The problem is writers who don't focus In tech probably won't be in the app, history reddit, manga, bodybuilders are high Quality subrredits that can't translate so easy to lemmy

Yup, this is why Facebook groups still exist. My Gran can’t start a sewing subreddit but can click groups on Facebook. This is just the next level of that.

No one likes secret internet clubs, they're lame and end up as a circlejerk or a hugbox, much like early IRC servers and discord servers now.

Opinion: lobste.rs sucks because you need to be one of the chosen people to post there, and you're only chosen if you think like someone already in there. The posts there are very high quality, but it might as well be a hivemind's blog. Why would I read someone else's comments when I could make my own, on a different website with the same links posted?

But you don't want to end up like reddit, with their facebook tier front page and repetitive, bot(-like ?) comments. Reddit sucks now is because they let anyone post anything, and the admins want to capture the stream of quick, digital trash coming out of tiktok and the likes. That's what the shareholders want, more users to sell ads. Who cares what the peons babble about, make sure whoever visits the site doesnt have an ad blocker and stick around a long time.

Having a small community lets you specialize more and, in my opinion, specializing a website is much healthier. Discussions are much more pleasant when you go to traffic-forum or chair-forum dot com to discuss traffic tech or leather chairs. You go to reddit, or facebook, or whatever, and see mounds of unrelated videos and pictures flooding your screen. The moderators don't do their job because when you allow everything, you only have to do the bare minimum.

I think "circlejerks" and "hiveminds" are okay. Would you expect a church to defend their views against atheists every Sunday? Or vice versa? Like-minded people like to hang out and talk about like-minded stuff. That's fine.

It is quite ironic, that people flagged your post.

Meaning apparently, no your opinion, that people don’t want to be confronted with controversial opinions all day long was a unwanted opinion from the local hivemind. Or was I missing something here?

Because I also think, that it is fine, if people do their thing in their groups. There are enough other public (online) places, where you do get confronted with other peoples realities. Is that really a flagworthy opinion?

No one flagged the post. It was killed by a software filter until users vouched for it.

I suppose because of the words used, like "circlejerks"? Another "crude tool" then, I suppose .. as I think in this context the use of that word was alright.

Vouching somewhat works, though.

edit: confirmed, as this comment is now also dead.

Small suggestion: if a bad word is enclosed by "", it likely is not used in a bad way.

> It is quite ironic, that people flagged your post.

Flagged or downvoted? Downvoting stuff is fine; it's actually a bit more nuanced as I mentioned in my previous post because if you spend all your life in a "circlejerk" then that's perhaps a bit of an issue. That's been a concern with e.g. "The filter bubble" and things like "FOX News media bubble" and stuff. But none of that applies to e.g. Lobsters, so I didn't bother mentioning it.

Flagging would be a horrible abuse of the flag feature though.

See the reply from dang above, it was apparently a simple word filter in action, meaning "circlej**" is not allowed to say.

Flagged, like this post of yours was just now. (until I vouched)

I see it happen and it disturbs me as well. The other variant would be, you are shadowbanned? But it doesn't seem like it.

I don't follow your last two paragraphs. If you unsub from the default subs and stay on smaller ones then you get exactly that small forum experience. The downvote system kills a lot of toxic arguments and insults that forums tend to be full of.

> lobste.rs sucks because you need to be one of the chosen people to post there, and you're only chosen if you think like someone already in there. The posts there are very high quality, but it might as well be a hivemind's blog. Why would I read someone else's comments when I could make my own, on a different website with the same links posted?

You should read some of the threads of lobste.rs users reacting poorly when a technical article happens to be posted by an author with a furry or anime avatar.

It's just like some Hacker News threads. Indistinguishable.

At least your user name is honest...