this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2023
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For me it feels like breaking up with someone after many years. At the same time, I feel a bit dirty mentioning the name in the post title.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It's a bit devastating to lose such a good resource. So many communities for niche games and hobbies that I won't be able to comfortably access without my 3rd party app. I just hope Lemmy continues to grow and fill those niches for me again.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Sure, but here's the thing. If we all just moved to another centralized system, we'd just be setting the timer for the next heartbreak. It's a matter of when, not if.

Lemmy's growth will be slow. It may even stagnate. But, unlike Orkut, Friendster, Google+, etc. it can't be taken away from us. lemmy.ml might even shut down, but the Fediverse will always be here in one form or another.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Yeah, I had 13 years on reddit so it was a nice run. Seems like every online platform dies at some point, so it was going to happen sooner or later.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I remember the "narwhal bacons at midnight" phase of reddit when the great digg migration took place. It took years for the geocities from the 90s vibe of reddit to turn into the community it became. Content posts were so few and far between, at first, that I wasn't sure the site would last. Over time the 3rd party apps and general openness of the original dev team made it worth using but slowly, the bigger the site became, the bots and meta comments (and truly awful mods) kind of took over the main subs. The niche subs weren't valuable enough for it to be worth that kind of manipulation, so they were great (at many still are to a large extent).

It's a sad reality that I've watched evolve having been online for the rise of the web. the enshittification of commons seems to be the trend in every network as far as I can tell. That's the problem with network effects i guess.. You need people to have a network, but people are greedy. The more people in the network, the more tempting it is to try and exploit, which makes it lousy for the network. Too far, and the value of he network sinks and the people leave (digg, tumblr, slashdot, etc.). I wonder though, if Aaron Swartz had been around, if he would have been able to keep reddit more aligned with the original vision? Tragic we'll never know.

*edit: an even better deep dive, I hadn't read until lately, the takes the history of enshittification back to the roots - https://catvalente.substack.com/p/stop-talking-to-each-other-and-start

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Absolutely. I was browsing Apollo tonight like I do many evenings for a decade+. And noticed it was June 12 GMT (I thought I had more time!). So, sadness, nostalgia, anger at reddit leadership, etc., but excited to find a FOSS substitute. And having it built at least in part on rust is amazing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm a little sad because I met my partner of nearly 10 years on Reddit on that account. I will keep the account because our original DMs are on there and would like to preserve them. Will probably wipe all the content and contributions, and just keep those DMs

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Right now, yeah. It had become part of my daily routine, and it's challenging. With a little effort, I'll release myself from their evil grasp.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It’s muscle memory. I’ve been opening Apollo several times an hour for like a decade. The only way I’ve been able to stop being in Reddit constantly has been to put Lemmy into Apollo’s former place in my phone’s Home Screen.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Nah, I'm mad as hell, they had years to sort this crap out. They can burn.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No I don't. I've been in denial for too long that Reddit was great. But it has devolved alot. The formative moments of Lemmy feel like old reddit and I'm enjoying it so much more. Will that change? Probably, but I'm savouring the wholesome and fun community that is Lemmy right now.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Of course I feel heartbroken. Nich communities that I am slowly leaving behind. Many many saved posts that I always intended on going back to but never did. I'm still on Reddit and the reality of the situation hasn't sunk in yet. But I'm starting over here fresh and I'm even ready to actually participate more over here than on Reddit. I'm just ready to start something new

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

From /. to Digg then Reddit. my journey continues....

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I guess it's Lemmy's turn to experience the eternal September effect. At least the "New Platform" is better resilient to greed this time. Long live ~~Digg~~ ~~Reddit~~ Lemmy!

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[–] IsTheSeaWet 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Just deleted the Apollo app. Sad times. Hope this turns out to be a viable replacement

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

I think because I have left reddit and returned to it so many times over the past 15 years I was looking for a reason to make it permanent. I'm more relieved than anything else. My religion also teaches me that who you are is a result of all of the actions you have taken in your life, and that we should not associate with those whose actions inflict harm on their own community (meaning spez)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Nah, they were just a company after all. The strongest feeling I get is that it's just a bummer because I've grown to depend on the platform so much and now I've got to try and adapt.

At the same time, as this thing that was previously an interesting little curiosity on a corner of the web grew to be a big time suck and addiction, the dopamine hit returns and actually helpful interactions I was getting from Reddit were diminishing anyway so when there was finally a convenient push to make me try harder to either find an alternative I was strangely grateful.

I do feel like I'm losing something that was very useful resource and which also filled a need, albeit one that it created in the first place, but at the end of the day, it's just a forum. I can't really feel betrayed or heartbroken by an entity that was only ever intended to make money and had no obligation to my approval.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Totally agree. My reddit account is 12 years old, and I was only just now starting to gain confidence that there would already be a sprawling community for a new topic I found. I know it will take a long time to get that feeling again, but it's also refreshing to see the fantastic discussions on this platform.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Not really. Fuck em. Been on Reddit for 8 years and I've been disillusioned for a while. I just hope this place grows and I figure out how it works well enough to not feel the need to go back.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (6 children)

It's like the Ikea lamp commercial. A person has a well-used lamp they have had for a long time. They go to Ikea and find a new lamp that is better and nicer. In the next scene, the old lamp is left on the curb. In the rain. alone. abandoned. The Ikea person comes on and asks "Do you feel bad for the old lamp?"

I only hope we eventually have some of the local communities that were subreddits of yore - like SacramentoBuyNothing - a place to share your old lam so it does not have to sit out in the rain at the curb.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Nah. I never liked using centralized monoliths like Reddit and other social media sites but stayed there due to lack of alternatives. I'm glad to see a federated network like Lemmy getting enough activity that I can ditch Reddit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes but also no. I missed Digg when I left it for Reddit and I loved the earlier days of Reddit. Reddit was a lot of my college years from 2010-2012. Reddit felt like a very nice community back then, but it's been going steadily downhill for years and I'm not surprised it's come to this at all. Lemmy feels like a breath of fresh air, especially given that we're migrating off of corporate controlled media this time rather than just jumping ship to another proprietary platform with a limited lifespan. It hits different this time, in a good way. I'll miss the good times on Reddit and the communities there, but to be honest those communities were best in Reddit's heyday. I'll probably miss the vast amount of information that Reddit built up over the years most, that's over a decade of Internet history killed off by greed. I'm hoping moving to decentralized platforms will stop the cycle of corporate greed putting an expiration date on our Internet homes.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Other than the niche communities I've been subbed to for quite a while. I don't miss the grifters and professional bullshit peddlers.

[–] AbSoluTc 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes and no. Reddit had become toxic and a shadow of it's former self. It was a good run for 11 years. Hopefull Lemmy can be an alternative. :)

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

In a way I'm a little sad but I'm also hopeful. I started on Reddit 13 years ago and it was a very different place than it is now. I liked it better then, and I think I'm sad and will miss it for what it was, not what it is. I'm hopeful for a fresh start here on Lemmy where it feels like I'm getting back to the actual conversation with other users, which is what I miss about the current Reddit. There's very little conversation there anymore, so much of it is just pictures and jokes and bots.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

Yeah, it’s a really weird feeling. I discovered Reddit in 2011 and it’s been a not-insignificant part of my life ever since.

Now I’m here, on this new thing that feels really small and inactive in comparison. All the subs I’m used to reading just aren’t here. Many of them will probably stay on Reddit. I really hope Lemmy takes off, and I don’t end up caving in and downloading the official app a week later.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I had been getting sick of the direction reddit has headed for the past couple years and have been looking for alternatives. I discovered lemmy at basically the perfect time. So I guess I'm not too heartbroken mostly because I've been frustrated with the platform for quite a while.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Reddit has gone downhill for a couple of years. I am glad it will die.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

No, it was going to happen, reddit has been becoming horrible since 2015. It could not die fast enough, except now the problem is lemmy is not ready. There will not be another exodus, the center of mass shifts to lemmy, or it goes back to reddit.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

Yeah, reddit has always been my favorite type of social media. Especially being able to choose your own communities and being free of most algorithm shenanigans is what made me love it. I hope they turn around, and otherwise I hope Lemmy becomes more active and popular. It would suck to lose such an unique type of social media.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

If I didn't see this coming from a lightyear away maybe I would be, but it's been obvious since at least 2016 the direction reddit was going.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

I was always aware this could happen, but never expected it would happen. Reddit has been a part of my life for years. I never felt good about the company, but thanks to the communities on there, I found so many amazing things and learned so much. As absurd as it sounds, I had completely life changing moments begin on Reddit. So yeah, I'm sad about what happened, but I'm optimistic that we can build something better.

[–] upperleft 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I wouldn't really consider myself a "refugee".

I've been feeling like the internet has been become a more isolating and nonconstructive place for a long time, and I have been following the fedverise & other projects for a while, hoping that we might be able to build something better.

I am interested to see where things go.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Ive spent 98% of my time here in Lemmy vs. 2% since last night. I'm not deleting my reddit account just yet, but, overall like what I am seeing here. I'm also just trying to figure everything out here.

There are issues/worries about what happens when an instance goes away, where's that content go? Duplicate/fragmented communities on multiple instances.

I'm more worried about losing the CONTENT that we created on Reddit, etc as a historic/research tool if reddit fails completely. Lot of content with people helping others.

I see/saw a lot of talk about wiping your data before leaving... I'm sure if that happened in larg volumes, they have backups of that content. No idea what legal ramifications there are with restoring them though.

I'm in a wait and see, but w/o RIF I'm gonna be hard pressed to use reddit on my phone, and if old. Goes away that might end it for me.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I'm more worried about losing the CONTENT that we created on Reddit

There are Reddit JSON dumps, I saw one yesterday.

I'm in a wait and see, but w/o RIF I'm gonna be hard pressed to use reddit on my phone

I'm using Jerboa, it looks pretty good IMO when you set the view to "list".

FYI: A shitload of people started helping with the Lemmy codebase on GitHub, it was awesome seeing the community coming together.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Reddit kinda stopped being fun at some point, and I didn’t even realize it until I came here. The lack of doomscrolling potential here is an added bonus.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I closed my Facebook account in 2016 and haven't looked back. Hoping I feel the same about Reddit

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

Maybe now I'll be abit happier lol seeing nothin but mad American politics and videos of nazi rallies just makes me lose hope for humanity, at least of it's more out of sight that'll be better for everyone's mental health

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

@Acetamide Reddit has been pretty terrible for years, I'm excited rather than sad to see their demise.

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