Its rhe only thing I wish could change about my experience using Lemmy, for more active users in the communities like NFL or NHL and the affiliated team pages of those sports. I haven’t had any social media in decades, my main source for sporting news breaks up until 1-2 years ago was Reddit.

I love the small community that makes up Lemmy. As someone just posted, it feels like a small town community. I like the absence of corporate shills and ads and bots.

Back when I switched from Reddit to Lemmmy, I made an effort to upvote and comment on the NFL and Buffalo Bills communities. I eventually gave up because it was like months of posting, voting and commenting but when I would go back to check the communities, everything would still be sitting at like 2 up votes and 0 comment replies or if it was my own post, 1 upvote and 0 comments. For a majority of cases. Every once in a blue moon I would come accross a post where another user voted or commented but it was never more than me and one other user.

I know there is a certain demographic that uses Lemmy that is mostly driven by the required IT prowess needed to set up, use and even understand the federated concept. I also recognize that this demographic is traditionally disinterested in sports. Im not complaining about this or the users who are on Lemmy. Im also not wishing for any changes be made to aggressively expand Lemmy’s user base. Its just an impractical wish I have so I could get my sports news from the same source I get all my other news.

I will prolly spend more time this coming year settling on a 2ndary source for sports news from sources similar to sleeper app but it would be so nice if the Lemmy sporting communities blew up so I could keep everything aggregated to one source.

  • madame_gaymes@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    You know, Lemmy is powered by the users. The sports community will never grow if no one is here to grow it. Most people that jumped ship to build and grow Lemmy are techies, and likely not interested in sports all that much.

    You just planted the seed, will you also be a watering can?

    • shittydwarf@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      We are in at the ground level of Lemmy. A lot of people like OP are passive consumers, but now is the time to step up, get out of your comfort zone and start building the communities you want to see. You might have to hustle a little bit

      If you do start up a community you can link it like this:

      !weightroom@sh.itjust.works

      Here’s a totally random community about strength and hypertrophy training for example

      • biofaust@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Thanks for that link! I was almost gonna start one myself. Gonna try that one instead, at least for a while.

      • 11111one11111@lemmy.worldOP
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        2 months ago

        We are in at the ground level of Lemmy. A lot of people like OP are passive consumers

        For real? Im replying to almost every comment I get a notification, I made this post, I’ve commented on NFL posts among other comments in non-sports comms. How you guna just blindly call me a passive consumer lol? Not hating just couldn’t believe you coulld draw that conclusion while I felt I was borderline spamming the thread with replies hahah 🍻cheers tho, to your commitment to motivating any and all users to be more active.🍻

        • shittydwarf@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          Gotta give props to active participation, upvotes, comments are helping too, you’re right. I was just focussed on community building, it might not be as fun but it’s important also

    • lordnikon@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      This 100%, it’s even harder when someone puts a posting bot in a sub and expects people to show up. The best communities started by someone creating a sub and posting things they found interesting. Treating it like a personal link archive. Then people would add to the discussion after finding you. If you are posting for a few weeks and then just gives up. It just makes the problem worse. Since now people have to sift through a bunch of dead communities on multiple instances all named the same.

      It has to be built organically it’s like people with video channels on YouTube or peer tube. Making your first video and if it doesn’t do well they quit. Most successful creators made tons of videos before they took off. They kept at it because they were making the videos for themselves for just the sake of self expression as their first priority and the views will come.

      • njm1314@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        This is kind of a problem in the NFL Community actually. There’s one user, I don’t know if it’s a bot or not, who just shotguns like 10 to 15 post at a time. It washes out any discussion in the entire community.

        • lordnikon@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Yep people like that that use bots or worse AI to auto post think they are helping but are just bring the dead internet theory to reality.

        • madame_gaymes@programming.dev
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          2 months ago

          I’ve noticed a couple of users doing this in the Music community recently, as well.

          If it’s a bot, fuck the owner. If it’s a real person, chill the fuck out dude. Don’t bust a nut so quickly, it’ll be more fun that way I swear.

    • Serinus@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      This is so dismissive.

      I spent a full year posting to !leagueoflegends@lemmy.world and interaction there is still minimal to dead.

      It’s not really the starting of communities that needs help. We need more people to be the second and third person to join and help communities that someone else is trying to start.

    • 11111one11111@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      You just planted the seed, will you also be a watering can?

      Im not implying there is a lack of content just a lack of active users to fuel discussions. I leave a comment on every NFL post that I have some input or opinion on. Like I said to another comment in this thread there seems to either be a bot or a dedicated mod who is periodically supplying content in batches of posts. So maybe once a week or so (maybe once a month in the off seadon) the same user name will make a bunch of posts for all the news for that week.

  • mintiefresh@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    Wow. I didn’t realize so many people here were anti sports. Interesting.

    I do miss the sports from Reddit so I still go back for that. But I’ve also decided to try to be the change … So I’ve started to post more in the sports communities around here.

    It’s probably the last thing I still go back to Reddit for. Otherwise Lemmy is my go to.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, the whole “anti-sports” thing always seemed like overcompensation for something? Like if you don’t like sports (I don’t, for the most part), then just don’t watch them.

      It’s strange when people get like actively hostile about the existence of sports.

  • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    And all I want is to never see sports related communities. So I guess I win there…

    Unfortunately I also never want to see anything that mentions anime or manga and in that department it’s serious whackamole for me.

    • 11111one11111@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      So learn how to fuckin filter and subscribe to take control of your feed and go piss and moan in those threads.

      • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        I can and I do. Its easy enough to block simple angry fuckers like you one at a time. Thanks for volunteering to sit down and shut up in my feed.

        • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          As an outsider looking in with only this thread for context. I feel like you’re gazing into the mirror a bit there and also need to chill.

          • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            Whatever you say man :).

            I don’t do “turn the other cheek” on the internet, but you can if you like. I prefer to deliver a pique and block; it doesn’t raise my blood pressure any, but hopefully there’s a lingering rankle for anyone who doesn’t have anything nice to say and can’t keep their emotions in check. A little sprinkle of sand in the old underoos if you will.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Yeah, I try to engage on the sports posts because there isn’t much going on in these comms. But I’m hopeful we can get some growth eventually

  • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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    2 months ago

    I like to pretend that all the Lemmy communities have a unique participants but in really it is just the same people on the same few communities.

    I also feel like we need some Lemmy specific lingo. Reddit has subs I wonder what Lemmy has. Communities is just to long to type out.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Everyone’s already hit the high points.

    Sports fanbase tends to not be a tech base, which Lemmy primarily is.

    Sports are paywalled to hell and back, the userbase here is far more inclined to avoid paywalls and the content behind it.

    People dislike the celebrity gossip and stuffed suits surrounding sports.

    My own personal disregard for sports leans more towards the dislike of the monied celebrity of the entire genre, the worship of the players, and the pointless obsession and discussion of things like stats that have all the meaning of dowsing rods. But that’s literally just my opinion and obviously plenty of people feel otherwise.

  • TORFdot0@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I think I’ve generally been less interested in sports as the pro leagues gatekeep more of their games behind multiple paywalls and less interested in college sports as NIL and conference realignment has killed the traditions and the connection between the students, athletes, and alumni.

    If you weren’t already a sports fan, I can’t imagine a much worse time to become one

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    On lemmy.ca we have semi-active Hockey pages, especially due to the playoffs, check out !hockey@lemmy.ca, and some of the team pages get occasional posts. The advantage of being a lemmy.ca user is that you will encounter small sports team and small Canadian city page posts more often in local feed.

    I think before a Buffalo Bills page takes off we need a relatively active American football page. But sports commentary is not very intriguing to me and feels very formulaic: “Go [team name] Go”, “Coach [name] sucks”, “Next season we’ve drafted [name] to our team”, etc. etc.

  • Asidonhopo@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Easy enough to block the sports communities from your feed if you browse c/all if you dont like them. I say someone set up the sports communities and start posting articles to see if we can get more adoption by the sports folks over here. I dont have the patience for sports but more users is good. Some sports people are obnoxious but some certainly aren’t (Bill Bppurr comes to mind) and userbase growth is needed.

  • AoxoMoxoA@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I thought the exact same thing when i joined. Today while working on my project car I decided to take pictures and make a post sometime over the next few days when I’m done with the task. Hopefully someone sees it and starts discussion and adds content to one of the niche communities here that was actually one of my favorite non toxic subs on shitty ass reddit.

    We get to build these communities and it’s kind of exciting 🤙

  • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Lemmy is also primarily used by super nerds who don’t care about sportsball. Not enough normies here compared to Reddit.

    • 11111one11111@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Which is what I find odd because every gamer and nerd I know is also interested in sports or at the very least interested in fantasy sports leagues. Might just be my area tho where the whole community and all walks of life get together to watch the Bills and Sabres play.

  • JohnnyFlapHoleSeed@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Does Lemmy have an equivalent of the reddit sportsbook sub? That’s literally the only thing I actually go to Reddit for anymore, and I’d prefer to just use Lemmy if possible