One of the advantages of a decentralized platform like Lemmy is the ability to create parallel communities on the same topic. "You don't like how a community is being moderated? Go to another instance and start a new community!" (with or without blackjack and hookers)
However, I think this is also a double-edged sword. The creation of multiple communities on the same (or similar) topics can also fragment the userbase, leading to very sparsely populated communities.
Example: I am open to being wrong, but I don't currently see a need for five distinct Harry Potter sublemmies with (nearly) identical names:
- !harrypotter@lemmy.world
- !harrypotter@literature.cafe
- !harrypotter@lemm.ee
- !harrypotter@feddit.nl
- !harry_potter@diagonlemmy.social
There are also some other miscellaneous HP related communities:
- !hpfanfiction@lemmy.world
- !harry_potter_fanfic@diagonlemmy.social
- !harry_potter_memes@diagonlemmy.social
- !leaky_cauldron@diagonlemmy.social
- !dramione@lemmy.world (ew, but you do you, I suppose)
- !hp_magicawakened@lemm.ee
- !harry_potter_languages@lemmy.world
- !hufflepuff@lemmy.world
- !slytherin@lemmy.world
- !slytherin@sopuli.xyz
- !slytherin@lemmy.ml
I suspect that many of these were created during the 2023 Rexxit, when instances were less stable, and there was a temporary period of massive growth.
Now that Lemmy is more stable, would the moderators of the above communities consider some form of cooperative consolidation? If not, what distinct purpose do the separate communities serve?
A couple arguments in favour of consolidation: (credits to @Ashyr@sh.itjust.works and @otter@lemmy.ca)
https://sh.itjust.works/comment/11171955
I think until there’s some tool or system that helps collate all the information out here, fragmentation is detrimental to growth.
I’m not going to copy and paste the same comment with every mirrored post.
So sometimes commenting feels like a waste of time.
Centralizing helps ensure that there’s vibrant, consistent discussion which is what Lemmy should be about.
https://sh.itjust.works/post/18388026
I like this because people showing up to those communities might think that topic doesn’t have activity on Lemmy, when it actually does.
I sometimes think that unmoderated communities should be closed, and just be left and locked with a pointer to the active one. In case an issue arises with the active one, they can still be unlocked and used as back up.
The next question is, of course "Which instance should we consolidate to?"
- !harrypotter@lemmy.world is currently the largest sub, but also the largest instance, and moving off of the largest instance would be good for the Fediverse as a whole.
- !harrypotter@literature.cafe seems appropriate, given that Harry Potter is, well, a book. Large sub on a small instance.
- !harrypotter@lemm.ee is a small sub on a large instance.
- !harrypotter@feddit.nl is very small, but European. (Might feddit.uk be an option?)
- !harry_potter@diagonlemmy.social is also an option, but risky given the fragility of the instance. Could blue_berry provide some assurances that the instance will be stable for the foreseeable future, and perhaps improve the bus factor of the instance?
My hunch is that a stable, medium-sized instance would be best. What are your thoughts? Is consolidation worth a try?
If nothing else, the experiment could serve as a test for whether or not consolidation is effective in boosting engagement and discussion.
I'm not intrinsically adverse to multiple communities on the same topic because they can approach a subject from different angles and eventually we'll have sub-communities (either as a core feature or in the apps). However, they do have to be active and none of the HP ones are. That is the key issue here. An active community tends to draw in more posters as people know which one to post in and they gain momentum. If none are active then no-one knows which to post in.
Looking over the communities (and bearing in mind that federation issues might mean I am not seeing all activity), it seems that no Mod has been active in the last month and some have been MIA for a long time.
So I'd suggest the solution is to get some active Mods in place. It would make sense to focus on the l.w and literature.cafe ones for now.
This might require a but of a change in thinking about communities and Mods - quite a few people seem them as the territory of the Mods and are hands-off (I tend to leave content decisions to Mods) but that can lead to them not being replaced when they have been gone so long it's clear they aren't coming back. My take is that the instance isn't "mine" I am help to run it for the members and that extends to Mods - they are caretakers of the communities not their overlords (the kind of thinking that can lead to abuse). After all, if Lemmy is a success, they could easily outlive the Mods and Admins. So, because of inactivity, we've replaced Mod teams on communities like !okmatewanker@feddit.uk and !coffee@feddit.uk and that has given them a new lease of life.
So sort the Modding out, get the communities active again and they'll develop their own gravity as people will know where to post. You don't really need to shut down the smaller communities (although the Admins of those instances could look into it) they'll just stay parked and inactive.
Yes, it's something I've seen while going through the feddit.uk communities - there seems to have been a wave of enthusiasm with people starting communities and then posting once or twice (if at all) and then going inactive 8-10 months ago. I suspect there will need to be