The fediverse is small, and thats both a blessing and a curse - one of its several blessings is that in a smaller space we all individually have a bigger impact on what the culture of this space is like.
On this comm (and on lemmy broadly) there’s a lot of discussion about how to grow the fediverse, what to improve, but an easy thing you can do for the fediverse is right in front of us-
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Be kind
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Ask people what they think, and why
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Approach folks you disagree with with curiosity rather than hostility (EDIT: no, this is not specifically referring to Nazis. I get it, they’re the first thing that comes to mind. I’m not telling you to approve of Nazis I’m just saying be kind to your fellow lemmites)
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Engage sincerely
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Ask yourself if there’s something nice you can say
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Make this small space worth being in
A platform lives or dies by what’s available on said platform and often we have this conversation in the context of “content” or posts - and we may never have as much content as reddit does. But content and posts aren’t the only thing this kind of platform offers- it also offers people. It offers community, and human interaction.
Culture and community is lemmy and the fediverse’s biggest differentiator, and we all have a role to play in shaping the culture of this space.
The biggest thing you can do to help the fediverse is make it a place worth being.
We do not need all the engagement. Just engagement that most lemming users enjoy. The comments of spam bots for example are also good for engagement but are not enjoyable content. I personally hate being pissed of online cause it caries into my real life and people in general also do so most people come to this general idea that they don’t piss anyone of and expect other people to come to the same conclusion of not pissing anyone of. This leads to a less toxic environment which allows them to spend more of their time and energy on more productive stuff. Cause at the end of the day needlessly making other people feel bad for your own entertainment is a downwards spiral if everyone’s doing it.
So all your saying is don’t engage with bots (even though it’s fine because bots can get you information quickly), and that you can’t ignore negative people online.
I said don’t engage with spam bots. And no I can’t fully ignore baseless negative comments when I see them. They still register in my brain. I would need to have a filter in my brain or eyes that blanks them out. I wish I had one. Because they affect me even if they aren’t directed at me. Not in the same way but more in the sense that when you see a mother hitting her child on the train you feel compelled to say something. If I don’t I feel a sting and it doesn’t sit well with me. Because I care about others in general. Not implying you don’t. I know not everyone is a helpless child but a lot of people are mentally not in a state where they have the ability to deal with this stuff myself included sometimes. That’s also why I try to be kind to strangers on the internet in general.