Reddit Exodus: Welcoming the Selfhosted Community to Lemmy - Migrating to Freedom! (Crosspost)
Greetings, self-hosting enthusiasts and welcome to the Selfhosted group on Lemmy! I am formerly /u/Fimeg now Casey, your tour guide through the labyrinth of digital change. As you’re likely aware, we’re witnessing a considerable transformation in the landscape of online communities, particularly around Reddit. So let’s indulge our inner tech geeks and dive into the details of this issue, and explore how we, as a self-hosting community, can contribute to the solution.
The crux of the upheaval is a policy change from Reddit that’s putting the existence of beloved third-party apps, like Reddit is Fun, Narwhal, and BaconReader, in jeopardy. Reddit has begun charging exorbitant fees for API usage, so much so that Apollo is facing a monthly charge of $1.7 million. The ramifications of these charges have resulted in an outcry from the Reddit community, leading to a number of subreddits planning to go dark in protest.
These actions have pushed many users to seek out alternative platforms, such as Lemmy, to continue their digital explorations. The migration to Lemmy is especially significant for us self-hosters. Third-party applications have long been a critical part of our Reddit experience, offering unique features and user experiences not available on the official app.
As members of the Selfhosted group on Lemmy, we’re not just bystanders in this shift - we have the knowledge, skills, and power to contribute to the solution. One of the ways we can contribute is by assisting with the archiving efforts currently being organized by r/datahoarder on Reddit. As self-hosting enthusiasts, we understand the value of data preservation and have the technical acumen required to ensure the wealth of information on Reddit is not lost due to these policy changes.
So, while we navigate this new territory on Lemmy, let’s continue to engage in productive discussions, share insights, and help to shape the future of online communities. Your decision to join Lemmy’s Selfhosted group signifies a commitment to maintain the spirit of a free and open internet, a cause that is dear to all of us.
Finally, in line with the spirit of the original Reddit post, if you wish to spend money, consider supporting open-source projects or charities that promote a free and accessible internet.
With that, let’s roll up our digital sleeves and embark on this new journey together. Welcome to the Selfhosted group on Lemmy!
P.S. Thank you to Ruud who is actively maintaining the moderation front in this community!
Former redditor. What do I call myself now? Lemming? lol But I also noticed that I don't see some Karma score equivalent, which is a great thing to leave behind. Those imaginary points were just useless at best, and used against people who were new at the worst.
That's really difficult to do with a karma-like system. People posting in echo-chambers can post misinformation but receive many up votes.
Credibility is subjective. For example, people on one side of a political ideology will not think people on the opposite side are credible. So who can really determine an "attribute of credibility"?
We would have to agree on a standard first and that's just not going to happen.
Awesome to see the selfhosted community coming together to tackle the massive influx of Reddit refugees (Myself included). It's crazy to see so many people flock to a new platform this quickly and even more awesome to see how much support is being given to the people actually putting forward their time and effort (And money) to bring the fediverse platforms to more people!
I was only just starting my selfhosted journey when Reddit pulled the plug on my preferred client, Sync for Reddit. I'm glad people realize the tech is good, but the people are not so much so. Online communities like this are what makes the internet alive and useful. Can't wait to get started building my server - including my future Lemmy instance!
Former Redditor. For those that are partaking in the Reddit walkout, with no plans on returning, is there additional information available for the datahoarding effort? The amount of information stuck in Reddit is overwhelming and we need to free that information for ingestion elsewhere.
I actually was searching for a solution to an issue today and the solution was on Reddit, which was set to private. I would love to help ensure this information is made available elsewhere.
You can head over to the ArchiveTeam Warrior site for more info. You can set up a Warrior instance in Docker and assign it to the Reddit archive project.