It's a smaller neighborhood here dude.

There's definitely regulars I recognize, but still plenty more I don't.

Because it is dawg.

Total users are like ballpark 1 million, and most don't post much or at all -- e.g the 1-9-90 rule.

By comparison Reddit and twitter are the most trafficed sites on the internet

Smaller community, so the power users (like myself, FlyingSquid, The Picard Maneuver and others) will undoubtedly be more prevalent than the many, many other users that barely post at all.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm not usually an internet commentor, but I try to chip in on Lemmy sometimes. I think most people just treat it like the rest of social media today, where the smart idea is to just lurk

It’s called a community. If Reddit doesn’t seem like this anymore, it’s because half those people are actually AI.

I can’t speak to Lemmy specifically but my Reddit years were ages 15-30. I think I got my fill of arguing on the internet then.

I write a lot of comments on Lemmy that I end up deleting before posting because I just don’t want the hassle of arguing with someone about it who is being deliberately obtuse or arguing in bad faith.

That’s not an indictment of Lemmy specifically, but I think my lack of interest in those arguments comes with age and I suspect my story isn’t unique, the demographics will line up for a lot of Lemmy users.

Small town vibes where you actually recognize people at the grocery store kinda thing.

Honestly, that's one of the cool parts of old internet (forums, chatrooms, etc.) is getting to know people, you get to know the community 😊

Be the change you want to see.

Like the others said, the ratio of posters/lurkers on most social media sites is 10/90, and i think that lemmy is on the better, more active side of things. in a 30k community that means that you will see about 300 people commenting regularly, and 30 of them will be very active.

i also like the smaller scope here, fewer comments mean that my opinion will be engaged with more.

I rarely commented on reddit, because one little comment in a swarm of 2500 will not even be noticed. It's different here, and i wrote over 400 comments this year! i maxed out at about 100 on reddit because my comments wouldn't even be noticed most of the time if i didn't filter by new.

Be the shitpost you want to see in the world.

That's very much possible.

That's why I try to be as nice as I can on here.

There are very few times when I initially joined Lemmy where, I admit, I was a bit shitty towards some users (old Reddit habits). This can get you banned, or blocked, or you can build a reputation pretty quickly. And since we're not a lot, that can limit your interactions quite a bit. So I changed my attitude pretty quick. And frankly it's been much more enjoyable this way since.

I almost never comment on anything. I imagine most users are like me.

Yes, I do see the same names popping up all the time.

The ratio of commenter/poster to lurker is always pretty lopsided. I also never read user names.

The trick is not to read the usernames. I imagine myself surrounded by millions of mostly sensible people!

I post more on Lemmy since I think people will actually read what I wrote. I used to post a lot on Reddit too, but that was MANY years ago.

However one of the big reasons I post is to hopefully get the conversation started. I figure with zero comments someone is less likely to post. With one stupid comment, someone might respond.

Yeah, that's what you get with smaller communities, you tend to see the same people over and over.

After the reddit exodus I started creating memes for the first time and posting them on Lemmy. I've learned that it's harder to be funny than I thought. Also a lot of time/effort and I have actually important things in my life that I focus on. Reposting was also kinda fun but what's the point really

Kinda yeah. BUT my comment to lurk ratio is still less than I did on Reddit. So even my few contributions are still more than I ever really did on Reddit.

I don’t see that as a problem personally

Does anyone recognize me?! I need validation for my useless contributions. Valor and accolades!

The majority of individuals on platforms like Lemmy—and social media more broadly—engage almost exclusively as passive consumers. Their involvement often begins and ends with the simple act of upvoting or downvoting content. This limited interaction speaks volumes about the nature of digital engagement, where consuming information or entertainment takes precedence over meaningful interaction or contribution. The absence of deeper engagement is not a failing of the platform itself but a reflection of broader societal tendencies.

People, in general, tend toward passivity, a trait that extends beyond online spaces and into areas like civic participation. In the United States, for example, voter turnout remains notoriously low. People express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, they crave change, and they criticize institutions, yet they shy away from taking the minimal steps required to enact that change, often hiding behind a hand-waving comment involving the words "systemic," "structure," and/or "institutions," a transparent way of excusing their unwillingness to actually act. As though they themselves are not parts of those systems, structures, and institutions. The same individuals who will upvote or downvote content online without a second thought are often the ones who abstain from voting in elections, an "upvote/downvote" that directly impact their lives.

What is even more concerning is that this passivity is not merely a result of laziness or apathy, but something ingrained and encouraged by modern society. Our institutions—whether educational, political, or corporate—tend to value compliance over initiative. Decision-making, once seen as a marker of personal agency and responsibility, is increasingly viewed as a burden. People have been conditioned to prefer being told what to do rather than take responsibility for their choices.

If a decision goes wrong, there's an inherent comfort in being able to place blame on someone else. This social conditioning makes being passive, fading into the wallpaper, not only acceptable but desirable for many. And yet, these same people will often feel deeply dissatisfied with their lives. But, rather than do something about it, they continue to be helpless, wishing someone would decide for them to improve their lives and then forcing them to do it.

While it's easy to express frustration with the passive nature of online participants, it is also, sadly, understandable. They are products of a society that rewards inaction more than action, where engagement is often reduced to the simplest and least effortful gestures. These platforms reflect the broader societal trend toward disengagement from real, consequential decision-making, reinforcing and reflecting a vicious cycle of passive impotence while they wait for someone or something to fix things for them.

I'm commenting to boost engagement!

Yes. I've been posting to subs around here too. I like it cause everybody will probably see your post and you'll get engagement from real people. We also have common interests on here that things are pretty interesting.

Be the change you want to see. Post and comment. Start a sub.

Lemmy is still far from being another reddit. So it is definitely normal to see the same active users. For example, I see blaze alot.

FlyingSquid is our mrbabyman.

It's a village vibe, grab onto the grapevine

Reddit is worse but they use puppet accounts so you can't easily tell.

/TinfoilHat

We're looking sat you PugJesus! 😎

I like it. It feels more genuine

not a bot at least

I use both reddit and lemmy and for the most part, I'll see similar or the same articles shared/posted on both platforms. I don't mind, it actually makes me feel like one day Lemmy might grow enough to the point where I use reddit less and less.

using multiple platforms I see the same users from time to time but I never really cared about who's posting or commenting

I have no idea what you're talking about, says the chump who has a series of precisely 103 formulaic knife reviews posted here.

Roll-call for the lurkers! (If u want, no pressure)

I recognize most of the users there even in the big communities with over 30k members

Communities with 30k members could really do with pruning the completely inactive ones. It's not like there's any commercial reasons to pretend that places are busier than they actually are.

Yes. Don’t look at usernames.

I'm just here so I don't get fined.

There's one user that seems to be everywhere and it's probably the same user everyone is thinking of right now lol.

I'm also surprised I come across other "agents" on here more frequently than I would expect.

There are more popular people that hang out and comment often in the main communities, then there are people who pass by. I know on Reddit I've seen certain people pop up frequently in certain communities. It's a smaller platform so you see the popular ones more often but it's not that unusual.

Nope, it is.

In a way it's kinda cool though. Feels more like a community.

Hello cousin! Wanna go bowling?

Commenting not so much, but posting is almost exclusively done by a regular few. Reddit was already like that, but Lemmy is infinitely smaller so it becomes obviously apparent.

does that mean i'm famous?! MUM I'M FAMOUS

You've been very busy talking to several of my puppet accounts.

There are prolific posters and some bots that post nearly half of the content that gets popular on a particular day. Commentors I think there's a healthy mix of regulars and users I don't recognize.

Ye, and I'm mostly fine with it (I just wish this place had more stuff that wasn't necessarily political, like "interests" type of stuff like comicbooks. We have some, and thankfully Linux is a big one, but I just wish there was more!)

Don't saw much in English, but in French yes it looks like we are 3 or 4 users

I'd say there is a handful of most active users, and plenty of those who chime in to say something once in a while.

No there's like four of us

With such a user pool you'd think I'd make someone laugh

I disagree, you just notice them more

Am I lemmy famous yet?

I notice a lot of the same people in most of the popular posts. I guess it's because the quantity of people that usually comment vs voting or just reading post is pretty low, so you'll start to recognize them everywhere

It makes me wonder if people recognize me from other posts I comment on!

Reddit was much larger, but it was the same and noticeable when you were active enough.

My rule of thumb was, if 100 people see a post, 10% vote on it, 1% comment on it.

There's also the fact that most active users that also comment regularly, don't browse the hot page but catch the posts earlier. So there will always be names that show up more often than others, that have already said what's going to be said.

On Lemmy there's a lot of instances that are kind of radical and have a vast interest in spreading their radical ideology in other instances, so they'll show up as well on a regular depending on the topic.

I gotta admit that I didn't start noticing regular users yet, only the trolls that I tag.

I comment a lot more often than I post. Tho I don't know if people recognize me, since I'm more active on the ich_iel side of Lemmy.

I try and post, but I feel like I'm always slow to the uptake and people already say the things I have to say. But I do make sure I vote as much as I can.

Am I the only one who absolutely despises people asking "Am I the only one who..." about anything? God it's always something mundane that any idiot could dream up too. There are 8 billion people currently on the planet and who knows how many before us. No, whatever it is, no matter what, you are not the only one who anything. Ever.

everyone reading this should introduce lemmy to at least 1 cool person in their life. thats what it needs.

Yep, maybe it would benefit from more advertisement but I decided to not recommend it until I experience it for some time. It took me a week or two to realize that I don't like moderation at lemmy-world for example, I would definitely recommend choosing other instances, and then, it takes time to figure out which ones are worth recommending. Some are extremist far-left/far-right, some are at risk of shutting down if admin gets bored and decides to stop paying for hosting from his personal money.

No but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

No.

Most people are probably pretty passive, so yeah, I think there's a subset of posters who are highly visible. But even over at Hacker News, where there's a much larger audience commenting, I recognize specific names because something they said in the past got my attention and I start piecing together their personality a bit at a time.

Do you identify as being part of this class?

For me, the difference to reddit is less the participation/diversity in individual discussions. Rather, that lively debates only happen in some prominent subs. That is the one thing I miss here when comparing lemmy to reddit. On reddit, you can look for some niche hobby or some random computer game and chances are that you'll find an active community.

I do not have the time to post / comment usually.

Ironically, I don't see any of the regular users I see in every community on this thread.

What helps me is having the perspective that people change from moment to moment, and we don't see enough moments in a row to pick out a pattern generally. Even if I see the same names, it helps to treat them with new eyes everytime. Also makes it easier to catch someone on a bad day but then have a nice conversation the next.

Everyone on lemmy is a bot except you.

The reason for that is Lemmy Social Score, aka karma. Most of the people on the internet are looking for a validation from online randos and this prevents them from posting unpopular points of view. Hide score from the users and you will see way more posts and comments.

I dont notice it a whole lot mainly cos i dont really care who im talking to tbh. I do wonder if my username stands out tho?

Hello! :D

There's a certain group of users I tend to come across here regularly. I post a lot myself too but I also have a habit of making new account about once a year so that not all my messages are from one user. I doubt many would remember me.

Lol I don’t usually look at usernames, and when I do it’s almost always to block someone

I pop in every month or so. I'll see ya around!

Lemmy may be small, but it's cozy!

no way

Without a doubt

The fediverse makes communities feel even smaller since even widely connected nodes have instances they aren't networked with, so even a massive userbase can feel like a small neighborhood, because as an individual user, that's what you're going to see with your account pegged to any given instance.

In the community I post in and read the most, I certainly recognize almost every poster. But in all communities, I recognize the most prolific of posters, but few others.

No I haven't seen it

Hey, GrammarPolice! Nice to see you again today! Take care, see you later!

I don't pay much attention to user names so I haven't noticed

That's how social media like this works. It was the same on Reddit but the user base was larger so it would be a little more difficult to notice. A very small percentage of users actually post and since we're already a pretty small community you'll notice the same people more easily.

there are dozens of us

I'm everywhere!

I don't post nearly as much as I would like, because I post some stream related stuff in my own community on lemmy and don't know want to come off as someone who is trying to advertise all the time. I have been reported for that posting to my own community, which... ya know. I get it, nobody cares about yet another streamer dude, but it is a bit intimidating almost.

Present.

Yep. Lemmy isn't that big and it is generally the case that an online space is like an iceberg, with only some of the users seen a lot.

Like friends!

I have no idea why you are talking about

guess I'm not famous here :(

Yes. I think that's notmal, no? Some people have more time than others, and care more intensely about some topics.

Others are bots and paid shills too, just trying to earn a living.

Lemmy.world is defederated from the major Marxist instances, so you might want to join a different instance for a fresh look. Lemmy in general is small enough to be dominated easily, what helps this is finding a good instance and treating said instance like a community with different tags, rather than treating communities like subreddits.

Nah