I think the majority of Lemmy users are Reddit refugees, not because they got banned, but because of the Reddit API changes that forced 99% of the third party apps to shut down.

Since the API exodus, yes.

I made a very conscious choice to leave reddit at that time, due to that particular bullshit, and I don't regret it.

Doesn't mean I don't miss reddit though, because I do. Reddit has a lot more traffic which obviously means a lot more content in the sort of niche communities I really love.

But I made the right choice. I don't want to be part of that any longer. And the more of us make this choice, the better things will be for us all.

I left during the api bullshit, fuck spez

... Every single person on Lemmy is a Reddit refugee. You're not going to find a single person here who has not used Reddit before.

The vast majority of folk here are ex Reddit users. I predate the great Reddit exodus, but even so, I came to lemmy after leaving Reddit, because I wanted something to scratch that itch.

Yes, a lot of us left during the API exodus. Reddit was already going downhill anyway with all the bot spam and shills, that's probably even worse there nowadays.

Once in a while I do bring up old.reddit to read through some communities that haven't caught on here (yet), or maybe something that comes up in a google search, but that hasn't been enough to make me want to log back in there let alone post/comment on anything.

I left with the disabling of API.

Today, I went back in to my account to delete every single comment I have ever made, one by one, then deleted the entire account. Should have done it ages ago, but better now than never.

I was reading about bans and stuff and all sorts that I didn't care to understand, so instead of using a third party apps to change/delete/etc my comments, I did it manually. It felt pretty satisfying.

My last "fuck you, r/jailbait Spez". I'm not letting them use my comments or account for anything. Hopefully, I've done it right.

I would probably even say: Who wasnt?
You either came from Twitter, Reddit or some other major social media as a primary user.
I don't believe someone just was old enough to join the internet world and decided to just join lemmy/fediverse at first sight.

I am here from reddit but I wouldn't call myself a refugee. More like an immigrant. I wasn't banned. I just tried this, liked it better, and since I disagreed with the API changes I settled here. I still browse reddit when I can't find specific stuff on Lemmy, and very, very occasionally (like once or twice a year) I post there in subs that aren't as developed here.

They killed 3rd party apps, I didn't wanna use their app, so I switched to something else and that something else happened to be Lemmy. Turns out, Lemmy is even better than Reddit in many ways.

They killed 3rd party apps. I left when my app stopped working and lemmy conveniently worked with some of the same clients that reddit was breaking.

I think the better question is to ask who isn't a Reddit refugee. As in, who here never had a Reddit account and just showed up on Lemmy one day?

Originally I came with the API changes, I had only been using reddit for two months though. If I had known about Lemmy I don't think I would have had the desire to use reddit in the first place.

Same here. Permanently banned from all of Reddit, and I was never told why. I suspect it was my criticism of the Orange One. I appeal every day, just to give them a little more paperwork.

I still consume on Reddit, but won’t post or contribute there anymore.

Yes, I'm a Reddit refugee.

The site changed so much over the ten years I used it. When I started, there was plenty of good discussion and the most informative comments got voted up. Then power users started playing the same games with karma that rich people play with money. Near the end the negativity and superficiality were overwhelming. Then the API business happened and I realised Reddit was in the last few stages of circling the drain. I learned about Lemmy from a comment by someone who announced they were leaving for good, and I followed them.

If you look at Reddit today... the posts and comments share the same quality regardless of whether they're human or AI slop.

Truth is, regardless of how fucked that platform is, I still resent being banned and the insane extent to which they prevent you returning. The use of throwaways was entirely normal back in the day, now it's called 'ban evasion'. It's nearly impossible (or at least super-tedious) to get back on once they kick you off. It just seems like such an extreme over-reaction. Permanent bans are insane. I've seen people get barred from pubs after drunken violence, but that's usually only for a year or so. This is basically forever.

I was on there for over a decade and posted in multiple communities all the time. Had a load of karma and rarely got into any aggressive arguments. Then one day I upset a mod for complaining about a removed post, that apparently contravened some petty rule. I'm banned from the sub. I use another account, they found out it was me I'm permanently banned. 12 years of contribution just forgotten, all because of some vindictive little basement dwelling prick.

MAGA freaks should love me. I didn't get banned from reddit, I self-deported.

I actually had a Fediverse account several years before the Great Reddit Migration, but it didn't keep my interest at the time. Tried again and stuck with it after the API change killed third-party reddit apps and they started inserting reddit-approved mods into all major subs.

i spent 15+ years on reddit but when they started to sell out to wall street it was pretty obvious where it was going... but im addicted to doomscrolling so i built an instance to replace my own reddit addiction. the fediverse has filled the gap nicely.

just before it took a hard right turn and replaced half the users with bots

I quit the big R when they killed third party apps.

Would have paid them a monthly fee to use my app,but the way they killed them really soured me on Reddit. Burned my account, and moved on

Leaving all US-American platforms, meta first, then Reddit, now google. No reason to support US businesses.

When Reddit killed Apollo, I no longer had the means to use Reddit— I’d rather not have Reddit than use the Reddit app.

Unlike so many people here, I have nothing against centralized social media, and I actively miss it— I miss having a large user base to talk with, I GREATLY miss all the specialize niche communities I followed. But it’s not good if I can’t access them.

Yes, the centralized nature of Reddit means that one person can fuck up the entire community… but decentralization means I have no one to talk to about the things I want to.

Anyway. I’m here hoping that enough people will eventually join that I can have MY Reddit back. I’m frustrated that the place is so tankie infested though, and fear that’s greatly holding it back.

I came here and leave Reddit forever because I am trying to use less US products and services. Right now I don't know how to bypass Microsoft and Google. Everything else is easy (like forgetting about Reddit or not drinking Coca Cola).

Fuck Reddit and move on.

Yes and no, I was on Mastodon long ago, peaked into Lenmy, watched other Fediverse prokects with interest.

I'd not used Reddit for many years, before I actually made a Lemmy account, then when I saw Boost was available for Lemmy, I started using that.

I am odd though, old and have a differnt view of the internet based around it being a space for enthusiasts and tinkerers and corporate can and will only ever eventually enshitifiy whatever their fingers touch, so I dont use things like FB, Reddit, Apple products, Microsoft products, WhatsApp, Insta, Light room etc

Ive been trying to leave privatized platforms and after degoogling and leaving meta, reddit was next. It happened to coincide with the acceleration of mod fascism but it was mostly about moving to a libre internet experience

At least you got a message. I got shadowbanned without any message, and tons of appeals were just wasted times. :(

I came here after I read spez wanted to paywall subreddits.

I'm also here from the API thing. This scratches the itch for me and that's more than enough in this day and age.

I got banned for low key implying there's a genocide going on in Gaza.

Not even stating it.

Just implying it.

"antisemitism, permaban"

That was in 2023 iirc

Another one here for the API exodus 👍

Only started doing Reddit frequently late 2024, and then came "Liberation Day" & I realized I needed to liberate myself from US tech.

I'm here because Reddit started buying CBP adds. Fuck collaborators

Same here. My reddit account kept getting banned without any warning and i didn't even do anything lol. Honestly reddit has been really weird now. If you had an account which is more than 4-5 years old, then they won't do anything. But they basically just ban all new accounts if you post or comment anything. I am still new here so i am having a hard time understanding this platform. If anyone can help mei navigate it better, i would be grateful.

I'm guessing most people here came from Reddit. It was a ghost town before the APIocalypse.

I was/am. After my 4th random permaban I said fuck it, typed "reddit alternative" into Google and this popped up.

Its pretty sweet for now until theres too many of us on the lifeboat and Skynet finds us and we get bots out the arse.

Dozens of us!

Yes I think many of us are. During the last elections there was a whole slew of accounts that were banned over not supporting the ‘right side’. I think Reddit is just moderated by bots now. Hence the shitty replies from it.

It's the reason the Lemmyverse and Fediverse exist.

I voluntarily quit Reddit when the API fuckery happened. Deleted all of my posts, comments, etc. after 16 years, and millions of useless points. I don't and never will give a fuck. Also a refugee from Digg before that, Fark, /. etc. I'm pretty happy with the fediverse so far, and will likely stand up my own server(s) in the next year or so.

Ohhh!

And I am also a Lemmy refugee! 🤪

I mentioned the concentration camps China uses for Uyghurs, and I mentioned them with a rather mild wording. *blam*! Comment deleted! By one of the main people maintaining Lemmy. Hooray. I really didn't want to play on their sandbox after that.

Somebody happened to mention Piefed in some /c/ just a couple of days later and now I'm here :)
Feels much more like home to me! 🙂

i am, after the great purges last year, feb-april was just a massive slaughter of accounts for everyone. more or less reddit realized by doing this they are losing too many users to fast, so they just switch to more insidious background bannings.

to, OP it seems like they do these purges near the beginning of the year, just last year it was more severe. i think want mostly AI to run the show now, and just use the remaining users for ad revenue.

Yes I'm also a lemmigrant. But I wasn't on Reddit for long enough to identify much with it.

Reddit became too much of a shithole, so I bailed out.

I am a Reddit exile. I don’t know exactly what I did to get banned, and really give a shit why.

Fuck reddit !

How's it going 👋

I'm unfortunately still on Reddit due to modding 2 subs.

I'm more of a deserter than a refugee. My first Lemmy account must be 5 or 6 years old at this point; I was there in the background when the magic was written 😛. Over time, my activity on reddit gradually decreased, and I stopped using it some months before the API exodus.

::: spoiler spoiler

:::

I am right on my path of weaning from the Tangerine Turd's America. Degoogling. Buying locally, Payment options, car choice, Amazon, etc.

Yes, I also came via Reddit. All the accounts I created were deactivated shortly after; I had 14 in total

A Fecesbook refugee :)

(Okay, there's one group that is too valuable for me. And another one where people really need help with trying to save the world and I write answers beginning with "yeah, this will work, but there are caveats. I'll write more on the Fediverse side of our group, here's the link: ", and then I write a longer text here on Piefed and add the link in the end of my FB comment.)

That sucks that you got banned with such a vague reason.

I stopped using my Reddit account after they blocked Sync from working. I still use the site now and then on the browser for casting a wider pop culture net and niche content, but I've tried to shift to the Fediverse where I can.

Me. I quit before I gave them the satisfaction of banishing me. It’s a lot more fun and supportive here. 💕

It wasn’t the apps for me, I never used them. Reddit was become clearly like highscool. I mature, bullies drama.

Secondly I’m a browser user. That damn ‘use the app’ pop up pissed me off no end. As soon as there was ads I was off.

My Reddit accounts have been systematically and immediately banned upon creation for the past 5 years