[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation @lemmy.world

2y ago

What are your thoughts on being called Lemmings if this platform becomes a staple?

Curious to know, I'd heard "lemming" used in a semi derogatory way, since "a person who unthinkingly joins a mass movement, especially a headlong rush to destruction" is the dictionary definition. It seems to be the first thing to come to mind as to what you'd call a Lemmy user.

This platform certainly is embodying a mass movement to get off of reddit, and I'm definitely all for it! But I can't help but feel this could be one of those baby names that sounded cute and catchy but could be bullied later into life. What are your thoughts?

99 comments

The lemming Wikipedia entry states lemmings seek out new habitats whenever population density gets too large. Kinda fitting to the reddit migration. Also loosely related to federations in terms of multiple habitats.
I like it because it's like communal but with a limit, so not herd mentally.
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  🤷‍♂️

I appreciate it as a self-aware jab at the nature of online communities in general, and it amuses me. Every human is a lemming in some way, shape or form, there's just nothing new under the sun so-to-speak. But by being aware of this tendency we can control our own behavior more consciously and effectively.
Gotta be able to laugh at yourself though, which is a capability that not everybody possesses.
- It does kind of lack the same embarrassment that comes from self identifying as a Redditor
- Sir, you are a Buddha.
  
  I like self sorting systems. Let the easily offended become offended and go somewhere else. They do have the right to be offended, after all.
- Just thinking about how at some point in the future the lemmyverse will be replaced over some dumb shit and the tremendous amount of absolutely trash memes about lemmings jumping off a cliff that follow fills me with joy.
  The internet is a cycle and it's fun to witness a new cycle now.

When I used reddit, I hardly ever felt the need to call anyone redditers? Do people that use Twitter call themselves twats? Cause they should. Damn the Faceboomers too.
- Ah, I see. You never truly savored the Redditor experience - the Fedora, the bliss of basement living, the Cheetos-inspired physique. Without such rites of passage, how can you claim the title?
  As for Twitter users being "Twats" or Facebook users "Faceboomers", that's an interesting proposition. But remember, le Redditors bear our stereotype with pride. The basement always has room for one more. ;)
  /s - do we still do this?
  
  instead of fediverse perhaps it should be fedoraverse
  
  I always used to do /j for joke/joking but I like to differentiate myself so YMMV
  also fuck you
  -basement dweller
  /j
  
  I hope not. Let's just assume we all know 95% of people who would post on this site are being sarcastic, at all times.
  If anything, we need a symbol for "I'm serious"...maybe /s?
  
  I hope not. We all know the majority are being sarcastic more than we aren't. Maybe we should have a tag for "I'm serious"... Would /s work for that? Haha
- Spoken like a true lemon
  
  Those darm lemon stealing....

lemurs > lemmings

That definition comes from a false myth; a documentary made a bunch of lemmings fall to their deaths and purposefully misrepresented it iirc, fucked up.
It's time we reclaim our name and honour!
- plus they are cute af
- I feel like there is some analogy to be made over how other social media platform leadership are all too willing to ruin our communities and run us out of them for their short-sighted goals.
  
  Totally. They are Disney creating a scenario where the logical response ought to be to stop at the cliff (aka play by their rules). Lemmings "choose" to confront the unknown future and go over the cliff, as that's better than obedience to the overbearing corporate entity.
- Lemming loaf!!
- As a resident of Scandinavia I knew it was a myth, but I had to look up a source:
  https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=56

It's the only sensible option.

There is also something called irony, which could be embraced and that would quell the bullying. Own it. It's funny, stop taking things so seriously. Also, who cares?
- Expanding on this, this is how language builds. Terms are often ironic or late take on different meanings than intended. I for one like lemmings, and I think it's unlikely another term would stick even if we wanted it to.

Call me whatever you want, when I hear "Lemmy" I think Motorhead, so maybe we're "Kilmisters"

I saw someone say we should go by lemmons

Also people will think we’re stupid if we let a group of scientists throw us off a cliff. Which is fair.

Lemmings are cute and I don't mind at all.

While I know that the origin of the stereotypes is false, the stereotype still remains. So I'm not fond of the term for that, but it's not a super big deal. I might joke about it because it's pretty fucking funny (c'mon... Redditors coming to Lemmy on a leap of faith? Like lemmings off a cliff is analogous as hell), but I mean... People who would use it to talk shit, would end up turning anything used to describe a group as a slur so there's not really a point in caring too much.

I dig it!
We can all start building ladders, digging holes, blocking others to reverse directions or simply self destruct!

I’ll just follow the rest of you and not think about it.

It's better than anal explorers ala Lemmiwinks.
- Thats what I thought, still not sure what the banes based on.

Lemmy is only one component of the Fediverse. We are Citizens of the Federated Universe!

I like it for two reasons. 1) I love that game and it gives me nostalgic memories. 2) It's ironically funny since a Lemming is the exact opposite of what we are just by being here.

Federators!

As far as I know it was a disney "documentary " that perpetuated the falsehood of lemmings committing mass suicide so it seems only fitting that we rehabilitate the name that was so besmirched by that filthy corporate behemoth.

lemchads

If we actually wanna support the essence of what we're engaging on, we shouldn't factionalize by user interface and should avoid names attached to Lemmy, Mastadon, or KBin. We should instead be Federates of the Fediverse.
- But then it'll be shortened to Feds and that seems wrong
  
  we could just be fedizens until we take that back from the FBI or a different name emerges

I don't know, what are your thoughts? Should we care? How does everyone else feel about this?

I bet that somewhere, at any given time, I'm being called something. It's a simple byproduct of anyone falling into the universalization trap.

It reminds me of the 1991 videogame I played when I was a child https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmings_(video_game)?wprov=sfti1
- That's one of the things that this platform's name is appearently based on. Just FYI; so you and the main developer have something in common :)
- This is what I think of every single time I hear the word lemmings - a little line of those 8 pixel dudes trotting along.
- Same, this is what I think of as well. So a cute and nostalgic connotations for me (even if they didn't have a great sense of self preservation).

I don't think it matters, if people have a problem with it they need to learn how to laugh at themselves. Redditors certainly behave like lemmings sometimes, and some self-deprecating humor over here calling ourselves lemmings is pretty funny

My vote is for Kilmisters

Personally, I think it’s on how you own it. You see a lot of people on right wearing deplorables as a sort of badge of honor. Same concept. People who would make fun of us for calling ourselves lemmings would make fun of us even if we called ourselves lions.

IDK, I'll probably wait until the majority makes a decision and go with it..... oh, wait

Here are some alternatives:
lemmyans
lemmynauts
lemmyzens
- Lemmynites please

Why tie your identity to it at all? There doesn't need to be a collective name for lemmy users.
Is an email user an emailer? Is a reader of RSS feeds a RSS'er? Are discord users discorders? Or signal users signallers?
(Note: Not actually sure if discord users call themselves something)
- No, they don't call themselves anything on Discord, they are too busy arguing with their moms.

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Lemmies!

Lemmings? Yup, I'm in.

I don't have any issues with Lemmings. But I prefer lemmers and lemmians.
- Lemmy IS god.

Lemon

I think many here like it. It's fun and us crashing a few Lemmy instances the past few days does resemble lemmings jumping off a cliff (even if that one is a myth) 😁
- queue up the hamster dance next

I like it tbh XD anything is better than "redditor", I can't get the image of the fat vaping neckbeard with a fedora out of my head

That’s definitely the first nickname that I thought of when I started using lemmy so I’m all in for it my fellow lemming

I vote for lemurs/lemurians
- I don't see the relation with lemmy
  
  Am not the first to think this since there is a discontinued lemmy app called lemmur. Plus, lemurians feel less like it's a joke compared to lemmings.

It's fine, though personally i'd rather just say lem or lems for simplicity if anything tbh

a person who unthinkingly joins a mass movement, especially a headlong rush to destruction
That's the joke, and one day our baconed narwhal.

trouser_lemming

Just call us nerds.

A repost from a few days ago seems appropriate: Lemmings go to war

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

I'm new but I've always mentally gone straight to lemming from lemmy. also, I love all iterations of the game.

I prefer LEMmy UseR -> lemur

Oh oh.. Let's go... 😄

Much better to be able to laugh to ourselves and show awareness of the matter. I never liked when people used membership of a community as a badge of honor, 'redditor' included.

@Redecco
I've been thinking about this for a little while now and I think Fedditor is the best choice.
Between Lemmy and Kbin, there's already two choices of software platforms for Reddit-esque link aggregators that work together. In the future there may be more. I think the term should be inclusive.
Fedditor is play on redditor, a widely used term for users of the privately owned Reddit. A fedditor is a user of a Fediverse alternative.
Since ActivityPub is an underlying protocol that interfaces with the rest of the Fediverse, I think emphasizing the Fediverse aspect and the "reddit-esque" aspect is more important than the specific software platform.
People may use different terms for Lemmy vs Kbin vs future alternatives (or ones I just don't know about), but they may also use different terms for the instance they use or for the magazine/group that they are a part of. I think if any term becomes widespread, it should be an inclusive term that fall underneath a more general term such as Fedditor.
- I think my initial instincts were Lemmings for Lemmy, Kbinners for Kbin, and yeah when it comes to the Fediverse as a whole there's a lot of room to play with the Fed in it. I'm having a hard time adopting Fedditor since it makes me think of Feta cheese + redditor, or like a f-ed up redditor haha. But I totally get your logic, universal sort of nicknames make sense across the different apps.
  Speaking of which I have no idea what a Mastodon user would be called, I guess Twitter you'd just say a "Twitter user" so the same would go for it.
- they may also use different terms for the instance they use or for the magazine/group that they are a part of.
  I feel like the community at sh.itjust.works really knocked it out of the park here. Feel like we may not even bother, everyone else is just going to be fighting for second place now.
  
  I feel like the community at sh.itjust.works really knocked it out of the park here.
  What are you referring to here? /outoftheloop

Personally, I hate the idea of pet names for any large community.
This one is particularly awful, however. I plan on ignoring it, but if it really does catch on to where it isn’t ignorable it will have an impact on my use of the service.

99 comments