Hi everyone!

Last year lemmy.ca ran a census for our instance, and this year we wanted to solicit feedback ahead of time. Since other instances expressed interest in running similar censuses, having some agreed upon questions would make it easier to do comparisons. (previous: lemmy.ca results, lemmy.nz results).

Timeline wise, for our instance, we are thinking of gathering feedback for the rest of the month and then running the census early in the new year. We are open to adjusting when we run it, to align with other instances.

General areas of feedback:

Self Identification / Categorization

With some questions, it is difficult to have a predetermined list of options. Last year we included a free form entry option, and then created word clouds with the full list. However, that is not as insightful, and it takes a lot of time to process. For this year, do you prefer:

  • A set of options + a free form option (same as last year)
  • A set of options only

Please share if you know of a resource that has a good/inclusive set of options for the question types. Even if a free form option is included, a better set of options as a base will lead to better data.

For context, these were the questions where this happened:

  • What is your ethnicity?
  • How do you identify? (sexual orientation)
  • What is your occupation / field of Work?

Data collection & Results

Last year we used Google forms for collection, and a spreadsheet for calculations and analysis. Visualization was done with google sheets, an open source word cloud generator (github link), and DataWrapper (link) for an interactive display on our website.

This year the plan is similar, although we’re interested to try chart.js for the visualizations. We had some issues with DataWrapper displays, and having the code be open source would make it easier for others to replicate. One consideration is data privacy (do we commit anonymized data to the repo, host it elsewhere and import it, etc.).

Sometime in the future, it might be nice to have a template and/or pipeline that everyone can use, for consistency and to minimize work. In the meantime, do you have any thoughts or recommendations?

Fun Question

Last year we asked about people’s favourite dessert. It would be cool to do something similar this year. Do you have any suggestions for a fun question? Some ideas:

  • Favourite comfort food
  • Favourite fruit
  • Favourite color (with a hex code input)

Proposed Questions

Where applicable, I’ve included changes from last year. Depending on the type of instance you run (ex. regional or not), you may want to skip, add, or modify questions.

Section 1: Where is everyone from?

Where are you from?

  • Canada? (yes / no)
    • If in Canada, which province or territory?
    • If not, which continent?

What is the size of your community? (rural / urban / suburban / other)

  • suburban and other are new options

In your opinion, what is the quality of your internet connection? (poor, reasonable, excellent)

What is your internet speed?

  • new question inspired by lemmy.nz
  • we may include a link to a speed test site for convenience, and have a free form entry

Section 2: Who are you?

What age range do you fall into? (0-9, 10-19, etc.)

Ethnicity? (options uncertain, see above)

Gender Identity? (Man, Woman, Non-binary person, Genderfluid)

  • Optionally, we could include a free form entry ‘other’ option, and list the input in a separate list.

Are you someone with trans experience (yes / no)

How do you identify? (options uncertain, see above)

Disability Status (yes / no)

  • New separate question inspired by lemmy.nz

Disability Status (free form entry)

  • Last year we manually processed the text inputs and displayed them in a list. We’re open to hearing suggestions on better ways to run this question!

Educational Background

  • Last year we had multi-select, which didn’t make sense. This year we can split it into a few questions:
    • Are you currently in school? (yes / no)
      • What are you studying? (single selection, see list below)
    • Highest level of education completed (single selection, see list below)
    • All past education (multi-select, see list below)
    • List of options:
      • No formal education
      • Some secondary school (high school)
      • Secondary school (high school) diploma
      • GED
      • Trade / technical / vocational training
      • Some Post-secondary (college, university, CÉGEP)
      • College diploma
      • Associate degree
      • Bachelor’s degree
      • Master’s degree
      • Professional degree (MD, JD, MBA, etc.)
      • Doctorate (PhD, etc.)
      • Other

Employment Status (full-time, part-time, self-employed, student, retired, unemployed, other)

  • Last year we also got responses for ‘homemaker’, ‘disabled’, ‘active duty military’. We could add these as options, or include a free form ‘other’ entry for them.

Field of Work (options uncertain, see above)

  • This question was a free form entry last year, and it was very difficult to process. Having a solid list of options would be ideal in this case.
  • We could include an ‘other’ option with a free form entry, with a note that any response will not be included in the main results and will be displayed as-is in a separate list.

Section 3: Instance Usage

How many {instance name} communities do you participate in? (0, 1-9, 10-19, 20+)

If you moderate any communities, how many? (number input)

  • Last year this was a multi-select, but a number input would be more straightforward

What community do you want to see on {instance name}? (free form entry)

What existing community do you want to see more people using? (free form entry)

  • This is a new question.

On average, how much time do you spend on Lemmy each day? (<1 hour, 1-2 hours, 2-3, 3-5, 5-8, 8-13, 13-21, 21+)

How often do you visit {instance name}? (multiple times a day, daily, weekly, monthly, rarely)

  • This is a new question.

How do you access Lemmy most often? (desktop, mobile (including tablet), both about equally)

  • (including tablet) is a new addition
  • both about equally is a new option

If you use desktop, what operating system do you use? (Windows, MacOS, Linux, I don’t use desktop, other)

  • New question

On desktop, which interfaces do you use? (default, Mlymym, Photon, Voyager, Alexandrite, I don’t use desktop)

  • I don't use desktop is a new option, and will be separate from the ‘skip this question’ option

Is there another interface you would like us to add? (free form entry)

  • New question

If you use mobile, what operating system do you use? (Android, iOS, I don’t use mobile, other)

  • I don't use mobile and other are new options

On mobile, how do you access Lemmy?

  • We will include an updated list of apps, and a free form entry for any new ones
  • We will include an option for I don't use mobile, web browser, and other, in addition to the skip this question option

If you primarily access lemmy.ca through different Lemmy/Kbin instance, please list it below (optional) (free form entry)

What other decentralized / federated platforms do you use?

  • Some potential options: none, Mbin, Kbin, PieFed, Mastodon, Bluesky, Pixelfed, Peertube, Loop, Bookwyrm, WriteFreely, Pleroma, Friendica, Misskey, Writefreely, + free form entry

Fun Question (yet to be determined)

Feedback (free form entry)

General Changes:

  • All questions will have a ‘skip this question’ option
  • Fewer random comments from me when reporting the results. I looked back at them afterwards and thought they might be a bit much.
  • stepanEnglish
    2·
    6 hours ago

    Very interesting. For the ethnicity tab, I would use the 10 race system (totally not stolen from Hinge)

    1. Indigenous

    2. Latine

    3. White / European

    4. Black / African

    5. MENA: Middle Eastern / North Africa

    6. Central Asian

    7. South Asian

    8. East Asian

    9. Southeast Asian

    10. Pacific Islander

    And other : ________

  • wise_pancakeEnglish
    4·
    14 hours ago

    Please make sure you don’t use Google forms as it can dox people’s Google account and real life info.

    Maybe we can make a survey bot that DMs the questions to people and writes them back to a Google sheet for the same analysis

    • OtterOPAEnglish
      1·
      3 hours ago

      I’ll pass along any of these suggestions while we weigh options. Last year we made sure to turn off any email tracking so at least we (the admins) can’t see any additional personal information aside from what is inputted on the census, but I agree that a better option would be ideal

  • AFallingAnvilEnglish
    16·
    3 days ago

    Pineapple on pizza: yes or no?

    This has always been a fun low stakes debate with new people, I don’t know how well it’ll carry over to .NZ though

    • OtterOPAEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Thanks! I’ll add it to the list of potential questions to add

  • 1985MustangCobraEnglish
    10·
    3 days ago

    I would think to ask living arrangements (house/apartment/condo/other)

    • OtterOPAEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Oops, good catch thanks!

      I’ll update it on our notes and then fix the posts later

  • saigotEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    I think it would be interesting to see how long everyone has been a part of the instance and maybe what got them to come here.

    For the self identification question, would it be possible to use the top x results (with similar results combined) from the word cloud as fixed options this year?

    • OtterOPAEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      For the self identification question, would it be possible to use the top x results (with similar results combined) from the word cloud as fixed options this year?

      This could work well for some of them!

      For the field of work question, the grouping last year was partially for my own convenience when going through the data. It might be better to use some other list for that one

  • Avid AmoebaEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago
    • Perhaps a political self-determination word cloud
    • A word cloud for what people care about
    • Sunshine (she/her)English
      4·
      2 days ago

      Political party support would be an interesting one. I wanna see how many people support the maverick, future, communist parties here percent wise.

      • Avid AmoebaEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        I’m a bit more interested in self-described labels than party support since the political spectrum itself as defined by parties is a bit of a sham. People experience similar issues across the spectrum and have much more in common within class. If you don’t force them into being somewhere on the spectrum, commonalities emerge, which can be discussed without the baggage that comes with the political bucket they have been put in.

        • OtterOPAEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          This could be cool. Do you have recommendations on how such a question should look? (sliders/text input, what categories to ask, etc)

          • Avid AmoebaEnglish
            3·
            2 days ago

            I’m thinking freeform then build a word cloud. Sorry. 😂 Yes I read that you want to avoid that.

            E.g.

            How would you describe your sociopolitical views?

            Tex input:

            • OtterOPAEnglish
              2·
              1 day ago

              Oh I see ok, if the plan is a word cloud then that’s simple too since we don’t have to process anything

          • Avid AmoebaEnglish
            2·
            2 days ago

            Probably. Choosing to be on the Fediverse instead of a corporate platform itself requires thought process that has lefty traits. But then again, some people see these problems and decide to take this action without realizing what it says politically.

  • Sunshine (she/her)English
    7·
    3 days ago

    I love the expanded options as it would give greater insight into the demographics of our instance.

    But please consider adding an section for diets such as meateater, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc.

    • OtterOPAEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Thanks! I’ll add it to the list of potential questions to add

    • 1985MustangCobraEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      Good point. if we are doing a census it makes sense to get as much data as possible.