Hello World!

The last week or so we have seen quite a big ‘boost’ in the amount of new users signing up so we thought it would be a good time to highlight some things that are of interest to new users.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Lemmy World is not a free speech instance, there are a couple of ground rules that need to be followed. If you’re new, I would advise you to read our Code of Conduct.

NEW USER QUESTIONS

If you are new to the fediverse as a whole, it might all be a bit overwhelming. What is Lemmy? What is federation? What even is an instance? For those questions I would suggest you have a look at the getting starting guide. It should cover most of your questions.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

You can head over to the [email protected] community. This community should be used for questions regarding Lemmy World and is not the support community for the Lemmy software this site uses.

Our Admin @quinten recently made a post covering the most recurring questions there too. Read about that here.

ALTERNATIVE USER INTERFACES

Lemmy World hosts a few custom User Interfaces which give you a completely different experience both on the desktop as on mobile.

THIRD PARTY APPS

There are a lot of Third Party apps available for Lemmy. From Paid to Open Source, you will find something that suits you easily.

For a complete list of apps have a look at https://lemmyapps.netlify.app/ (Thanks [email protected]).

EDIT: Updated the apps list. Also some more interesting links in @[email protected]’s post here: https://lemmy.world/comment/3962001

EDIT 2: Instead of https://photon.lemmy.world you can now just go to https://p.lemmy.world. You can thank @[email protected] laziness for that.

  • OtterEnglish
    81•1 year ago

    The list of apps is pretty out of date. For example, Boost already came out and [email protected] is a pretty popular extension. I use it a lot to make posts, and just used it to open that post on my instance.

    Also related is how to find communities

    I help with [email protected], and the idea is that you can subscribe to keep seeing more recommendations. We also have a guide for finding new communities here: https://lemmy.ca/post/5581032, which I’ve copied below:

    A great way to find lesser known communities is to look at the /communities page on an instance. For example: https://lemmy.ca/communities

    For a list of instances to look through:

    • pangora.social (NEW): Great way to find instances related to a particular topic. This is also great for picking an instance when first making an account/moving accounts.
    • awesome-lemmy-instances: not that organized, but it

    🔎 Search pages

    🔥 Apps and Browser Extensions

    🙌 Communities for discovering new communities:

    Here are some other communities, some of which are less active:

    Remember, you can also post questions about finding new communities right here!

    👽 Coming from Reddit?

    https://lemmyapps.netlify.app/

  • @[email protected]
    76•1 year ago

    Any particular cause for this latest boost of new users? I came here when the API ban happened and am much happier with Lemmy. So welcome to everyone!

      • @[email protected]
        53•1 year ago

        Also, Relay Pro was the only allowed 3rd party app, and they just released an update that requires you to pay for API usage, with no way to bypass or exit the pay screen. So that was the last of my last reddit usage. Uninstalled.

        • @[email protected]
          23•1 year ago

          I’m assuming that means the reddit grace period is over. A small number of apps negotiated continued free access to the APIs to give time to move to a subscription model. Looks like that time is up.

          • HEISENBERG
            18•1 year ago

            Correct, it got an update today and now it’s asking to subscribe. 1€ is “about half an hour of browsing every day”. How about fuck you Reddit

          • edric
            3•1 year ago

            The new version of Narwhal is beautiful, I wish they’d develop it for Lemmy too.

        • @[email protected]
          7•1 year ago

          Infinity did pretty much the same thing a few weeks ago. Now I’m a happy Eternity (previously Infinity for Lemmy) user.

        • Ataraxia
          1•1 year ago

          I mean redreader will always be exempt so there’s that.

        • Draconic NEO
          1•1 year ago

          Have you tried patching the app? I was able to do it with Infinity and it worked just fine.

        • ofk12
          2•1 year ago

          Give Liftoff a go. I was using RIF and happy enough with this app

    • @[email protected]English
      57•1 year ago

      The boost believe it or not came from the launch of Boost for Lemmy which was a popular Reddit client.

    • @[email protected]
      47•1 year ago

      Another reason could be that this week, Relay for Reddit start charging… Or should I say, Reddit started charging Relay… Anyway… First post and all that… Hi

    • @[email protected]
      31•1 year ago

      I just left today because relay went into subscription mode. It’s nothing against dbrady I know he does his best (made the best app for Android afaik, and even his subscription isn’t a money grab) but fuck reddit charging people for using their social media. Don’t want snap insta tic tok Facebook twitter etc… to start charging us.

      Fuck that shit. I’m old and I remember what the internet used to be. I’m having a hard time accepting everything becoming a fucking subscription (looking at you YouTube).

      Also, I’m using boost for Lemmy and I quite like it. If anyone can suggest anything else/better to try I’d be grateful.

      Edit: this is my first comment 🥳🥳🥳

      • @[email protected]
        9•1 year ago

        Same. I didn’t care for relay compared to RiF, not my preference, but it was good enough after RiF died. But now that relay is out too? I’m not sure I can stomach using the reddit app. I’m definitely not paying for anything either. I already pay with my mental health by reading reddit comments, I’m not paying money to do it too.

      • @[email protected]
        1•1 year ago

        Same, relays fine but sync was my main app they ceased their reddit app in june. Just realized they had a spiritual successor for Lemmy up and running so I’m giving it a try now. All the server stuff got me feeling like a boomer but the app actually feels like I remember sync for reddit feeling so I’m hoping I can get into the swing of things without too much trouble!

      • @[email protected]
        1•1 year ago

        Welcome! Former long time Relay user, but I left reddit in June. For what it’s worth, I like Thunder and Connect. They are both open source and add free (no offense to ad supported apps). Just thought you might like to know what a fellow Relay user settles on after months of trying them all out.

    • Blaster M
      4•1 year ago

      Relay Pro had to move to a Subscription model for 10/01, as API costs are now being enforced. Both that and the SafetyNet requirement means those of us on custom android phones can’t use any premium Reddit app, so RIP.

  • @[email protected]
    60•1 year ago

    Honestly tho, if people aren’t being absolute dicks, its pretty frickin’ free in the speech department. I have to be conscious of it cuz I’m on several different boards with way higher standards and I don’t want to be booted from them. It never hurts to be kind and fun and even a little intense sometimes.

    Just afix your heart to the right place and everything’s gonna be just fine. Stay excellent u lemmings!

    • Queen HawlSeraEnglish
      22•1 year ago

      Like seriously, I’ve already said countless things that would give you the boot on reddit, and I’ve been allowed to just say it without even getting downvoted.

      So we’re back to the “Old Internet” rules of “Just don’t be a dick”

        • Queen HawlSeraEnglish
          -8•1 year ago

          I think you’d have to be blatantly, openly, unquestionably, intentionally, and insultingly racist to get kicked off of here.

          Definitely not like Reddit where “Oh didn’t you hear Piano was made a slur yesterday, oh you didn’t? NO EXCUSES! You’re permabanned for being a Nazi!” is the law of the land.

          Edit: Why am I being downvoted

    • @[email protected]
      1•1 year ago

      can attest to this. used to being banned on reddit for some very mainstream (yet controversial in terminally online spheres) opinions. i hope lemmy moderators never become what reddit moderators have become

  • @[email protected]English
    60•1 year ago

    I> Remember to criticise ideas, and not people.

    That’s a nice guideline. I kept trying to explain that to my recent ex… the vast difference between saying “this behavior is unproductive” vs. “you are unproductive”.

    • @[email protected]English
      19•1 year ago

      I think for some people, there is zero difference between the two. These kind of people are “you are what you do” kind of people. Lazy people have lazy behavior, unproductive people have productive behavior, etc.

      It could also be that they take “you are unproductive” to be a sort of shorthand for "Right now, you are being unproductive. How people perceive themselves and others in time can be strange. That can also cause problems with communication.

      Anyway, have a great week!

      • @[email protected]English
        14•1 year ago

        Avoiding that is something I learned to do intentionally, I suppose. Labeling the person and not a behavior is more confrontational and psychologically suggests to people that they can’t change. It’s also a lot broader, more sweeping type of statement that suggests all of their behavior is that way.

        Thanks, I hope your week is lovely as well.

      • @[email protected]
        3•1 year ago

        I think for some people, there is zero difference between the two. These kind of people are “you are what you do” kind of people. Lazy people have lazy behavior, unproductive people have productive behavior, etc.

        Some people are intellectually lazy and just don’t care to differentiate. I try not to spend much time talking to them, they tend to be dicks.

  • @[email protected]
    53•1 year ago

    Oh man… my first post here on Lemmy, hailing from Boost for Lemmy!

    My Boost for Reddit is still working but I got permanently banned for an absolutely ridiculous reason…

    Here’s to hoping that B4L can be everything that Reddit threw out the window, and more!

  • @[email protected]
    53•1 year ago

    Thank you. Gave up Reddit when Reddit Is Fun (RIF) died. Found Lemmings. Wait a few weeks and now here I am. I have to admit the different instances and this federation thingy, a lot to learn though it feels.more background stuff that Reddit may have had but we just didnt notice. Appreciate the post and happy to be here. Cheers!

    • @[email protected]English
      8•1 year ago

      I hope there’s a “Lemmy Is Fun” app eventually, but I haven’t heard whether the original developer is interested. He’s apparently working on something with Tildes.

      • @[email protected]English
        5•1 year ago

        Hopefully after Tildes, though I wouldn’t blame if he doesn’t want to support two apps.

        • @[email protected]
          3•1 year ago

          Yeah I’ve settled in well in liftoff (also ex-RiF), I try other apps here and there but this one seems to work fine for me.

        • ofk12
          2•1 year ago

          I was also using RIF and happy with Liftoff.

      • @[email protected]
        2•1 year ago

        Check out Boost, IIRC you can get it to behave mostly like RIF with some settings tweaking. I haven’t used RIF since like 2016, I found Boost around then and switched full time - Boost’s compact mode was the closest thing to old.reddit.com I could find in a 3rd party client.

    • @[email protected]
      5•1 year ago

      I gave up reddit when I got banned by an automod because I commented on a subreddit they didn’t approve of. No attempt to put my comment in context (I was questioning the “offensive” subreddit). No appeal, no one to talk to. Pretty ironic that a site that claims to be for “open conversations” is run like an authoritarian gov. Really scummy site.

      • @[email protected]
        3•1 year ago

        Lol I got permanently banned from reddit for “Report Abuse”… apparently the hive mind thought I abused the report button for… checks notes… reporting a post that was LITERALLY a pro-n@z¡ group denying the holocaust happened.

        • @[email protected]
          2•1 year ago

          There’s your problem, you reported political content that Reddit’s admins agreed with. Reddit has a pretty long history of company leadership skewing to the right, we joke that the dude running the show fantasizes about being a feudal lord in a post collapse world. Read about his weird prepper behavior, he’s a bit off in cuckoo land.

        • @[email protected]
          2•1 year ago

          I was question a covid denier. The fact I posted in their subreddit was all that was needed to get me banned.

  • @[email protected]English
    48•1 year ago

    I feel right at home in the fediverse, it gives me a much more secure feeling than Reddit. Thank you devs for your hard work at creating a suitable alternative.

    • @[email protected]English
      18•1 year ago

      So, on that topic of “security” - just remember that whenever you post, your post is essentially sent to every “instance” that is federated (and listening for the community you posted to). Each instance is it’s own server running it’s own version of an activitypub implementation (lemmy, mastadon, etc).

      So on lemmy.world that means your post is sent to literally thousands of servers that you cannot directly influence. If you delete a post, a request is made to those servers to also delete the post, but if that instance is modified or unavailable when the request is sent (it’ll re-try, but there’s a limit how many times), then it’s possible your post will not be deleted and you’ll never know.

      Keep in mind this also means that anyone, say a government or private company, can establish an instance, federate, and receive the posts of everyone. Their instance may be nearly completely invisible - so you won’t know they’re collecting that information.

      However, lemmy stores and sends almost no information about any user. A user profile does not contain IP address or country or anything. All of that stays in the server logs of the instance you originate from, and never enters the database. So your “true” personal information isn’t shared, but your account name, and a link to your account, and the post content (whatever text you add) is shared.

      Lastly, images tend to be shared. Lemmy uses “pict-rs” which is a FOSS image hosting server, and when an instance receives a federated post, if there is an image in the “URL” field, then it will ask pict-rs to download that image to its server for easier serving to its users.

      • @[email protected]English
        7•1 year ago

        Great point, however, I would rather have my posts be sent to like minded peers than to some walled-garden company like Reddit. Also, what data would any supposed malicious instance get that isn’t already available to the public? As for account names, text and images from posts, etc. aren’t these the very definition of social media? What kind of social media is not sharing text or images anyway?

        • @[email protected]English
          3•1 year ago

          Yep, I don’t disagree, just wanted to make it clear what is shared and what isn’t. I suppose if you don’t like people training AI on the text you write, then you may not like that they could gather it with literally no effort. Most other sites would require that they put some effort either into web scraping, using an api to request the post, or just buy the content in some text dump format.

          But ya, I mean, this is a minor difference between platforms, overall.

  • @[email protected]OPM
    20•1 year ago

    What is your favorite Alternative UI? Are you using it full-time or still switch back to the default one? We want to know!

    • @[email protected]
      11•1 year ago

      I’ve been loving Liftoff. It’s completely free and ad free, feels as good as any of the “big apps” to me

    • @[email protected]
      8•1 year ago

      Sync is my ride or die. Always has been, and I hope it always shall be.

      Warms my heart to see so many other options here, though.

        • @[email protected]
          4•1 year ago

          It’s an app that provides an alternate UI.

          Half the other posts here include Jerboa, Voyager, Connect, Boost, etc. anyways.

    • @[email protected]
      5•1 year ago

      Lemmy lives on my phone and iPad. So rarely venture into the web UI. But I use Voyager On my mobile devices.

    • edric
      5•1 year ago

      For desktop, I’m now a 100% Alexandrite user. It looks great, and it actually maximizes screen real estate.

    • @[email protected]
      4•1 year ago

      I use Voyager. Been self-hosting it since the day the project released. On desktop I just use the default UI, fits my needs I guess.

    • @[email protected]
      3•1 year ago

      Avelon on iOS, mlmym on web at the moment. Still looking for a UI that let’s me show the local feed of another instance while still being signed in.

    • freamonEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      I tend to use photon.lemmy.world, but it’d be really cool if I could log in to lemmy.world using tesseract. It’s a fork of Photon - so I imagine it also has feature-parity with the official UI - but it’s “designed for media-rich feeds and content”. It’s what they use at dubvee, and db0 also provides it as an alternative

      I don’t use the default one because it gets confused when lemmy decides to bring a gif in from an external site, and then convert it to a mp4 (it’s a pretty hit-and-miss affair in the Gifs Community), though I realise it’s ultimately lemmy itself that’s causing the problem.

      • Xylight (photon dev)
        2•1 year ago

        Videos aren’t played inline for reasons I’ll make a sticky about in the photon community.

        However, when you open a post page, it’ll play a video if it detects it.

      • CommunityLinkFixerBotBEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: [email protected]

    • @[email protected]
      2•1 year ago

      I’ve been using Voyager (or wefwef as it used to be known) since day one here at Lemmy. Moved over from Reddit when the API changes were announced, and then any potential negotiations with Reddit and third party app developers broke down.

      • Susanna
        2•1 year ago

        @Obscura I was experimenting with different apps & ended up using Voyager for my @beehaw account & Memmy for my @lemmyworld account. I know I can use one app for both, but it’s kind of convenient having two.

          • Susanna
            2•1 year ago

            @Obscura From a UX point of view, it’s easier to switch between apps than to switch between accounts in a single app. Also, the different UIs give me an immediate visual cue as to which account I’m in, which keeps me from posting the wrong thing in the one with tougher moderation.

    • @[email protected]
      1•1 year ago

      I’ve been Connect pretty much the whole time, besides briefly trying out a few others. I was a RIF user, so Connect gives me a fairly similar experience

    • citrusfaceEnglish
      6•1 year ago

      Remember quality over quantity.

      But yes, I am glad mor people are joining as well.