this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2026
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On Reddit I mostly consumed discussions. Either by lurking or reading old threads. So my engagement on Reddit was minimal.

But Lemmy this is different. I like it a lot here but I feel like I need to engage a bit myself to create the great discussions I used to simply observe on Reddit.

So my question is:

  • What are your advice on how to properly start discussions and keep them going?
  • Do I have to respond to every comment? Or is a simple upvote enough to thank them if I have no further questions?
  • Can I reply after a day or two if I am too busy to reply immediatly?
  • What is considered low effort?
  • Are cross-posts appreciated or considered rude?
  • General Lemmy-etiquette
  • And anything else you might consider helpful for a rookie or you want to see more often in posts.

Thanks a lot in advance everyone!

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[–] Libb@piefed.social 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

. I like it a lot here but I feel like I need to engage a bit myself to create the great discussions I used to simply observe on Reddit.

+1

How to create great discussions on Lemmy?

I can't tell about 'great' save that it has a lot to do with both the topic discussed and the people involved, but I consider being honest combined with 1) not being afraid (ie, no self-censoring) and 2) not trying to create polemics (throwing random shit knowing at least one will trigger some emotional reactions) as an excellent starting point to a potentially interesting discussion.

(Yesterday, I was reading (not commenting) a thread on some public transportation discussion. It was very interesting.)

Next to that, and equally important imho: don't try to push new content for the sake of adding content. No matter how clumsy or simple, I prefer posts that the OP finds genuinely worth sharing or discussing with others. I don't need to be entertained with constant new content. Like with eating, I prefer quality over quantity ;)

Can I reply after a day or two if I am too busy to reply immediatly?

Sure. Some like me won't mind (I do that too) while others won't like it, and some can't even be bothered to click a discussion that is more than a day old. That's fine. It's their right to prefer freshness but they also don't own Lemmy and they don't get to decide how we should all use it.
Lemmy is ours to make it exactly what we want it to be. So, make if yours by answering/participating at your own pace :)

[–] theorangeninja@sopuli.xyz 5 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Some communities don't like clumsy or simple questions I had to learn. I was wondering why my question was getting no answers like usual and then the post was just gone without explanation or notification.

And thank you, I will try to be available for a few hours after posting but will not force it on me.

[–] Libb@piefed.social 3 points 15 hours ago

Sure, not all communities are the same, that's fine. There are plenty of communities I'm not interested or I see I won't fit in. There are others I don't have that impression.