even after a few years Lemmy and the rest are still very niche and not mainstream at all. When Reddit first became ridiculous and the first people started looking for alternatives, Lemmy was just one of a number of potentials and ended up the bigger draw, maybe because it was the only one that could handle the sudden traffic. But this was a small part of the Reddit user base, the ones who knew enough to look around and find other places. Trying to spread the word to others on Reddit became a battle, otherwise I think we'd be a lot larger by now.

So why do people deal with how Reddit is now? I ask that a lot about other platforms, even hear it from family griping about how terrible places like Facebook or Instagram are, and yet they stay. People don't like change from familiar, even when it's difficult. And when they don't know of other places or how to transition, they'll hunker down even more and deal with it.

Honestly atp the censorship isn't even the worst of it. Go to Lemmy.ml, say anything bad against China and see how it goes. Many Lemmy communities are no better.

No the worst of reddit is the fact that it's a data-mining operation at this point, with age checks and a complete Mishandling of your user data (everything is indexed and easy to search even if you set your profile to private...)

Honestly for the love of sanity you should probably also stop using Lemmy, for similar reasons. Many of the large communities heavily censor, and many communities are super toxic.

Reddit is occasionally still useful for getting answers to questions because they actually have a user base to support niche subjects. I never post, but there is a good chance someone has already asked the question I have and there is an actual answer, unlike here.

I browse Lemmy like once a week, but I try to limit actually posting or commenting like once or twice a month, because the engagement is often so vitriolic that it causes anxiety and is generally bad for me. The benign communities are usually small and boring.

The only thing I truly miss is meme dumps. I know that is a weird thing to miss. Crazy that Reddit had basically become a new google, too, with added benefit of user context. Like if I need a know something. "Query + "reddit""= some dude in Lithuania who did the exact same thing 4 years ago and 12 people's comments with additional tips.

Youtube similarly on DIY fixing. Had to add commercials. I'm looking for a video on how to replace a latch in a fucking dishwasher, I do not want a video about dish soap.

Enshitification of all nice things is the way of capitalism.

I miss r/nursing. I'm lucky if I get 1-2 commenters on memes that used to get 100+ upvotes and 20+ other nurses commiserating with me about some common work frustration. Tbh a big part of the problem is that a lot of nurses aren't crazy tech literate so the barrier to entry for fedi in general is higher plus when they get her they have to content with the "I Use Arch" types.

niche stuff dont exist on lemmy, plus every time a minor disagreement between an instances, people just scatter so theres no growing a community.

I’ll be honest with you. I prefer everything about Lenny’s technology and ownership/maintenance structure. However the only topic I know I can get consistent substantial input on here is communist revolution.

For literally everything else, Reddit has captured people who know things. They are enshittifying it to be sure but until I can post a picture of a coffee table on Lemmy and have someone tell me if it’s finished with lacquer or shellac, this will be the answer.

We don’t have to like it, and we should hope to change it. But please don’t pretend you can’t understand it. Critical mass of community investment builds up in one place, in Reddit’s case over decades, and it doesn’t quickly migrate away, even under some enshittification pressure. Perhaps in time.

What can you do, other than complain? You can start a community on some topic of substance here and build it up. Moderate. Post. Recruit key individuals away from Resditnwirh private messages. Wait.

Oh, does that sound like actual work? That’s because it is. Did you want to change things? Or just complain?

Well if you're serious about this than this definitely isn't the right community.

Reddit has better shitposts than this!

When my 50 year old sister started telling me how to use Reddit, i knew Reddit wasn't for me anymore

I miss early 2000s internet before SM and corporations took over. Where each fandom had their own websites/forums.

I'm really trying not to go back there but Lemmy is doing its best to alienate me.

It's a daily vice I've used since 2013 with my very first smart phone. It was tough, but feels good to kick it in 2026. Damn, 13 years of scrolling. It's a terrible addiction. I'm telling myself I'm using lemmy differently bc I'm interacting more. Thanks for reading!

The SEO of lemmy needs to improve for more people to move off of reddit. That also means more bot traffic here, though.

I mentioned I am fat on Reddit and had a bot admonish me for being insensitive. I guess I should ostracize myself.

I miss the nfl meme war subs, but to be honest a lot of it is recycling the same posts over and over with some possible corporate sprinkling.

You are speaking to the band right now. I only check reddit for the latest news.

Where's the StandupComedy community on Lemmy, with a comparable amount of quality material?

Outside of that, I use Reddit to doomscroll through random junk and have drunken arguments. I don't see why it's unfit for that. Though it's gradually turning into Facebook with all the sob stories and the endless videos of dogs being reunited with their owners.

Where shitpost?

Lemmy doesn't have a Timberborn community.