this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2023
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Asklemmy

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[–] ModdedPhones@lemmy.ml 28 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Lemmy.ml and lemmygrad as well as tech.de (or something similar) I might host myself sometime later. I was on mastodont a while before , went back and tired of proprietary again. This time I am thoroughly fed up and will stay.

For me defederation is good. I see the problem with filterbubbles but I'm to old for this shit. I rather be in my bubble.

[–] jediToru@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm on sh.itjust.works. Not gonna lie, related to that name naturally.

[–] opensourcedeeznuts@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Exactly the same for me. Choosing an instance based on values, content, or location is so lame. I chose my instance based on the funny name.

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[–] geno@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago
  1. Googled "Lemmy" to see what it even is
  2. "wtf is an instance"
  3. Checked some of the most used instances. At this point I wasn't sure if it matters much, but I just figured it's best to just pick a popular instance.
  4. found lemmy.world, and the description goes "The World's Internet Frontpage - Lemmy.world is a general-purpose Lemmy instance of various topics, for the entire world to use."
  5. "sounds good enough", created account
[–] OtakuAltair@vlemmy.net 11 points 2 years ago (4 children)

All that matters is you shouldn't recommend the already massive overloaded servers like lemmy.world when lemmy isn't even optimized for this sort of traffic on a single server yet, and those large servers are having issues because of it. The entire point of decentralization is to spread out and still be connected.

Recommend smaller general servers that have been up for years and also upgraded for the surge of users, like lemmy.one, lemm.ee, or vlemmy.net

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There is several of factors you should consider:

  • Does it have a healthy amount of users: between 1k-10k users are probably the sweet spot right now. You don't want too many users because it will cause performance problems. And instances with too few users has too many unknowns.

  • read the rules see if you agree: servers can have wildy different rules ranging from no NSFW to no downvotes. If they don't have any rules that is a red flag too. You want an active moderation so the instance doesn't get run over by bots.

  • Does it look low effort: check the banner, how the announcement formatted.

That is probably all the basics

[–] nawordar@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 years ago

I registered during very early days, so I signed up for the instance run by devs because there wasn't much choice. Today I would choose a smaller one

[–] Scheissberg@feddit.de 7 points 2 years ago

Feddit.de because Deutschsprachig and I loved Reddit, but would love to see a successfully federated version of it.

[–] infamousbelgian@waste-of.space 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I created it myself.

Consider this a test to see if the federation works :)

[–] Rhabuko@feddit.de 7 points 2 years ago

I'm on Feddit.de because it was recommended to me by join-lemmy.org and I like to have a server that has a German speaking Focus in the local feed.

[–] binchicken@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm on lemmy.sdf.org because it's widely federated and run by a trustworthy organization.

I'm not much of a tech bro - in fact I struggle with troubleshooting basic Linux issues. That's why I mostly interact outside of my local instance.

I hardly engage with the techy discussion on SDF, but I appreciate the high quality user base.

[–] GenderNeutralBro@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm also on SDF. They've been in the business of offering free computing resources to the public since the 80s. So I feel confident that they won't close up shop due to lack of expertise or resources.

[–] lackthought@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I was going to come in here and praise SDF but I see I'm too late

Damn you Dark Souls Remastered for taking me away from Lemmy for a bit!

I guess I'll link the FAQ for SDF here for anyone interested in learning more

and also mention that SDF runs a Mastodon and Pixelfed instance for all your federation needs

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[–] nyatto@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago (5 children)

I chose lemm.ee because:

  1. Its admin @sunaurus@lemm.ee has been working hard at improving the instance's performance and fixing issues.
  2. It has been relatively smooth and performant since the infrastructure upgrade.
  3. The domain name is cleverly satisfying.
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[–] LunchEnjoyer@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Lemmy.world here cause it seemed to be one of the top guns, and thought it mattered in the sense that I would see more content. But after learning about the fediverse I'll most likely host my own instance soon 🀘

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[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)
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[–] guybrush@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago

Idk, because why not Estonia.

[–] Atarian@vlemmy.net 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I didn't know what I was doing so I chose at random.

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmy.one 3 points 2 years ago

Ditto. Can't downvote on mine, apparently, but honestly that's probably better for my mental health right now. It's teaching me to just move on from stuff I don't like, instead of pretending the little burst of negativity encompassed in my downvote actually accomplishes anything meaningful for me.

[–] hotwarioinyourarea@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I'm a dirty hippy and slrpnk.net seemed like a server for other dirty hippies

[–] Bill@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago

Yeah it does kinda matter, which is problematic for onboarding new users. Personally:

  • I read the rules/TOS.
  • I checked the Instances page to make sure instances I wanted to access were linked and not blocked.
  • I looked for any introduction posts to see what the backend infrastructure was like.
  • I checked the username I wanted was available.

It should not be that complicated, but it also has to be unfortunately. I had to make sure all those things matched what I personally wanted. This much choice is great for heavily-invested tech nerds with free time but sucks for anyone else wanting to join in.

[–] Mekboy_nutkrakka@aussie.zone 4 points 2 years ago

I chose Aussie.zone cause I'm out of touch with my own country so seeing the news here is nice and cause I thought it would be easier to join a country instance.

Also optional email and I know I could make a temp email but I can't be bothered.

[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

The Admin of my instance (discuss.tchncs.de) is tolerant but understands the tolerance paradox. (Defderated with exploding heads but not every left instance - doesn't fall for false balance.

Also he was fast with approving new accounts.

[–] RecursiveDescent@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I got approved today 20 mins after verifying my email. It was a pleasant surprise

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago

I like the short and aesthetic of the domain name lemm.ee

Shorter domains the better I say! (usually)

[–] creation7758@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 years ago

It doesn't but I thought it did

[–] Naomikho@monyet.cc 4 points 2 years ago

I joined the one hosted by my country's community. The community is really great.

[–] Firipu@startrek.website 4 points 2 years ago

Made one on lemmy.world but it's crumbling under the pressure as we speak. Tried a local one, but it has like 5 users. Don't trust it to live long enough. So started using the star trek one, because star trek. Not as if you'd need any other reason

[–] angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I'd heard you shouldn't pick one of the largest, I explicitly didn't want a server run by Nazis, Paleolibertarians, or Marxist-Leninists, and I didn't mind the rules here.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

lemm.ee because of speed and latest version of Lemmy. Less problems, good experience πŸ™‚

[–] lordcommander@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Lemmy.world because lemmy.ML recommended it when I tried to sign up there. I’m considering moving to a smaller server though since this one seems to be getting overloaded.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 years ago

Yea, for whatever reason, lemmy.world became the sort of de facto "main" instance, which isn't a bad thing and lemmy.world isn't a bad choice at all, ruud AFAICT is a dedicated and experienced fediverse admin.

There may be issues to centralising the user load too much. I don't have the technical knowledge to back this up, but it probably makes sense that there is such a thing as too much for one server to handle. If it has to handle all of the user requests as well has syncing all of the large and popular communities that a "main" instance is likely to host, then it's just a lot and probably requires technical solutions and investment beyond what one admin/team is willing or capable of doing. Plus, lemmy the software may not be designed for that sort of load, which probably requires a distinct architecture from that of a smaller instance.

So it probably, at point at least, makes sense to spread the load of both the users and the communities. However, it seems that redditors as accustomed to a "central" and singular service as they are have kind of opted in to re-creating a central "main" instance like they're used to. It may very well be a bad habit, as it presumes that there's just some giant server and a dedicated tech team sitting there waiting to scale up at a moment's notice. Of course, lemmy.world are free to halt sign ups and encourage users to pick other instances. But it remains to be seen how lemmy, its software and the fediverse/threadiverse in general handles communities/groups/magazines at this new scale.

In the mean time, intentionally spreading the load might help. As would donating to the developers and your admin!!

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[–] Purr@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

I chose Lemmy.world, because it was the one I was hearing the most about. It's a bit slow at the moment, but that's not surprising, given the amount of new users. So far it's been fun. I really hope more and more people show up!

[–] ilovetvshows@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago

Google search. I had no clue about multiple instances. Search lemmy on Google and first link was for lemmy.ml domain so that's how I am here.

[–] Flashback956@feddit.nl 3 points 2 years ago

Country, I live in The Netherlands so I searched for a Dutch hosted instance with Dutch owner.

[–] sbv@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I picked sh.itjust.works because it's Canadian and the domain name is nerdy enough. It seems to be a decent instance, although I'll move if I stop liking it.

Does it matter? With all of the defederation drama, I think it does. If your instance is quick to drop others, it seems like you'll lose content.

AFAIU we're still federated with some of the douchier instances and I appreciate seeing their memes and posts. Not because they're entertaining, but because it's easier to understand the asshats. When they creep into racism/phobias/hate I'll be fine seeing them go.

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[–] Elkaki123@vlemmy.net 3 points 2 years ago

The one I use doesn't block other instances, although I probably will block the same instances and people that big instances already block, I want to be the one to make that choice and shape the content I see.

[–] Fenzik@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I saw people complaining that the admins were communists and I was like dope, I love those guys.

Plus healthy number of users (maybe too many actually) and local communities

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[–] Seraphin@pawb.social 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Because I'm a furry. obligatory OwO

[–] LeHappStick@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

It has the word world in the name, sounds bigger.

[–] lazylion_ca@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm in Canada, so I'm using and supporting Lemmy.ca

One of the points of using a distributed system is to not centralize the userbase.

I also have a account on lemmynsfw but that's just for research purposes.

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[–] digdilem@feddit.uk 3 points 2 years ago

Feddit.uk - I figure regionality has benefit in keeping loads more spread, plus it hosts some good communities and a cute name.

[–] trifictional@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Went Lemmy.world because I had no idea how any of this worked.

Gonna stick with it for now, because there isn’t really a reason to switch. In the future I might switch or host my own.

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