• pmk@lemmy.sdf.org
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    4 months ago

    There might be a significant number of users here waiting for everyone else to switch over to lemmy. If you start a niche community, it’s a little easier for someone else to be like “It’s kind of empty, but it exists on lemmy too.” What you need is a critical mass of people. It usually takes time and effort to reach that, and someone must be first.

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I think the problem is that theres a lot of niche communities created for an exodus from Reddit that didnt really happen.

      If you search for a certain community and find that yeah it exists but nobody has posted there in 6 months…

      • pmk@lemmy.sdf.org
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        4 months ago

        It didn’t happen in one big exodus, no. But maybe in the future someone will find those old posts and decide to make a new post instead of just concluding there’s nothing and not doing anything.

        • Delphia@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          I do wonder if its a help or a hinderance though.

          If someone wanted to start a community they might actually do something to generate interest, nobody wants to put the effort in to build up a community that the mod can just ban them from or they look and go “Its not that theres nothing, theres just no interest.”

      • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        If you search for a certain community and find that yeah it exists but nobody has posted there in 6 months…

        I’ve come across this multiple times, and have had (or seen) some success with the following:

        • Start posting to the dormant community. There are usually still some people subscribed, so you’ll get a few upvotes.
        • Reach out to the moderators. If they don’t respond, reach out to the instance administrators to request the community.
        • After a few weeks of posting regularly, promote the community in !newcommunities@lemmy.world, and any related communities with more subscribers.

        I think the “if you build it they will come” adage applies quite well here.