Getting Started with Lemmy - A Guide for Reddit Users

If you're familiar with Reddit but you are not satisfied with all the changes and limitations that are being imposed on its users and community, Lemmy might be the perfect alternative for you.

Lemmy is an open-source, federated alternative to Reddit, allowing users to participate in various instances and communities. In this tutorial, we'll cover the fundamental concepts of Lemmy to help you get started.

Instances

In Lemmy, an "instance" refers to a separate installation of the Lemmy platform hosted on a specific server. Think of instances as individual websites, each with its own set of rules and themes. Each instance operates independently, allowing users to create communities, post content, and interact with other users. The federated nature of Lemmy means that different instances can communicate and share content with one another.

Communick has its own Lemmy instance at communick.news which is (currently) open for anyone to join. You can also find a list of instances at Lemmy's website.

If none of the instances suit you, or if you prefer to have full control over the server, you can also run your own. We provide managed hosting plans for Lemmy servers, and you need to do is to have a domain and follow the setup process.

Communities

What is a Community? In Lemmy, a "community" is similar to a subreddit on Reddit. It is a place where users with shared interests can post and discuss content relevant to that community's theme. Each community on Lemmy has its own rules and moderators who ensure that discussions remain civil and within the community's scope. Joining communities allows you to tailor your content feed according to your preferences and interests.

Finding communities to follow

Finding communities on Lemmy is easy. To get started, navigate to your instance's homepage. Communick.news looks like this. You'll likely find a list of featured or popular communities, which are a good place to start exploring.

Alternatively, you can use the search bar to find communities based on keywords or topics of interest. Once you find a community you like, click on it to view its content and subscribe to it for regular updates on your feed.

Difference between "All" and "Local"

In Lemmy, the "Local" and "All" feeds offer different perspectives on the content shared within your instance: