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.

    • Cris@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      92·
      14 days ago

      That is a very specific interpretation of what I meant by this post.

      To be perfectly honest, I really wasn’t making the point you should approve of nazis. Just that maybe it’s worth putting effort into being kind to one another…

      For example, I constantly see leftists online biting eachother’s heads off (including on lemmy) for having slightly different left-wing ideology. Its not like “approach people you disagree with with curiosity” means specifically actual neonazis, and approaching someone with curiosity doesn’t mean telling people “your idea is correct and you’re right for thinking it”

      It means trying to understand it. You can dislike someone and still gain from better understanding their worldview. Even if you think it’s harmful. Even if you think it’s illogical. Even if you think they’re wrong. Curiousity isn’t tacit approval.

      If you want to think about it cynically you can consider it creating allies and knowing your enemy.

      All of that ignoring the fact that if you look around, this platform is almost exclusively left wing 😅 even if it includes folks left of center I don’t agree with, like tankies and neoliberals (who yes, I know, are only left with respect of the US overton window. Thats where I’m from 🤷‍♂️)

      I understand we disagree on certain things, that’s okay, these are just my thoughts on the subject, and it’s a profoundly important one, so I can appreciate why people would have different strongly held beliefs on it. Hope you have a good one :)

        • Cris@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          11·
          13 days ago

          I can understand your anger, I’m in the same boat, but I really wasn’t asking you to do that :( I was asking you to be kind to the people here. That you share this space with.

          I wish I had left this list of examples in the original post where I had them at first

          • 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

          I moved them to a comment because I have a bad habit of being really long winded and I wanted people to actually read the whole post, but I think moving them and leaving “try to approach people you disagree with with curiosity rather than hostility” prompted a lot of folks to interpret what I was saying as “tell the Nazis who want to debate your humanity that all their views are swell, actually”

          What I meant is exactly what didn’t happen in our interaction with eachother. I’m a queer leftist whose humanity is debated by the right. You don’t completely agree with me and that’s okay, but I’m not deserving of your hostility.

          We may not see things exactly the same way but I care just as much about combating fascism as you do; everyone I love save for some of my family is a minority with a target on their back in the eyes of the current administration.

          I wish I could have made it more clear what I meant. I’ve gotten lots of comments more or less insinuating that I’m encouraging we all complicit in the rise of fascism. And it’s not a big percentage, but I’m still a human being who hears 12 people forcefully telling me that, and it doesn’t feel great.

          That’s not what I’m advocating. I’m advocating that when you don’t completely see eye to eye with someone, you ask them what they mean (and also lots of other things, like giving compliments and telling folks you appreciate their post, etc. etc. ect., but I feel like how to handle disagreement is the specific idea in question).

          WE don’t see exactly eye to eye. You and other commenters here don’t see exactly eye to eye. And that’s okay. Being willing to talk with them or me about what they think and why doesn’t help the Nazis.

          (Like I said I’m really long winded 🙃 sorry for the wall of text, I know it’s not even the first one I’ve replied with to you specifically 😅)

            • Cris@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
              21·
              13 days ago

              Personally I don’t see calling people Russian bots/trolls or accepting harmful behaviour as the only available options.

              I don’t think the former is at all productive or helps anything, and the latter is completely unacceptable. But those aren’t our only options when we decide how we want to engage with people we disagree with

              and again, fascists are not the only people with whom disagreements happen on lemmy. We’re literally disagreeing right now, if you called me a Russian bot I think that would be silly and unproductive. That’s literally my whole point. Not everyone you disagree with is arguing in bad faith 🤷‍♂️

                • Cris@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
                  31·
                  13 days ago

                  I’m very familiar with and agree with the Nazi bar metaphor, and said as much in one of my very first comments I made in the discussion under this post. At no point have I advocated letting Lemmy be a Nazi bar. And we don’t exactly have many fascists here compared to other platforms, Lemmy is almost exclusively leftists.

                  Being kind to your fellow lemmites is not making this platform a Nazi safe haven, it just makes it a social space actually worth spending time in.

                  • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
                    3·
                    13 days ago

                    I think you’re wasting your breath at this point. This McCarthyite’s views aren’t going to move an inch, and virtually no one else is going to see this conversation, because this thread is buried under the fold and the post is a day old.

                    It doesn’t matter that first they came for the communists, or that no one has shed more blood fighting fascists than communists. “Authoritarian” communists are fascists, case closed.

    • Muyal_Hix@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      13 days ago

      “Tankies”

      The irony with this is that Lemmy was founded by communists and it follows a lot of communist principles.

    • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.worldEnglish
      85·
      14 days ago

      If you know what you are arguing and argue with tankies/Nazis in good faith, nine times out of ten they will eventually lose their temper and make fools of themselves. There is no need to be hostile to begin with, they just defeat themselves basically because their ideologies are totally flawed (kinda like in real life).

    • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1210·
      14 days ago

      Horseshoe theory is horseshit.

        • Shardikprime@lemmy.worldEnglish
          104·
          14 days ago

          This is an example of what being nice is for the average Lemmy user

          Jesus Christ you people can’t even comment without going ballistic at each other over the slightest thing

          • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
            22·
            13 days ago

            I wouldn’t call this the “average” Lemmy user, but there is a minority of very loud users who make it seem that way at times.

            If we want this to be a pleasant place, users need to report them, and mods & admins—who, I cannot stress enough, do this labor for free or at most peanuts—need to deal with them.
            https://join-lemmy.org/docs/code_of_conduct.html

        • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
          85·
          14 days ago

          You’ve once again shown your empty accusations and insults, contrary to OP’s advice in this post.

      • surewhynotlem@lemmy.worldEnglish
        312·
        14 days ago

        They have one very important thing in common. They both support the alt-right. Fascists because they want to. Leftist because they’re purists.

        • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
          81·
          14 days ago

          They do not support the alt-right. What are you even talking about? “MAGA communists” almost never show up on Lemmy, and when they do they are quickly shown the door. And Marxist are neither “purists,” “idealists,” nor “utopians,” which you’d know if you’d read any Marxist theory.

          • AwkwardBroccolli@lemmy.mlEnglish
            13·
            14 days ago

            I have read a lot of marxist and anarchist theory. All marxist theories did is to confirm that the anarchists are right.

          • surewhynotlem@lemmy.worldEnglish
            19·
            14 days ago

            They support the alt-right by being overly idealistic and failing to partner with liberals and more moderate leftists to make progress.

            Divide and be conquered.

              • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
                41·
                14 days ago

                I disagree. Socialists often tactically partner with liberals on shared goals, despite the risks. Knowing that, when forced to choose, liberals have historically sided with fascists, because fascists will never upend capitalism.

                • queermunist she/her@lemmy.mlEnglish
                  31·
                  14 days ago

                  It makes tactical sense to partner with liberals in some contexts, like a national liberation struggle, and to put aside lesser contradictions to focus on the principal contradiction. It doesn’t make sense to partner with liberals while under capitalism, especially not within the imperial core. The liberals in congress don’t have a shared goal in stopping fascism.

                  • davel@lemmy.mlEnglish
                    41·
                    14 days ago

                    What, a Zionist genocidaire giving a performative twenty five hour faux filibuster is not stopping fascism?

    • Cadenza@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      14 days ago

      Oh, not them. I suppose they meant among non-right wingers. I always found quite explicit they aren’t welcome here. Not today, not ever.