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-

  • Be kind

  • Ask people what they think, and why

  • 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)

  • Engage sincerely

  • Ask yourself if there’s something nice you can say

  • 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.

  • nanook@friendica.eskimo.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    14 days ago

    @Cris_Color A lot of people mistake kind for being fake and not ever expressing disagreement, but doing so neuters what is in my view one of the most valuable aspects of these federated social media, the potential for opposing view points to be expressed and then discussed and hopefully some mutually beneficial solutions that accommodate both sides of an opposing viewpoint can be arrived at. That can’t happen unless an environment is safe and inviting and people can act in a civilized manner.

  • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    2 months ago

    I disagree with your premise.

    It should be “The best thing that you can do for humanity is to be kind”.

    Seriously. We’re living in a time when fascism is in an upswing and at least one religious leader has publicly called empathy a sin. Kindness and empathy are rebellious acts.

  • Cris@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    Here are some more specific examples to think about!

    • Compliment people’s art and ask about their process

    • Teach people about something you’re knowledgeable on

    • Give constructive criticism on peoples projects when it’s welcome

    • Thank people for posting things you’re glad you got to see, tell them you enjoyed it

    • Tell people you’re glad they’re here

    • Tell people you hope they have a good day

    Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts :) if you have thoughts of your own, I’d love to hear them!

  • squirrel@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    2 months ago

    There was a movement in the blogging community ~15 years ago to leave positive comments on posts you like. It was an approach to conquer negative comments and a general destructive nature of online conversations. I still do it to this day. If I really like something or appreciate someone’s work, I leave a nice comment.

  • TanteRegenbogen@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    Tell that to the people who make a dozen sockpuppet accounts to insult me just because I disagreed with them.

  • SuiXi3D@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    The second best thing is remember that tolerance of intolerance breeds intolerance.

        • Ogmios@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          If you actually had a coherent definition of what a Nazi is, it might be possible to agree with you. But in reality, it’s used as a catch all by shitty people to justify their shitty behaviour.

          • fubo@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            2 months ago

            To be clear, I mean people who praise Hitler, get swastika tattoos, blame everything on a Jewish Conspiracy, etc.

            You know, Nazis.

            • JasSmith@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              2 months ago

              That’s coherent. Unfortunately most people who use it today literally mean “someone who disagrees with me.” It really muddies the water because it’s often accompanied by threats of violence. The net effect is raising the temperature in the room on both sides, because it’s effectively dehumanising others who have perfectly valid political disagreements, and calling for their death.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    This place is becoming very Reddit, if you post anything that deviates from someone’s beliefs they call you names and insult your intelligence. So many people can’t have a debate or discussion without jumping to personal attacks and hate. It’s really disheartening. I love political debate but there’s no such thing anymore, only name calling

    • the_q@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      Doing a quick look through your comment history paints the picture that you’re likely the issue since your responses are often vaguely or overtly aggressive. Snide and snark.

      • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        There it is. And that’s the weirdest, most volatile group, the ones that search through your comment history so they can find ammo for personal attacks. That’s so so weird, I have never ever looked through anyone’s comment history, if you’re an asshole i generally move on. Going into a strangers history to search for dirt is really cringe and kind of speaks to your priorities in life

        • Rhoeri@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          2 months ago

          But if someone didn’t search your comment history, they wouldn’t know from context, that you seem to enjoy telling others what they should and shouldn’t be posting and judging them for being obnoxious and insulting while doing exactly that elsewhere.

  • kek@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 months ago

    Great post.

    To add to this, not resorting to calling others tankies or Russian bots when you have differing opinions, especially around politics.

    • Cris@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      1 billion percent agree, not everyone you disagree with is acting in bad faith

      • jimmy90@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        2 months ago

        when you’re dealing with fundamentalists or extremists things turn nasty very quickly because you’re questioning their fantasy world

        doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad faith, often they will just ban you