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Is Anybody Out There, Lemmy? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by antangil@lemmy.world to c/nasa@lemmy.world
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Hey folks (if folks there be)! I’m one of the new mods for this small community. I’m not by nature a huge poster of content (too many interactions with STRIVES, too many briefings on CUI/ITAR/Limited Rights 🤐)… but I feel like y’all are even tighter-lipped than me.

So. I’m going to throw this post out, looking for signs of life. Interested to know whether there’s a niche this community could be filling, interested to know whether the content creators have migrated back to Reddit. Interested to know if there’s a feature or element of the site that is hindering participation.

If this goes unanswered, I’m probably going to propose to have the community eliminated (is that even a thing?) or taken private and held in trust for the next group that want to have a go. A dusty, inactive channel is a bad look when the agency and the world of space in general is so vibrant.

Thoughts?

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[-] Candelestine@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Eh, I disagree that dusty, under-used spaces are a negative, when you're on a spiffy new thing like this that nobody has heard of yet. (and that still feels like alpha release software)

I subscribed here with the idea it would be slower and quieter than the generalist space subs, but would be where I could come to discuss NASA-specific missions if I wanted.

Like, if I find an article on a NASA mission, I'd post it to a larger space sub. If I have a question about that mission, I'd post it here and wait.

[-] RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 year ago

You’re just not going to get the same engagement here as you do on Reddit. I never really paid attention until all the spez nonsense but even small communities on Reddit have hundreds of thousands of people subbed. The bigger subreddits have millions of active users.

Sadly most people are simply too addicted to Reddit and there was just not a great alternative during the spez drama. But lemmy did get a boost and the groundwork is being laid for this place to have a solid infrastructure for the next go around. And make no mistake, spez will find a way to do it again in the future. When that happens if lemmy has great apps that are easy to use and a thriving small community it will be a totally different story.

It’s truly a shame though. A guy like that can just blatantly disrespect an entire community and they collectively go ‘welp we are fine with this please do it more’ . Pathetic.

[-] Candelestine@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah.

Regardless, small niche spaces do have their utility. Genuine experts generally don't like hanging out with all the pleb fans, it's just too much of a pain in the butt. Just go take a look back at r/space and look at some of the answers people come up with.

Orbital mechanics is just not an intuitive thing. Yet people think they "get it" without having to put the effort in. When there's millions of them, it becomes overwhelming.

Here though, an expert can hang out, see one post a month, and actually engage if they want. I'd thus expect more actual NASA employees and experts to be found here than in a larger community. Because normal people are annoying.

[-] RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 year ago

It’s quite eye opening once you become experienced/ trained in something and listen to people talk about it on Reddit. There’s so many people that think they know what they’re talking about and are quite confident while being completely incorrect. I see it with things I’m familiar with, what about topics where I’m not experienced? It really makes you stop and think.

I’m all for a smaller community that has actual experts chiming in without the layer of edge lords that waste all their time on Reddit.

[-] Candelestine@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah. It's a fairly well-known thing that the larger an internet community gets, the more diluted it gets. There's exceptions, like r/askhistorians was, but they're rare, and often rely on something like utterly draconian moderation practices to even remain functional at a high level of quality.

The easiest way to find the best communities is to look for the small ones though. Places like this.

It wouldn't always necessarily be this way either. If the sub exploded and acquired millions of users, the tone of the place would progress through several evolutions.

[-] specfreq@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I don't think about space too much, but I really like that some people do.

[-] JdW@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

They always say that the breakdown is something like 1% of people post, 9% comment on posts, and 90% read/lurk. My experience with space/NASA communities is that an even smaller percentage post, but a bigger percentage comment on those posts.

Like someone else suggested, I think if you post links to NASA-related news and programs, you'll see a decent amount of activity.

[-] pixeltree@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Hello hello

[-] Ilikepornaddict@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 year ago

There's dozens of us!

Unfortunately I'm not a content creator, I will probably never have anything to contribute, but I love space.

[-] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

If you come across anything interesting NASA related online, feel free to share! I just posted some blueprint type pictures I came across a while ago.

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

I'm one of the new mods over in the /c/space community, I'd say just keep posting content and people will come :)

[-] Shadow@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

Subscribed!

[-] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Hi there!

I'm a mod/co-creator of the !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works, !spaceflightmemes@sh.itjust.works, and !spaceX@sh.itjust.works communities. I'm definitely in favour of keeping this NASA sub alive, and I'll try to cross-post relevant content when I can.

[-] antangil@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

There’s definitely relevant crossover, but I’m also okay if members of both communities focus any zeal for Musk in your domain. I’ve got a lot of respect for Glynn and her team and SpaceX is definitely having their Apollo moment - and they have a gift for keeping the press excited in a way that’s generally good for the whole world of space exploration.

But… (fair warning) I’ve worked SLS and the NASA govt reference design for HLS. My personal feelings on the “just give all the work to Elon” storyline are therefore a bit complex. Regardless, welcome to the community - all engagement is positive. :)

[-] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I understand. Most of the activity on the SpaceX community so far seems to be focused on the operations of the company rather than the antics of its CEO, so I don't expect too much trouble. Please let me know if you notice anything out of line. We don't want to brigade.

My personal feelings on Elon as of late are also... a bit complex, as you put it.

I'm mostly just excited about the prospect of human spaceflight beyond LEO again. Can't wait for Artemis II and III, as well as future Mars missions!

[-] BearJCC@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 year ago

We read you Houston.

[-] awwwyissss@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Cacaw! CACAWW!! (my signal that I'm here)

[-] SideshowBoz@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Definitely worth keeping this :)

[-] ACatNamedBunny@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Can we poach the "Astronomer here!" guy from reddit?

[-] eek2121@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

oh hey! subbed.

[-] brothershamus@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Affirmative.

this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2023
88 points (97.8% liked)

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