Lemmy could definitely use a bit more comment activity on a lot of posts.
I think it’s because nobody really wants to be the first to comment and offer an opinion that might end up going against the grain when a thread develops. There’s no ‘reading the room’ as it were.
I’m doing my part by commenting on threads. Like this one.
That, and when switching from reddit to Lemmy I realized how toxic the relationship there was, and I just use all social media way less now.
Reddit for sure is toxic. Generally, it’s much easier to be toxic in a large, anonymous group with an endless amount of subreddits to retreat to. Here, it’s maybe 10-20 people talking, so there’s not much room to hide, as it were. You keep running into the same faces, so it’s a bit more important to stay polite.
Fuck you!
It's not even just "the first" post. Lemmy is exactly like Reddit where any comments or posts, no matter how high quality, that can be interpreted as "against the grain" will be attacked. Lemmy has the same strong tendency towards group think that Reddit does, it's just lower volume and the bias runs even farther left. Shrug.
Unfortunate but true, I wonder if it's the upvote system on comment threads
I don't often feel like I have something to say that would contribute to the conversation.
I always tell people, hey, I'm not a bot here posting things, I'm trying to share things I feel you guys would enjoy. If nobody comments, it doesnt incentivize me to continue posting, it makes me feel like a crazy person talking to themselves. I encourage people to say something, even if it's just "I really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing!" or something. I do that from time to time on others' posts. If they're showing me something new, of course I don't know anything about it coming in, but I can let them know now I do know thanks to their contribution here.
All these posts pop up all the time, "dang, it's so dead here" but if instead of making, liking, or commenting on that post, you could thank someone that did post, or share something that you think others might like. I was never a poster on Reddit. I'm no expert on what I post on. I just find stuff I think people would like, and now after doing it for the last few months, now I do know a lot more and can give people better insight than I could in the beginning.
Comments have been feeling low on my posts, and I think when is the point where me making 2 or 3 posts a day isn't worth my time anymore, but then someone will say "oh this post really made my day" and so I come back the next day and post again.
This is why I comment so much, I want regular posters to feel they’re not shouting out into the void. Also, having conversation starter comments on most posts helps new people feel like Lemmy isn’t “dead”.
I never let that stop me!
I have also noticed that once a few people "break the ice" it really helps (like you did here). Comments beget comments.
Here's me doing my part:
...
Penis
...
How was that?
Kinda short.
Lemmy has so few comments that people actually read my comments occasionally, which is wild.
Seriously, that comment got, like, an updoot every two minutes so far. Crazy.
I hr and 7upvotes in and Im here to give you another handjobby...good work
It is just nice to be able to comment and have it read instead of buried 3000 comments down after the memes and one-liners.
That's what she said... or something.
this
so much this
Thanks for the gold kind stranger.
(This is the part where I get 50 gold for no reason)
In a way, thats a win, no ?
Considering a big problem with conversion on Reddit is people just reacting to the headline I’d say it’s a win. I’ve noticed here when people do comment it’s more nuanced because they actually read the article.
The article summary bot helps my lazy ass lol
Hey nothing wrong with that. I like it myself
Not really. People may talk shit about comments, but if it was just a matter of getting just articles, you might as well stick to the news sites. Even as far as pure news aggregation goes there are better options than relying on whatever a handful people decide to share here.
There's value in public commentary too. It may not be as polished as these articles but it provides a variety of perspectives, questions and criticism that might be pertinent, and for as lacking or biased as they may be, it's much easier to tell compared to sources trying to pretend impartiality.
There's a reason why we are here and not on, say, Feedly. This particular community only highlights it further, since it's entirely based on the interpersonal element. Ain't nobody looking for journalism or scientific articles on !Showerthoughts
It's alright. Lemmy has good content and the comments are far higher quality than Reddit.
Also you can actually have a conversation and people tend to respond a lot more than on Reddit.
I'm finally over the feeling of going into comment sections thinking "there's too many bots, no reason to try adding to the conversation"
reddit had no middle ground between new posts that get buried and overinflated posts that have a thousand regurgitated phrases plastered all over it
True. I regularly finish all the comments in a Lemmy thread. On Reddit the pile of garbage is far too big and 90% is people saying the exact same thing.
I also really appreciate about Lemmy how there can be a 2 day old thread on everything and I throw in my 2 cents and even after 2 days, that comment gets read. It really beats the endless reposts (and bots reposting top comments!) of reddit.
I'll sometimes comment on stuff but overwhelmingly I don't. I was the same way on reddit. I just feel that I don't have anything meaningful to say so why say anything.
I find myself commenting a lot more here. It's more conversational than reddit. Comments are longer and not just one liner's, and the smaller community means my comments won't be buried. It also feels like a gateway drug to posting. I should post something today. I won't, but I should.
And that's the right way to approach it, but in a platform were niche communities are so empty, even a meaningless comment counts
But yeah, I try to follow the same approach, I'm interested in many things, and subscribed to a lot of communities, but why should I comment if it doesn't help or adds anything to the theme of the post
Well, If anyone reads this, keep this as a good habit, even if it feels a bit weird in here, comment when you are of help, and learn from others when you have nothing to say
Edit: I love how the replies to this are doing the exact opposite lol, take care boys, I actually got a good laugh from this
Impossible. I post too many comments for this to be true.
You really do. I'm pretty sure I see your comments in every thread I read.
Moving to Lemmy made me realize how much time I wasted lurking on Reddit. I didn't bother to participate because someone would have already said what I thought. Sometimes I could even read one thread for days because there was just so much to read.
But I don't know if it's good or bad if there are so many comments. Maybe it's good if you learn something useful but I don't think it's that useful to read for days about random subject you don't need. At least it's a some form of entertainment. I think I just read less now that I'm on Lemmy.
I delete about 80% of the comments I write before posting. Even if I took the time to write a long response. This is because of the general nature of the Internet and reddit culture is definitely here on Lemmy. But, like this comment, I'll try to engage more because I also miss the discussion aspect on posts.
I refuse to comment on this post, it's blatantly pandering. Drink Coca~cola.
Has @showerthoughts ever been about silly shower thoughts on Lemmy or is it just hot takes here.
I consider it a plus. I do value also being able to read most, if not all, comments on lemmy too.
"I wonder what people's opinions are, or of there's something more to learn about this topic!"
"Oh, there's nothing here..."
Come on mate, it might have been the case at the inception of Lemmy but now there's interesting content everywhere, even in your bait post 😁
i usually just wait on the comments. articles are dry and boring, comments have opinions and views and emotion and juice
The quality of comments on Lemmy, I've noticed, are far better than Reddit comments on average.
When you remove all the fluff, there's about the same if not more useful stuff in comment threads here, however on Lemmy there's way less fluff (again just what I've noticed).
Good on one size, you get more info, bad on the other since a big part of this is sharing opinions and discuss
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.