Lemmy's biggest competitor at this point isn't reddit, it's Discord, or rather, the monster it has become. It seems to me that instead of creating a subreddit nowadays, every project now wants to use a Discord server for everything.

The problem with that is:

Asking messages in a big, open chatroom (over, say, 20 people) gets real messy, real quickly.
Conversations on Discord are difficult to follow when multiple of them are going at once.
The conversations containing solutions to problems in chat or threads are not search indexable, which is the reason why reddit became quietly dominant in search results, it is simply the biggest centralized repository of organized English language text conversations available.

So why do people insist on using Discord servers to build their community? Simple, it's the network effect. If somebody wants tech support, it's way easier to click a Discord invite on an account for group chat you already have than it is to sign up for yet another forum that you only use once. But Lemmy doesn't suffer from that problem of traditional forums because of federation.

Which brings me to my point, if Lemmy is to grow, it's better to sell Lemmy to disgruntled Discord admins and forum owners to move their community than it is to get people to move off reddit at this point, since people who wants to leave reddit has all done so at this point.

[–] KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca 41 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Discord sucks, but I've actually had a 100% successful help rate on it vs Reddit or Lemmy.

Typically Discord servers have specific tech support rooms, and you'll get help pretty quickly. Only once I have had to ask my question a second time, because it was missed the first time.

Meanwhile Reddit threads just get downvoted, buried, and you're never helped. Even when I try to search for threads that other people have posted, 90% of threads are just blank.

Lemmy is the worst. Doesn't matter what you need, they'll just call you stupid and tell you to use Linux and FOSS alternative, ignoring the fact you NEED to use what you're asking help with.

[–] MrShankles@reddthat.com 8 points 11 months ago

A forum should work in tandem with a chatroom in an "ideal" online community, imo. Searchable Q&A with a communication for additional, nuanced interaction. They serve different purposes and can be more powerful when used together, than they could be on their own.

Lemmy does seem to have a bunch of old, crotchety internet nerds on here that like the "old ways" of the webs. But just tell 'em to "go fuck yourself", if they're being a dick; and than don't reply to them again. It's very freeing. They're just butt sensitive about linux and foss, cause they were bullied on early internet forums and now act the same way, when expressing their loud-ass opinions. It's like an unfortunate cycle of abuse that has existed on forums, but don't let it discourage you from asking anyway... the question might help others

I'm a crotchety old internet nerd... tell me to "go fuck myself", just for funsies! It's empowering!

And also... fuck you buddy, get good!

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