I think I’ve settled on the latter. Disagreement is maybe best communicated by the absence of an upvote? And downvotes work best when they signal something that is just off base, and while not reportable, is not appreciated at a broad cultural level.
I’ve always been partial to “irrelevant to the discussion”.
For example: if a post is detailing increased temperatures compared to a previous year: ✅ Comment saying “This is most likely an effect of global warming” ✅ Comment saying “This paper is potentially biased as the paper/publication is sponsored” ✅ Replies to these comments discussing the legitimacy of their claims (for or against them) ⛔ Comment which is promoting their own content (even if related) with no discussion of the linked post ⛔ Intentionally incendiary comments. “Liberals will say it’s climate change I bet.” ⛔ Completely off topic. “Ok but guys let’s talk about SCARING THE HOES for a second here. Straight flames.”
Too many people use a downvote as “I disagree” when a comment may actually provide a different viewpoint and - as long as it’s respectful and open to counterpoints itself - can be a nice addition to the discussion.
The big thing with any Reddit alternative is what kind of community is migrating over there. A lot of controversies Reddit has had in the past have centered around vocally discriminatory communities migrating to a new platform after Reddit has decided their content does not align with their views and goals as a company.
Fatpeoplehate, the_donald, probably jailbait I imagine (though before my time on the site thankfully).
The one exception I would say would be the uncerwmonious firing of Victoria from AMA which caused an uproar and led to AMA’s never really feeling the same. I didn’t think about leaving then, but I understood the anger and concept of reddit slowly losing its identity in favour of a more corporate one. Ironically Reddit’s latest decision has led to AMA opening the flood gates to anyone and everyone, giving a more genuine feel to the community.
Now 3rd party apps being shut down (although revanced provides an alternative) has caused a general consensus it’s time to leave, fragmenting communities into different websites and platforms. I’ve encountered some hostility and opinions I personally disagree with on Lemmy, but overall the generalized community here is a good replacement, over a displeased and spiteful group that would fixate on one specific person or upset over one specific group of people. Perhaps thats just the nature of the fediverse overall where - if an admin of lemmy.ca decides to make us a proudboys affiliated network - I can just go elsewhere.
TL;DR Lemmy is all I need. It’s not voat, it can federate with kbin fine, and it’s open allowing anyone and everyone to have their say. I like Lemmy!
Downvotes = “I disagree” or “this is bad and you should feel bad”?
I think I’ve settled on the latter. Disagreement is maybe best communicated by the absence of an upvote? And downvotes work best when they signal something that is just off base, and while not reportable, is not appreciated at a broad cultural level.
What's your opinion on all the Reddit alternatives?
Like a lot of others, I’ve been looking at Reddit alternatives recently which is what landed me here at Lemmy....