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.
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.
It’s true! I know I thanked all my readers on new year and the other holidays and all, because it takes both sides, the posters and the commenters, if we’re going to make this thing work. People focus on the posters, and that is the main draw, but the comments are what adds the life and color.
Oh hey, I love your owl posts. I always read the comments too because I know there will be more pictures and info. I’ve been meaning to comment there, but work got super busy and I forgot to stop by.
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”.
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.
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.
Rationing downvotes could help break the groupthink while still providing a crowdsourced method of controlling spam and trolls. Other platforms have systems like this and it seems to work.
I think there have been some Lemmy instances that disable downvotes entirely also.
I still miss Slashdot’s moderation (and meta-moderation) system.
For those who don’t know, Slashdot comments are scored in a range of [-1, +5] and upvotes and downvotes have a reason attached (e.g. +1 insightful, +1 funny, -1 troll). Users are given a very limited pool of votes to hand out, which are allotted according to a secret formula based on karma and maybe meta-moderation. Meta-moderation is a volunteer task where you’re given an anonymized list of comments and mod votes, and asked whether you agree with reach of them or not.
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.
I dont know why not. This is not a group of people who knows eachother. We are all strangers.
Are we? I keep seeing the same usernames again and again, feels like we almost know each other by now
You and me yeah… :)
I guess I should change my username but it’s nice to be known by the same name actually.
I don’t often feel like I have something to say that would contribute to the conversation.
The fact you possess self awareness puts you above a great deal of people so please comment more often
Unrelated to anything here, I love your username.
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 comment is sweet. I already try to comment but I’ll definitely be doing it more now.
It’s true! I know I thanked all my readers on new year and the other holidays and all, because it takes both sides, the posters and the commenters, if we’re going to make this thing work. People focus on the posters, and that is the main draw, but the comments are what adds the life and color.
Oh hey, I love your owl posts. I always read the comments too because I know there will be more pictures and info. I’ve been meaning to comment there, but work got super busy and I forgot to stop by.
No worries! As long as you’re enjoying it, that is what counts!
Anyone not clicking through and seeing the bonus stuff in the comments is really missing out.
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”.
Thank you for your service! 😉
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.
Shit just open the post and wait 10-20 minutes and refresh and there will be a butt ton of comments ready.
I’ve written so many comments that I’ve just deleted before submitting thinking “no one wants to read this garbage anyway.”
Here’s me doing my part:
…
Penis
…
How was that?
Kinda short.
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.
I would agree but then I see a lot of toxicity even in small Facebook groups where most people use their real names. It’s just people I guess
Fuck you!
This. I make it a point to comment on all posts I find interesting, especially if they aren’t any. It almost always spurs discussion.
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
Rationing downvotes could help break the groupthink while still providing a crowdsourced method of controlling spam and trolls. Other platforms have systems like this and it seems to work.
I think there have been some Lemmy instances that disable downvotes entirely also.
I still miss Slashdot’s moderation (and meta-moderation) system.
For those who don’t know, Slashdot comments are scored in a range of [-1, +5] and upvotes and downvotes have a reason attached (e.g. +1 insightful, +1 funny, -1 troll). Users are given a very limited pool of votes to hand out, which are allotted according to a secret formula based on karma and maybe meta-moderation. Meta-moderation is a volunteer task where you’re given an anonymized list of comments and mod votes, and asked whether you agree with reach of them or not.
Interesting, thanks