It appears to me that the current state of Lemmy is similar to other platforms when they were smaller and more insular, and that insularity is somewhat protecting it.
I browse Lemmy, and it feels a bit like other platforms did back in 2009, before they became overwhelmed and enshitified.
If I understand it correctly, Lemmy has a similar “landed gentry” moderation scheme, where the first to create a community control it. This was easily exploited on other platforms, particularly in regards to astroturfing, censorship, and controlling a narrative.
If/when Lemmy starts to experience its own “eternal September”, what protections are in place to ensure we will not be overwhelmed and exploited?
the enshitification happens at a smaller location level.
look at some of the shunned/pariah instances. lots of people just end up blocking it or joining the instance to participate… what ever
imo it will continue to be a rollercoaster of ups and downs that only a core group of users will notice but there’s going to be drama
because drama is how humans behave
There could be some maximum threshold or critical number where people’s discussions goes downhill, regardless of the infrastructure. So while the idea of splintering into new communities that share names and topics was initially a big concern with the Reddit migration, calling for a way to imitate a Reddit sole source, perhaps it’s better to allow diversification even if some things aren’t directly and timely shared.