This reddit post likely has tens if not hundreds of thousands of views, look at the top comment.

Lemmy is losing so many potential new users because the UX sucks for the vast majority of people.

What can we do?

  • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.netEnglish
    3·
    4 hours ago

    About the lack of an algorithm: do we really want to recreate the addictiveness of for-profit platforms? Is that actually a healthy feature? Perhaps it’s better for society if our social media isn’t as addictive as possible.

    And on manual validation for sign-ups: before the mass migration from Reddit, most instances didn’t seem to have validation, and then as it became popular, we got hit with trolls mass creating accounts posting CP and racist images, making it a game of whack-a-mole to stop it. As Lemmy is all volunteer run, we don’t have paid content moderators always watching for that stuff, nor did they have an automated content filter. The main solution is to validate sign-ups so that the moderators and admins are not overwhelmed with spam and illegal content (which they could be legally liable for if not dealt with properly).

    • EiriEnglish
      1·
      1 hour ago

      Well, it’s not because something has the potential to be addictive that it’s necessarily bad. After all, a video game that isn’t addictive at all could also be called boring.

      I think the line between an enjoyable experience and unhealthy addictive features is drawn in user choice and the absence of malicious intent.

      • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.netEnglish
        1·
        38 minutes ago

        That’s a fair point, actually. I suppose as long as an algorithm doesn’t prioritize engagement at all costs, it could be a worthy addition.