As the title indicates, how does Lemmy work?
I recently inquired in a couple other communities about necessities (whether it be hardware or software, ect) and guidance to create a server/instance and decided I may be better off understanding how this realm works and operates as my starting point, then move into the hardware side, then continue to the Sofware and setup.
Reddit is one website where everything lives. The website is made of many different parts that all run on computers that are owned/controlled by Reddit.
Lemmy is multiple sites where everything lives. Lemmy is made of many different parts that are run on different computers by different people.
These parts all speak the same language so for someone using Lemmy, it feels like it’s all just one website.
It uses ActivityPub to send and receive all messages to any instance that has subscribed to a community.
So I’m typing this message on my own instance (Lemmy.today) after my instance made it pop up in my feed since I subscribed to the AskLemmy community on lemmy.ml.
Also ActivityPub is the common protocol for all fediverse software, which is why you can even read Lemmy posts from Mastadon for example.
It’s the coolest tech I’ve seen in a long time because users have their own platform instead of it being centralized. They make the rules for their own instance, or they join an instance they like.
How do usernames work? If someone has a username on one instance, can someone else register the username on another instance? If so, how are they distinguished?
Yes, you can have same usernames on different instances.
The full username is always @user@address.
So I’m @barbarian@sh.itjust.works. There’s also a @barbarian@lemmy.ml (that’s also me, I stopped using it to help with server load, but ignore that part :P). Servers and people can distinguish between the two users because it always includes where the user is from.
To understand how Lemmy works, let’s break it down into its main components:
Content management: Users can create, edit, and delete posts containing stories, links, and comments. They can also upvote or downvote posts to influence their visibility on the site.
Federated architecture: Lemmy is designed to work with other federated sites, allowing users to interact with content from different platforms seamlessly. This means that users can post on one site and have their content appear on other connected sites, fostering a more interconnected community.
Voting and ranking: The upvoting and downvoting system allows users to influence the visibility of posts. Highly upvoted posts will be more visible on the site, while downvoted posts will be less visible. This helps to create a self-regulating community where quality content is promoted and less relevant content is demoted.
Commenting: Users can add comments to posts, allowing for discussion and debate on the content. This encourages conversation and fosters a sense of community among users.
Scalability: Lemmy is designed to be lightweight and easy to set up, making it suitable for small to medium-sized communities. It can be deployed on various platforms, including traditional web servers and cloud-based platforms.
In summary, Lemmy is a lightweight content management system that enables users to create and share stories, links, and comments within a federated community. Its key features include voting and ranking, commenting, and scalability, making it an ideal choice for creating forum-style link collection sites.
(Obligatory: GPT generated EILI5)
What happens if an owner of an instance like u/spez goes crazy or shuts down his server for other reasons? Does this delete my user and content or can I move my account to another instance even if the server is already shut down?
