What do you want to see in a Reddit Alternative that you would actually use?
Posted by sudo-rm-rf-Israel@reddit | RedditAlternatives | View on Reddit | 84 comments
In my opinion the reason that all these Alt Reddit sites fail is because everyone THINKS they know what we want. Yet. I don't think I've ever seen anyone come here and specifically ask and then build that. I think the major issue with Reddit in general is the mods, so I get that the first thing people push on their Reddit alt is some gimmick concerning moderation. AI mods, restricted mods, etc. And they all end up being as bad or worse than Reddit. I think if there were an alternative that treated people like adults, didn't lean left or right and let people do what they want to do and say what they want to say without the fear or being permabanned for triggering an 800lb reddit mod on a power trip.
Mothman394@reddit
Based username. I know you say "doesn't lean left or right" but I'll be honest, right wingers are trash and I don't want them around on my social media at all because they have nothing of value to contribute. As such, I'd have to say that basically Hexbear.net is basically the best social media site around by far. Its UI is also based on old reddit which is vastly superior to new reddit, and that helps too.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I don’t want you on my software. You are the type of person that 1) wouldn’t enjoy it anyway 2) not a good person 3) you are Reddit in a nutshell
Mothman394@reddit
Lol
Smash-my-ding-dong@reddit
Narrow minded but ok.
I hate the left wing because "free palestine" and the right because they dont take time to understand anything complex / resort to ad hominem attacks. But I wouldn't say any 'person' has an opinion of no value because everyone thinks differently (and that inherently has value), especially the ones you disagree with. I was talking to a flat earther recently and I learnt new stuff due to him as well.
Mothman394@reddit
You sound like a genocide-loving Nazi, so ok I'm sure you did "learn" something from a flat-earther
Electrical-Poet2924@reddit
Hex is ok but I prefer slrpnk
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I would like to thank you for your time and comments this was gold for me. I have been asking around and I needed this subreddit for the truth. Anyone who would like to know more and is curious I will share small details.
mrgreatheart@reddit
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
You are gonna be so happy. I want smile. 😊 you are my target audience. I would love to hear more about your experience and what you would like to see in software for you. But I have surprise. It’s game. Everyone loves game. 🧑🏻💻
Utopia_Builder@reddit
Great post. The hardest part of making a Reddit alternative is gaining a critical mass of users. The best subreddits aren't the ones with millions of subscribers; those ones are hard to post/comment on regardless. The best subreddits are the ones with only 20,000 subscribers or 40,000 subscribers but have a dedicated community. Most Reddit alternatives generally only have regular posts and active members on the top 1000 subreddits and niche communities cannot really form.
Here are some improvements that I wished either Reddit had or that a Reddit alternative can have:
That's all of the main things that should be fixed from an admin point of view. Stuff like censorship and astroturfing is generally more of a moderator problem and "Reddit without Censorship" projects have all failed due to advertisers not wanting to invest in 4Chan's younger brother.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I will absolutely allow you to hide comment in fact since it’s been mentioned that many times I will default to this setting but the trade off is you will not be anonymous. At all. You will be your real person just like Facebook with real consequences and it has to be that way because people are violent petty thugs behind the computer screen
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Haha 🤣 I’m gonna destroy this company when I launch because I love the hate filled rants in here I will let you short these mother fuckers I hate them I hate tinder more.. it’s so personal you have no idea
ben2talk@reddit
Less moronic redditors asking mind-numbingly stupid questions would be nice.
The best reddit alternatives are not reddit - actual forums not affiliated or linked with reddit.
reddit should be abandoned.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I know you… I see you. 👀 I know what you need. You want to lead. You want substance from pupil.
I take, I give watch
Electronic-Wind-9936@reddit
Like what questions?
ben2talk@reddit
So many examples - mostly questions that can be answered in the top three results in a web search... then questions that would have completely different answers for every individual (like 'what keyboard should I buy?').
Interesting that the mere suggestion that there are stupid people on reddit gets instant downvotes... my experience that people using my forum are serious individuals who ask for help, show some attention to detail and respond to help offered. Contrarily, on reddit, they ask questions with no details or information and expect people to guess what they mean.
DelayIntelligent7642@reddit
obviously free speech, which is being exterminated on Reddit.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
This is more of the crux. I’m not gonna allow you to come on my software and say whatever you want and in fact you might feel I’m a Nazi for what I’m about to present to people. But when you have millions of different views and belief your software starts to look like Disney world bro. But it’s not the best way to describe it because I know what you are missing. It’s not a space to go bananas. You’re missing a standard of decorum. That’s it. I will provide this for the entire internet and every site not just my software. My app will be a sanctuary away from this bullshit. Wait till you see fren. You will think this motherfucker is Hitler but you will find game and love
ireallylike@reddit
I would like a site like reddit but with less of a far left bias. A site thats more center or atleast center left.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I’m on the way and I understand that people are dumb and everyone will like on like idiots and it will swing wildly to the right. Just watch what I mean by moderation. Also game. I love game. You will love Game
😇
Electronic-Wind-9936@reddit
Try sherdog forums?
Spirited_Seaweed7927@reddit
Zero misogyny and homophobia allowed. No AI. Not owned by a fascist. Anything else are just copies of what we already have lots of.
newjerseytrader@reddit
no, the exact opposite. Rdt is way too censored.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Reddit is censored in one direction. Other than like violent outbursts.
I can’t do this. I need Disney not a brawl. But I think once you understand the motive behind what I’m building that it’s not just about being fucking cool as fuck but it’s about changing the entire space guys like the entire tech space
Spirited_Seaweed7927@reddit
Lol. Dreddit is literally fascist.
Old_Dealer_7002@reddit
twitter exists.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I agree with this. My software will actually not allow any political party interference or commentary unless it’s inside of the system as part of its governance. Shh 🤫 can’t tell you what I mean yet secrets
Electrical-Poet2924@reddit
"No misogyny or homophobia"
*gets downvoted*
Never change DReddit
bobotwf@reddit
No children, and no Europeans.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Cannot do. Antithetical to a business venture. Investment requires growth. The entire world is a huge market and I wouldn’t give that up for someone disliking euros
Also this type of behavior will be forbidden on my software
I sound authoritarian and I am for good reason on certain issues of censorship but on others there will be absolute freedom lol just wait till see and you will be like that shit we use to do was boring as fuck compared to this
Mute2120@reddit
Has to be able to scale. Without scale there won't be enough people to support niche communities. Every alternative that's gotten popular (including the main fediverse instances) have shutdown when they ran into the cost of hosting at scale.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I will allow active users the ability to make their own communities but within guidelines and you’re gonna enticed by what I mean by guidelines.
Fun-Commercial2827@reddit
I want to truly be anonymous - I don’t want people to see my entire post/comment history.
rikaxnipah@reddit
Actual end yo end encryption too
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Can promise military grade encryption. Am scared though I will immediately be attacked by companies like meta encryption doesn’t help much if they deny access to banks and servers
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
This I cannot do. This is the crux of the evil invading this site. You will be 100% visible in everything you do but I can make it possible as a feature of privacy for you to turn of comment sharing I think that really cool. But you absolutely will be under your real name, with real consequences and real opportunities. I will not share your information without your express consent and I refuse to sell it unless it’s war… frens this is war. They’re moderating this subreddit… 🥱
You shouldn’t want to be anon. It’s gross. Things like v for vendetta warped peoples minds. Just for a second ask yourself who wasn’t anon in that movie the entire time? V… everyone knew him. Most of the cast knew him. Did they know the whole back story no but it’s not necessary and darth vaders girlfriend knew the whole thing too.
You want protection is what you want. Not anonymity
I can’t give blanket protection to everyone but I can pay everyone for their information and time. Everyone will get some but some will get lot for greater content and great behavior. This site here doesn’t give two fucks about people’s behavior unless the mob cares and then they beat you to death with a stick
That is this site
SpoonFed_1@reddit
let me go look at your comment history
Practical-River5289@reddit
Improved search
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Well fren to note web version will be second. I cannot code a website first without the application. Why? Because websites are stupid now and cost more to run and code than phone applications. Also I will be iPhone only for maybe a year unless it takes off like a rocket which could happen. My idea is really grande
Gearjerk@reddit
Decentralization, and a good alternative to the upvote/downvote system.
The first to avoid concentrating power in the hands of the few.
The second because while the existing system is flawed (echo chambers, etc.), it still serves a vital role in de-emphasizing spam and non-relevant content. Conceptually I like ideas such as community moderation, or subscribing to mods, but I think the extra legwork required by users to use those systems properly will result in them being barely used, and/or power eventually concentrating in a clique of power users. Unfortunately, I don't have any decent ideas for other alternative systems.
Oh, and political/spicy conversations either being not allowed, or quarantined in areas dedicated to such topics.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Unfortunately I can’t stop human behavior. I can curb it significantly with game… game is much better than stupid doom scrolling and arguing over nouns lol
Wait for game game is fun 🤩
Smash-my-ding-dong@reddit
That's literally Reddit and mods moderating this. I don't understand why do you want to block politics when it does affect everyone in their day to day life. It's like asking people to not post the sky is blue and water is wet jokes.
Ok_Sky_555@reddit
I need not that much: - many active users there, at least 10% of Reddit audience - decentralisation - independency from admins (ability to move accounts, communities) - good enough usability
busymom0@reddit
Expecting a new site to have 10% of Reddit audience is absolutely delusional.
Ok_Sky_555@reddit
The question was: what you need to start actually using it.
For a "community of communities" platform a big enough audience is critical.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
This is my test. My MVP will have to be epic. It will be
BlazeAlt@reddit
How much is 10% of Reddit audience?
Ok_Sky_555@reddit
Reddit has 365 million weekly active users.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
That’s gross. 🤮 one faint echo chamber of r tards circle jerking eachother over nouns
🤦🏻
BlazeAlt@reddit
Expecting a new platform to reach 36 millions organically is delusional.
Even Bluesky barely reaches that number based on https://bsky-users.theo.io/ , and they have VC money marketing budget behind them.
Ok_Sky_555@reddit
The question was "What do you want to see in a Reddit Alternative that you would actually use?".
I tried lemmy, posting a question there was not much more useful as writing in it a local text file.
The real delusion is - the belief, that the "reddit alternative" is a technical problem.
BlazeAlt@reddit
What was the question about? All the posts on https://lemm.ee/c/asklemmy@lemmy.world have at least a couple of answers, some of them reaching 50 or 80 replies
Ok_Sky_555@reddit
There is no "the question" - I actively used lemmy for a few months.
Lemmy is simply too small. Like when I wanted to ask a question or start a discussion about GalaxyWatch, Garmin, or Synology, lemmy communities were useless. Each of named reddit subs have more users than the whole lemmy and this makes a critical difference.
If it is big enough for you - fine. Different people - different needs.
BlazeAlt@reddit
The usual issue that people face on Lemmy is that they try to find a specific community for their questions, while the general AskLemmy or wide topic questions are better.
You mentioned Garmin, here is a post from 2 weeks ago on !fitness@lemmy.world: https://lemmy.zip/post/37922131
Synology is discussed a lot on !selfhosted@lemmy.world: https://lemmy.zip/post/38863931
newjerseytrader@reddit
no censorship.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Well on this note; I cannot say this on my app there will be an extreme censor but only in decorum. Not substance. There is a massive difference. I just cannot allow certain things in my app and politics is one of them. There will be internal politics but there will be no politics come in here a debate eachother like idiots for no reason other than to call eachother idiots. I promise when you see this you’re gonna remember this
legends99503@reddit
I'd like to know real people vs. bots, even if this requires ongoing account verification.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
🧘🏻I’m the one
MelonCakey@reddit
The ability to completely control my feed/content I see. I get showing with a wide array when just signing up of course, but the ability to block subjects/users/communities is vital for giving users an experience that feels catered to them. It also shows that the site cares about your experience.
Reddit got completely out of hand with this. Ads disguised as posts, then ads in comments, then recommending communities you might like, showing posts from places you aren't even subbed to. You can't even block some of it. I don't want any of that. Not to mention them deciding to censor things without our input. Also basically unusable when logged out, that's BS to me.
I've looked at a few alternatives, and many seem to either launch without much thought to this, or it's half-baked.
MelonCakey@reddit
Oh, and no points system. The amount of garbage/lies on here we get because want stupid internet points is absurd. Get rid of any incentive/reward, and have a fair, responsive system to combat disinformation and whatnot.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Well fren. I can get rid of the points system, there has to be a logic count for features otherwise it won’t function in an algorithm. Sorry. But what I have for you is very unique and very special and it took me a long time thinking about every as the autistic weirdo I am. I just wanna be loved and I think when you experience my mind like a piece of software can offer you will remember me saying this. It will be this much of an evolution in thought and experience for everyone. I promise. I may have said insane shit and still do but I generally want people to smile and be happy just sometimes with the politics people don’t want the medicine especially on this site
Tringi@reddit
I wouldn't mind point system if it wasn't used to hide stuff from me.
JimothyJollyphant@reddit
Isn't that the main thing that made reddit different from other boards/forums?
Inside_Jolly@reddit
No heavy political bias.
Lots of non-political communities.
User-driven moderation with platform mods only stepping up when something illegal happens.
As little automation as humanly possible.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
You mean bits on number four huh? Yeah I’m gonna destroy everyone. Just gotta code this beast.
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
Bots
Some-Journalist2879@reddit
I am build. Am want. Am need you. Am only gonna code what you need. Not what you want though. You need more than wants.
271kkk@reddit
rodneyck@reddit
No censorship and no political bias based system.
I thought Lemmy was going to be the answer, but from what I can tell, it is just a vapid, rabid pool of neo-liberals (I am independent, could give two-f's about the two party/uni-party US political system.)
PrimeTinus@reddit
No angry frustrated asperger moderators that ban you for being direct or making a joke
eccsoheccsseven@reddit
https://goatmatrix.net has no mods. Except me. And I don't do that. I've only removed spam.
We don't have chaparones walking with people as they talk in public spaces currating about half of what they say. That shouldn't happen on internet forums either, because that's weird.
dandylover1@reddit
The first thing I want is full accessibility with screen readers, particularly NVDA. I want a clean interface, the ability to discuss vairous topics, to delete posts completely, to have a full profile instead of a few short words, and to be able to create my own topics or subreddits/groups.
dbzer0@reddit
Lemmy still going strong and getting more active by the month. Just sayin' ;)
WarpRealmTrooper@reddit
Biggest problems for me is the communities I'm interested in being very small and infrequent on alternatives.
sudo-rm-rf-Israel@reddit (OP)
I mean, that's to be expected in the beginning. It can also be a good thing, lower numbers less trolls and more people genuinely interested in that topic.
WarpRealmTrooper@reddit
True although there's a difference between sparse activity and very sparse activity :/
tinyturtlefrog@reddit
I want a community of people who act like adults, committed to and focused on a specific topic, not a hodge-podge. Which is why I have a better time on topic-oriented old-school forums. They can feel like a bunch of old friends who just happen to be geeking out about watches, old Toyotas, or large appliance repair.
timwaaagh@reddit
i think theres definitely an opportunity for more audio and video stuff. video and audio comments chats etc.
SoHiTech@reddit
We have launched a platform that doesn't use any bots or algorithm to favor any bias, and it is not strictly moderated. You can check it out at AnonX.org
Past-Listen1446@reddit
one that blocks stupid questions. "What X should I buy", "Something I could have googled and had the answer".
Old_Dealer_7002@reddit
beautiful, non cluttered UI. infinite scrolling. bookmarks. easily shared. looks good on both phone and ipad. easy to report scams and such. can read without making an account (or without signing in, if have an account). bugs are rare and fixed in a reasonable time frame.
Old_Dealer_7002@reddit
oh, and i do use reddit alternatives, some more than others. i try most things if they look promising, and keep using if something doesn’t put me off.
1n1billionAZNsay@reddit
I want blocklists to be shareable.
Delicious_Ease2595@reddit
Reddit allows bots, astroturfing, bad actors and bad moderation. I want the opposite