Ask HN: The Reddit strike has begun. Where do we go now?
I realized today I’ve got a few questions around niche hobbies that typically I’d go find a subreddit for to ask.
This ranges from programming in a new framework I’m learning (React Native) to questions around where I can learn more about the cosmos and why we’re here from a physics standpoint, to some health questions around a condition I have.
I’m honestly at a loss on where to look, given Reddit was my go-to.
Where are we all headed for this kind of information these days?
Where is another good place full of active users for niche topics that seems to have a bit of everything?
If there’s no good answer here it kind of feels like Reddit is going to “win” the strike
23 comments
[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 59.3 ms ] threadI understand why people like the Fediverse, but it is confusing the heck out of potential new users. Least of all because a lot of people promoting it won't even suggest a specific instance nor is there much information out there about exactly who is running many instances and what their agendas are. Telling people it "doesn't matter" just further adds to the confusion.
People want the social-media infrastructure itself to be invisible/boring. But the Fediverse seemingly is too opinionated and surrounded by people with an agenda. It may fail, not because it is bad on paper, but because it just isn't what MANY people want.
If I worked there I’d be crunching on the last few features they need to be a credible Reddit replacement, most notably discovery and open-access communities. They already have “discussion” channels with upvoting and threading, but those also need a bit more effort to surpass Reddit threaded comments.
Discord has plenty of downsides - they’ve never allowed 3rd party clients for example - but their apps are good, and bot API access especially for moderation is a cornerstone of their strategy that they’re hopefully unlikely to change especially after this Reddit debacle.
Not really sure if there is any good alternatives at this moment.
I've actually had to make a Facebook account now to find things.
The past few years we've had a lot of host your own blog options pop up but forum software seems a bit stuck for the non tech person to go and set one up.
The cost to run a small server is less than $2/month.
I have no affiliation w/ pikapods, just a satisfied customer.
1. https://www.pikapods.com/apps
It's old but an SMF forum will be way more usable.
Of the various features that are missing, as a moderator I think the lack of an automod bot is the most impactful.
Signing up for an account on Lemmy has been chaotic. Registration on the .ml and .world instances have been malfunctioning for more than a week. The situation isn't better on less-than-popular instances, either.
most recent post on /r/dataengineering fx was 30 minutes ago. on /r/askreddit several posts are "just now".
Many subreddits started the strike when June 12th started globally