Honestly, I was late to the Reddit train, didn't join until 2015 or 2016 or so. I noticed a marked decline in my overall mental well-being but I really did feel addicted to it. For several reasons I stopped using it a few years ago and I can't think of a single thing that's worse off than before.
Unless you're running ads and using traffic from Reddit to fuel your business, you're not getting any value out of it. I'd see something on HN and it would be weeks at best before it would pop up on any of the technical/programming subs, and the conversation was always 1/10 the quality of here.
I've been building a platform called Sociables which is intentionally not just a Reddit clone. We are trying to create an all in one place for people to create communities first and foremost and not just posts.
Here's an example of a community:
It's federated with Lemmy and Mastodon, so posts from those platforms seamlessly appear in the feeds, and they behave as though it's all under the one Kbin instance.
(1) Content hosting (2) Content browsing
This way, the /r/BikeShedding community can buy a domain, say, BikeShedding.gg, and connect it to a content hosting platform that delivers a standard API + web UI. This is (1).
Users will have an app, let's call it FrontPage, in which they can put it a domain to subscribe to, or pick from a list, exactly like we can use podcasts app today to either add a manual RSS feed or choose from the library of feeds an app offers.
Podcasts are the pinnacle of decentralization yet I haven't heard once the word "federation" or had to choose an "instance".
If someone wants to talk about this more, email to anything at weedon and scott [dot] com. I did apply to YC with this, but it got rejected -- maybe the time is ripe.
Edit: Important to note that this works for all platform overreach cases -- Avoiding YouTube censorship, exiting Twitter's echo chamber, and yes, for Reddit as well.
The problem with federated platforms like mastodon is that they are still platforms, and platforms suck. You replace horses with cars, not with slightly better horses.
I decided to go for the beehaw.org instance, because I like their moderation model. The only problem I had was the registration, because there currently is a bug, where you aren't notified if your application was rejected (I only wrote a short sentence per question in my first application)
There is already work on improving the sign-up process, so hopefully this will be a smooth process in the future.
It:
- is P2P. Everyone using the app sees the same network; no federation keeping communities separate. This also means that everyone receives information from the network, including posts, comments, and moderator actions. One feature here is that if a moderator is overbearing, you can ignore their actions.
- features mod elections so that the default list of moderators can be selected by the community; mod actions are auditable since they're sent to all peers so you can see what the mod has done.
- is text only by default. I think there's a feature to approve domains to have their content render in the app, but it is mostly a text based community
- doesn't keep the whole history of posts to the network. I think this is probably a development choice to make sure clients don't have to download terabytes of history just to view recent posts. It's marketed as being ephemeral and won't keep track of your brain fart posts made years ago.
- is mature. Posts on HN about Aether have been made as far back as 10 years ago.
- features proof of work spam prevention. Every action you make takes a little bit of computing power to prevent network spam.
What I want is a drop in compatible replacement backend. That would mean the existing clients could be supported with a base url change, and some disabling of functionality until it's supported. Bring across those 10 million users on the 3PAs. Pay for it by serving topic targeted ads over the api.
So far, so good.
What we need is to go back to basics and develop a simple link aggregator with basic federation. So that anyone with a federated node account can follow links posted to it, without having a local account.
Then of course each link posted can spawn a discussion, but no need to have that in the first version of the software. These discussions can take place in a decentralized space for the time being. Giving the software the advantage of simplicity.
For example the ActivityPub object Actor does not have to be a person, but rather a category of the link aggregator.
If you're looking for Reddit for big subreddits, or a way to get a broad overview of a lot of niche communities without necessarially engaging with the individuals in the community, then you'll probably have a hard time replacing reddit. But if you just want to find a place to discuss your 10 biggest interests, I am willing to bet most of them have at least 3 communities outside of reddit that are smaller yet still high quality. I am also willing to bet there are at least 10 that aren't as good.
One of the things I love the most about some of the niche communities I'm a part of -- discords, forums, email groups, physical meetups -- is that I feel like I have a much stronger connection to the people and have a stronger appreciation for the intersection of the community's shared interest and our individual lives.
Maybe this is all a bit too 'touch grass,' as far as advice goes. And if you really are just looking for a feed of good articles on interest X, Y, and Z, like a magazine personalized just for you, then you're going to have a rough time beating Reddit. I still try and curate a collection of high quality RSS feeds these days, but that's a pretty different suggestion.
Perhaps the best way forward is to return to traditional, independently-hosted forums, perhaps with some sort of communally-maintained registry so that members of forum x can easily discover a new forum y.
For specific hobby/trade subs, plenty of fora still exist.
For anything interesting in tech or medicine or law, I like this site.
If you just want to replicate the intelligence and attitude of the larger subs, Twitter seems an apt replacement.
I can't see the two other "replica" fediverse platforms (pixelfed, peertube) getting such a break (instagram / youtube respectively) though. These being run by big tech and having an army of content creators that try to make a living there have a different dynamic which doesn't fit the non-commercial ideology.
On the other hand some type of "commercial" fediverse might allow creators to keep a much bigger share of what consumers may pay. So you never know...
https://blog.tildes.net/announcing-tildes
Only thing is that it's invite only at the moment... And I seem to have too hastily deleted my reddit account to ask for an invite on their subreddit.
EDIT: Got one, thanks!
Kbin https://codeberg.org/Kbin/kbin-core
Lotide https://sr.ht/~vpzom/lotide
Lemmy https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy
Brutalinks https://sr.ht/~mariusor/brutalinks/
Those all (are supposed to) federate. I don't think federation in these communities is always ideal, drive by posting and what not, I think a better approach would be a client that can read your followed stuff from a local list. But some non-federating options are:
StackerNews https://github.com/stackernews/stacker.news
Comment Castles https://github.com/ferg1e/comment-castles
freedit https://github.com/freedit-org/freedit
There are lots more, some are great some not. There have been quite a few posted on this site in recent days. Some communities really just need forums or wikis, link aggregation and content voting aren't really always necessary.
I do believe communities should host their own sites. Some communities just don't have the interest to be viable long term, and Reddit was a way to externalize cost so that non viable communities can continue to exist. We see the results of that now, a company that isn't profitable due to bearing costs that nobody else is willing to bear squeezing users to try to stay afloat. This was always a temporary state of affairs. If you can't find a single community member dedicated enough to keep a VPS running, or with large communities, you can't scrounge up enough money from donations or whatever to keep the server running, that community simply isn't viable.
It’s my instance that I set up. Hoping to get some more people to join it.
Here is a post with some info about the instance:
Same goes for niche hobbies, Reddit seems to be by far the best option.
- What do you browse Reddit for now?
- What is your goal when browsing/interacting with a different platform?
I think it would probably go a long way to have answers to all these questions before any recommendations can be made.
As far as "broad Reddit alternatives" go, there was a discussion on this already a few days ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36293789 (372 comments)
Meeting with friends.
Reading a good book.
Hawker.social a Reddit/Twitter alternative that I launched earlier this year https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36324953 16 points 1 day ago 6 comments
Show HN: Non.io, a Reddit-like platform Ive been working on for the last 4 years https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36296695 1933 points 3 days ago 586 comments
Ask HN: Alternatives to Reddit https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36293789 541 points 3 days ago 220 comments
Show HN: Sociables, A Reddit alternative that lets community owners monetize https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36299095 12 points 3 days ago 4 comments
Ask HN: What are the best Reddit alternatives? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36299388 4 points 3 days ago 3 comments
Ask HN: Is there any alternative to Reddit https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36291618 1 points 3 days ago 3 comments
Hubski – Another Reddit Alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36300812 2 points 3 days ago 1 comment
Thoughts on Lemmy Reddit Alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36301823 2 points 3 days ago 1 comment
Show HN: Valme.io, another Reddit-like alternative with monetary applause https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36299193 3 days ago
Ask HN: What are current (viable) alternatives to Reddit? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36287915 20 points 4 days ago 7 comments
Raddle – An open source Reddit alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36288509 4 points 4 days ago 1 comments
Ask HN: How about a Reddit alternative where every community is a Git repo? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36282561 3 points 4 days ago 9 comments
Kbin: Reddit Alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36270205 7 points 5 days ago
Beehaw: Reddit Alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36270000 2 points 5 days ago
List of Active Reddit Alternatives https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36253594 8 points 7 days ago
Ask HN: What would it take to build an OS Reddit alternative? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36247323 1 points 7 days ago 2 comments
Tildes.net – an open source Reddit alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36237240 3 points 8 days ago
Demo: Fully P2P and open source Reddit alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36203610 316 points 10 days ago 231 comments
Ask HN: Reddit alternatives (that aren't Mastodon) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36199403 29 points 10 days ago 32 comments
Teddit – An alternative Reddit front-end focused on privacy https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36144211 203 points 15 days ago 93 comments
Lemmy: Federated Reddit alternative with Mastodon integration https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36144761 3 points 15 days ago
Consider Reddit Alternatives https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36000935 4 points 27 days ago
Ask HN: Alternatives to Reddit? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16820036 154 points 5 years ago 123 comments
lemmy.world is perhaps the new instance where people are joining the fastest. But Lemmy.world was just defederated from Beehaw.org. I think this event is key and serves as a necessary discussion point for anyone jumping into the Fediverse.
The rules are different. Beehaw.org has some of the most popular groups on all of lemmy right now (including !programming@beehaw.org). By defederating from lemmy.world, it means that anyone registering at lemmy.world can't access !programming@beehaw.org.
Beehaw.org seems to me like tildes or Lobste.rs, where they're trying to create a carefully curated group of users. So the open-registration model at Lemmy.world is not currently compatible with Beehaw.org.
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Lemmy.one however, is a more curated list of users. But unlike Lemmy.world, Lemmy.one (and Beehaw.org for that matter) cannot create new communities. Lemmy.one also has a simple interview process (you have to answer the question "Why do you want to join Lemmy.one" before you're allowed to join their group).
My recommendation: try to join a "trusted" server, like Lemmy.one, that has broad access to different Lemmy-instances. Lemmy.one may not match your philosophy, but find one that does.
Lemmy.world, and its "open registration" policy is likely best for any Reddit refugee who wants to play with Lemmy. Since registrations (and community-creation) is fully open, you can get started in less than 5 minutes (No interviews, no worried about online philosophies / political slants, etc. etc. Just create an account and go). But this laisse-faire has led to spam-bots being created on Lemmy.world, and those spam-bots coordinated a porn-invasion of some Beehaw.org groups. So Beehaw.org doesn't want to deal with users from that open instance. As is their right in the Fediverse.
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So yeah. Its not quite as easy as people are making it sound. But its really not that complicated either.
1. Join a "trusted server" if you're into that. Lemmy.one could be a good starting point. I see others here are recommending programming.dev (also a Lemmy instance, and likely with "good behavior" rules to stay in Beehaw.org's good graces).
2. Join a "freeform server" if you're into that. Lemmy.world is one. But note that you'll be less trusted and less likely to access !programming@beehaw.org. Actually, there's no reason you can't joing #1 and #2 at the same time, because freeform servers like Lemmy.world have a much easier time on "creating new subreddits" (aka, easier to make new communities to experiment with).
3. Spin up your own instance. It seems like beehaw.org is still allowing most hobby-instances federate with them. This seems to be one of the better solutions, as your own instance can get all the large curated communities from beehaw.org, but also the freeform communities at Lemmy.world or sh.itjust.works
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Sorry for exposing "Nerd Drama". But I think its important to think about how Lemmy and its community plans to deal with this problem. There will be more trolls (and coordinated trolls) from different servers attacking each other. I mean, I used to play video games where we launched DDOS attacks at enemy guilds. Online trolls are just assholes like that, and the question of how to build tactics to counteract hate-brigades is interesting.
Even if I don't agree with anything Beehaw.org is doing, I still support them from the perspective of "I wanna see if they can figure out a solution to this online-hate / spam / trollfest problem" using Fediverse tools. And I think they have a shot at solving it.
So this makes Lemmy _very_ different from Reddit. I think the ol' Reddit philosophy was to grow thicker skin and try to ignore the trolls, recruit more moderators to stand guard and click the ban user button 1000 times as 1000+ spam users bombarded you. But I'm glad that Fediverse offers a new tool (ie: Defederalize) that is between a "set instance to private" and "keep things public" mode.
But its clear that the community is still learning how to use these tools, how to organize our community with those tools in mind, and what tools need to be built so that everyone's happy.
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kbin.social is another Fediverse that's somewhere between Reddit and Twitter (or Lemmy and Mastodon). Due to case-sensitivity on kbin.social, Lemmy bugs out on CaPiTaLiZeD@kbin.social groups, but both are Fediverse and there's a degree of cross-comment activity.
Ultimately though, kbin is likely to remain segregated from Lemmy due to these incompatibilities, and I don't see them fixing it unless they start from scratch and somehow get lemmy+kbin to agree on names (lowercase only vs case sensitive). I'd say give kbin.social a try as well, there's something to be said about trying to be compatible with Mastodon and maybe using the larger Mastodon instances to seed that community.
There's curated communities like Tildes, Lobste.rs, and of course Hacker News. But I don't see these as Reddit replacements.
Beehaw.org fits itself in a weird spot. Its Defederating, so its kinda-sorta like Tildes or Lobste.rs, setting itself as private and making it harder to join to help curate the users. But its still theoretically possible to federate to them (ie: through Lemmy.one, but not through Lemmy.world). I'm going to keep a close eye on this drama to see how the community resolves it.
https://lemmy.ml/ (https://join-lemmy.org/) : ideal reddit replacement
https://www.tiktok.com/ : from a purely entertainment value. This is number one. I was on TikTok last year and it was basically the only entertainment site I visited. I actually did not visit reddit last year - it felt like day old news since so much (entertainment) content was coming from TikTok.
https://mastodon.social/ : I need to get use to Voices/People first over actual story. Reddit (HN) was always article/story first. Probably why I never did Twitter.
https://kbin.social/ : good reddit replacement.
https://flingup.com/ : I quite like this one as a reddit replacement.
https://www.instagram.com/ : created my first acct here. Not sure what to expect. Seems boring and fake.
https://tildes.net/ : invite required: requested one - still waiting... Really quite nice: feels as if reddit and HN merged into one.
https://www.4chan.org/ : actually surprised that normal categories exist. I always thought it was just one giant cesspool.
https://9gag.com/ : lots of ads, tracking but captures the meme-aspect of reddit.
RSS Feeds continues to be my personally best (and tailored) solution.
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https://www.quora.com/ : did not like.
https://hive.blog/ : looks nice but do not like the crypto/payment aspect of it.
https://imgur.com/ : Will not let me browse while using a VPN. Bah! Fail.
https://non.io/ : pay to interact. I think many (like me) don't post enough to justify paying - when other sites deliver so much more.
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I may start looking at BBSes again. Excited at the thought of this.
I have been on IMDB for a couple of years. Writing reviews, creating lists, taking polls. Just saying there's a ton of stuff out there if you're looking to fill downtime and have fun. IMDB has been great fun for me.
https://the-federation.info/ : good place to find Fediverse sites.
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New ones I came across just now (for review):
https://rdrama.net/ (seems wild at first glance)
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Many of us (especially me) stopped looking for a while. We find one thing and stick with it. Reddit serves as a reminder that there are 'plenty of other fish in the sea'. Let's go fishing...