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Stop Internet Searching and Start Asking on Fediverse?

I was just thinking about this, when I'm facing an issue, the first thing I do is go to a search engine and usually there's a Reddit post. But I don't want to ask there. And the only way we're going to build up the info for folks to find us and come here is for us to just start asking here. On the Fediverse. We need to build up that mountain of knowledge that Reddit has and will always have. So we should be championing ANYONE asking questions here. Even if we think it's obvious and we think you can just Google it. There was a time where you literally couldn't just Google it. That was built over time. We need to build that here. So start asking your questions here! Find the answers and then post your answer to your own question. Or let someone do it for you. We need to build the knowledge here to be found. It's not just about people looking for alternatives. We need our knowledge to be more valuable than their knowledge.

180 comments
  • I personally only ask when I can't find anything on the internet, but that's a good idea

    • Thanks and yeah ask and answer yourself if you must. Create Fedi Value. Share with all of us. Help a of us learn. :-).

  • I don’t use reddit results much at all anymore thanks to it constantly trying to force me to use the app, which I don’t have. I do try to force lemmy into search results by adding it to the search terms when appropriate.

    Problem is that Lemmy/Fediverse simply doesn’t have the established depth and breadth of information that reddit does yet, and reddit does have it because it sort of killed the internet forums that would have existed foe those subjects. I agree, it’d be great to have more knowledge sources in Lemmy. Growing the community types would be a start, but that needs people and participation, and growth is hard.

    • Problem is that Lemmy/Fediverse simply doesn’t have the established depth and breadth of information that reddit does yet, and reddit does have it because it sort of killed the internet forums that would have existed foe those subjects.

      That's the problem OP is asking you to help solve.

  • Eh, if the information already exists on the web somewhere, why reiterate it? Seems excessive to insist on asking on the Fediverse unless that information can't be found on a search engine or through AI.

    • Why not share it here? WHy not free the information? Someone could delete their Reddit post or Google could change their algorithm again tomorrow to suit their own needs. We're currently accepting the old system that's showing it can't be trusted. I say free the information. I might be naive though, but I have to try at least.

      • You need to remember first of all what sites like reddit, digg, and now Lemmy actually are. They are link aggregators. The content is anything and every thing. Just link to it. It's that simple. And if you feel it is in a place that might get removed, screenshot it, archive.org it, copy into an online Google Doc, and post that. There's no reason we need 500 identical "How do I do X?" posts just to fill content. Do you want 500 posts clogging your feed about how to fix the same printer issue over and over?

      • What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter where the information is. If it's absolutely crucial information, archive it, but if it disappears from Reddit or wherever, it's not like someone else will be incapable of asking again, here or elsewhere.

  • I ask chatgpt first. It usually gives me decent ideas to test out.

    E: the downvotes are interesting. I wonder why.

    • Downvotes are because a lot of folks are against ChatGPT and LLMs. We're going through MANY information transitions in the last 40 years and yet another holy grail is difficult to swallow. If you want to ask ChatGPT that's fine, but I'm trying to get folks to foster the Fediverse and make it more welcoming, more valuable, and heck just help people find us. Use the tools you want, absolutely. But we also need to find ways to help promote the Fediverse.

180 comments