The fediverse is small, and thats both a blessing and a curse - one of its several blessings is that in a smaller space we all individually have a bigger impact on what the culture of this space is like.

On this comm (and on lemmy broadly) there's a lot of discussion about how to grow the fediverse, what to improve, but an easy thing you can do for the fediverse is right in front of us-

Be kind
Ask people what they think, and why
Approach folks you disagree with with curiosity rather than hostility (EDIT: no, this is not specifically referring to Nazis. I get it, they're the first thing that comes to mind. I'm not telling you to approve of Nazis I'm just saying be kind to your fellow lemmites)
Engage sincerely
Ask yourself if there's something nice you can say
Make this small space worth being in

A platform lives or dies by what's available on said platform and often we have this conversation in the context of "content" or posts - and we may never have as much content as reddit does. But content and posts aren't the only thing this kind of platform offers- it also offers people. It offers community, and human interaction.

Culture and community is lemmy and the fediverse's biggest differentiator, and we all have a role to play in shaping the culture of this space.

The biggest thing you can do to help the fediverse is make it a place worth being.

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[–] Goated@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I just hope people won't turn it into another 4chan

[–] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

The ban hammer is too strong here for that to happen

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

I think given the existing culture of this space and the reasons people are drawn here it would be hard for that specifically to happen, but that's not to say we won't have our own cultural and platform challenges

I think in a worst case scenario we're more at risk of growing toxic and unhealthy in a new and different way than 4chan did

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I mean, there is kind of already 4chan-like spaces on the fediverse, they are just mostly off in their own corner because nobody else wants to deal with childishly incomplete visions of how moderation should work in a community to keep the most vulnerable people safe.

[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 0 points 1 day ago

as long as lemmygrad or hexbear don't become urban terrorists