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.

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[–] kek@discuss.tchncs.de 40 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

Great post.

To add to this, not resorting to calling others tankies or Russian bots when you have differing opinions, especially around politics.

[–] Draces@lemmy.world 30 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I came to Lemmy (lemm.ee originally) with this attitude. Tankies really made me regret trying to be sympathetic too them. It was the most vile interaction I've had on the Internet maybe? You shouldn't call people tankies if they're not but real tankies are by far the biggest problem with the fediverse and it's growth

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago

1 billion percent agree, not everyone you disagree with is acting in bad faith

[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

On Reddit, I once bragged about having universal healthcare and got called a Nazi and a communist at the same time.

This is what happens when Xbox kids that use the n-word grow up. They learn new "bad" words and throw them around out of context and contradictingly. They don't actually know what those things are, though, so it never makes sense.

I've been called a tankie here. I didn't know what it was and looked it up, just to discover it was the literal opposite of the things I was saying. I was very confused and just put it down to frustrated self-projection. At some point they had been called that, it upset them, so now they use it to upset people too but they still don't actually know what it is they're saying.

If I see someone defaulting to Russian bot or tankie, I've found another Xbox kid and it's in my best interests to just move on.

[–] misteloct@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Sometimes they literally just are. Not seen it on Lemmy but on Reddit I definitely interacted with users, age under 1 year, all suspiciously pro-Putin. It's rare and I'm looking for it, but still.

[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 3 weeks ago

It's rare and I'm looking for it

Unfortunately not that rare of a POV to find. They just generally don't do the young account thing. Some are true believers. Others likely state actors. Don't see as many bots but the greater levels of transparency and lower active population probably makes it less worthwhile of an investment.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago

Nah fuck tankies, zero tolerance for the intolerant.