It feels like many Lemmy instances end up trying to be “Reddit replacements,” which results in dozens of very similar communities with overlapping topics. I wonder if it would make more sense for each instance to focus on a broad topic, like sports, literature, or technology, and then have communities for the subtopics within that.
What are your thoughts? Do you prefer many general instances, or would you rather see topic-focused instances?
I agree with focused instances over reddit clones. My favorite instances are specialized, and have their own focus, which leads to a more engaging discussion format. Hexbear.net, Lemmygrad.ml, Mander.xyz, dbzer0, slrpnk.net, pawb.social, etc. are all examples of this. The games community on, say, Hexbear.net is going to be different from Lenmy.world’s, and that’s a good thing. Federation allows others to participate in “flavored” versions of comms, and creates a sort of virtual township structure that’s pretty nice while still having an active enough userbase.
This is well said. Hadn’t thought of it this way. Makes for a much better experience overall.
Yep! Also why I enjoy browsing Grad and Hex more than Lemmy.ml, to be honest.