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.

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[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 36 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I disagree, yes being kind is very important but even more important is people engaging and upvoting comments.

Reddit was great because of what happened in the comment section, not the headliners, and I see very little voting engagement even in active posts.

Remember, it's free to do and it encourages others to engage as well. But yea be kind too

[–] cyberblob@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Voting is boring. Just comment yourself. Thats much better. We want content and discussions, Not just numbers;)

[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did you not see the part where I actually commented myself?

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Thank you for commenting! I agree too, it is conversation that makes a place a place, not headlines and articles handed down to silent readers.

[–] kreynen@kbin.melroy.org 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

@Angry_Autist@lemmy.world

@Cris_Color@lemmy.world

It is only "free" if you choose not to pay. Unlike commercial social that's free for you to use BECAUSE you are the product being sold, federated social is only free to you because someone else is paying.

I completely agree that mass adoption requires well primed communities which requires early adopters to put more effort into engaging.

I would also add that clicking on anything linked helps too.. Many news outlets are data driven. If you want them to invest more with federated social, click the links so the engagement shows up in their analytics.

[–] Wiz@midwest.social 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Right. The Fediverse is the PBS of the social media.

"It's made possible by people like you." Is it worth a few dollars a month? Yes!

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I love that connection, it's very much like the PBS of social media :)

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I agree that folks should chip in!

Voting specifically doesn't really have meaningful server costs, I think that's really what they were talking about, but your point is very fair :)

This platform exists only if we decide it's worth existing and give it support :)