When I first started using Lemmy it seemed like such a nice place with interesting discussions. It seemed like the first group of people to join after the app exodus were being quite careful to be respectful of the existing culture.
Now, it seems as though the culture from Reddit has completely replaced it. Toxicity and all. I will say I do follow a lot of communities from a wide range of instances so it’s clearly not everywhere.
Am I the only one who’s feeling like we’ve just stormed in and bulldozed Lemmy?
As communities grow from obscurity to populated change is inevitable. I used to use reddit and the #1 thing I hated was the condescending, holier than thou attitude that was rampant. I have seen it occasionally on here but for the most part Lemmy is a breath of fresh air, so I personally don’t think reddit culture has replaced it. I can definitely see a strong cultural influence from reddit but I personally think Lemmy culture is significantly different, in a good way.
Yes!
I’ve noticed it in political discussions especially. I often find the nitty gritty of my political opinions at odds with much of the apparent consensus on both Reddit and Lemmy. But on Lemmy I generally find people to be a lot less dogmatic, and more open to constructive discussion, rather than repeating the same slogans over and over. Not that it doesn’t happen on Lemmy, but I can’t really remember the last time I heard someone say “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature” unironically.(I have heard “orphan crushing machine” thrown around a bit, but at least that one is kinda funny.)
Overall, the mainstream on Lemmy feels like an upgrade from Reddit, though I do miss more niche communities catering toward my interest.
As a Digg migrant now Reddit migrant, the “has <new user base> killed our culture?” thing is a heavy dose of deja vu. No mockery intended; I think it’s a reasonable question.