There seems to be a lot of pass-through and mutual membership, so it isn't really that surprising. People who didn't have experience in the Fediverse before Rexxit came to Lemmy because it's what everybody was talking about, then branched out from there to explore the options.
I'll probably try it eventually, but I don't have high hopes since Edmund isn't involved. SMBF was awful, and this looks like a similar mess.
Consider this another vote for Ubuntu or any of its variants. They're beginner friendly, and established enough that you'll find plenty of resources written specifically for them. Linux Mint is another one I'd recommend for beginners, it's designed to "just work" out of the box and be an easy transition for Windows users.
Then it's just down to using it some. First and foremost, leave Windows installed until you're comfortable with whatever else you end up trying. Whether you partition, or make a bootable USB drive, or even just a VM, use some kind of temporary space for practice. The terminal is a lot less intimidating when you aren't learning in your main environment, you can go break things and see what happens.
So far, we have a captcha on account creation now and it seems to be working (from what I've seen, anyway)
It'll be a tough balancing act though. Relatively frictionless sign-up has been great for us, and anything that deals with bots will also affect that. Whatever else we may end up doing will need to be carefully considered.
I do the opposite of taking care of mine, and they're still going strong after 20ish years. Corcoran boots are damn near indestructible. They've only been semi-retired because I've moved other boots that are nearly as tough, but much more comfortable. Specifically Red Wings for normal wear, and Ariat cowboy boots for actual work.
I don't even really think about it, I just comment if I have something to say. At worst, nobody reads it and I was shouting into the void for a minute.
But the Lemmy userbase isn't massive yet, so those week+ old posts still see more engagement than you'd think.
I agree that some kind of ranked voting makes a lot of sense, and it's something we should be looking at going forward. The mod vote is the perfect example (and some folks are doing it there), but we'd probably need the mods in place to handle the extra work.
We have a lot of work to do to get The Agora running well. This is a big one, but even simple things like the structure of how discussions and voting are handled need to be addressed.
The first time they referred to that world as the "Apex Universe", I gave up all hope. Even if they do make a Titanfall 3, it won't be what we want.
I can see both sides of this one, but I'd lean towards a lighter touch that focuses on intent. Someone can have a civil conversation while also swearing a lot (me irl), but it's a completely different story if they're trying to be inflammatory.
We probably won't need to codify this in the rules. Someone who would receive the hypothetical ban for this would probably be breaking other rules anyway.
Seraph089
Of course I'll vote for myself, but I'm happy to see that it's a close race. Win or lose, I'll be here trying my best to help our budding democracy flourish.
"Sledgehammer" is definitely the word I'd use, but it is an interesting thought. The Agora seems like it'll be plenty for the foreseeable future, but there's a hypothetical future where we outgrow it and need something that scales better.
At a quick glance, Decidim seems like it would be a decent solution if/when we need to upgrade. Free/libre with a focus on transparency is a great start, and it looks like the tools are pretty flexible.
But as a counterpoint, there's a lot to be said for keeping governance here as long as it's sustainable. Removing as much friction as possible from voting means more people will participate, and it doesn't get much easier for voters than dropping an "aye" or "nay" comment on a ballot post.
I love this for a baseline, leaning into the theme. The Theatre of Dionysus could work too, it kinda looks like an old forum.