The algorithm really doesn't work when you are critical or sceptical over a subject. For instance crypto sceptics from r/buttcoin being shown binance ads. Yes, they do show an interest in crypto, but may be the least suceptible persons to that ad.

people in recovery from addiction and alcohol saying how they keep seeing ads for beer or gambling

Not that this is how it works, but I imagine a diligent algorithm looking at those individuals and that content, and then thinking "mhhmm this will generate maximum revenue!!".

I don't think such an aggregator is required. Interoperability is smooth enough that you don't have to think about different instances most of the time. I've only really noticed two points that would be confusing:

• the sign up process
• the "local"/"all" distinction

So I think what we really need to do to make this platform intuitive to people that aren't already familiar with it is:

• Somehow streamline signing up. The process from googling Lemmy to having an account on an instance should not be confusing or intimidating.
• Filter by "all" by default. The default should cater to the users which are less likely to figure it out themselves. If you don't understand what instances are and what "local" vs "all" means, then you are probably here for the "all" experience. If you understand and really want "local" you are probably fine having to set it yourself.

Its actually simple. Tell them, its like Email. You have an email account at gmail, but can perfectly fine have email conversation with someone on outllook. Lemmy instance = the same as a web email interface of any email provider. Most people will get their head around that.

I stopped using 4chan when the probability of getting goddamn CP snuff videos in the browser cache because of a /b/ raid got beyond trivial, so like pretty fucking early on.

4chan definitely got worse. like it was always edgy and stupid, but after 2015 every board just kind of became /pol/

I don't think so. Although many will remain with Reddit, there is no incentive or loyalty for a significant % to do so. If reddit is shit, why not just use FB, Twitter or regular message boards? Already I saw many subreddits have discords already.

The question for most of those users is there a lesser evil in choosing one bad company over another? Unfortunately I just see this community content becoming fragmented as a result and no winners emerging.

I like Lemmy / kbin but I am concerned that a dev could just shutdown their server and a community, accounts are gone. Who pays the server bills, and maintenance backups etc? This seems incredibly problematic.

Beyond that they need a strong mobile app and 3P devs, a tool to read a users reddit profile and subscribe to similar channels, one click registration without selecting a server. It would be good to also have a mechanism for showing cross-platform posted content in a single view.

If honestly feels like the 90s wild west Internet days again. No alternative I have seen so far can address these concerns.

I mean, since there's no central site to shut down, Lemmy failing would pretty much just mean that it stagnates and some of the bigger instances shut down, at which point there still would be some remnant of it left to stay on, if a smaller one. Failing that, it isn't the only reddit alternative that people have been working on, so maybe one of the others will be more successful.

Consider exploring other Fediverse platforms before heading back to Reddit.

Nah. If Lemmy/Fediverse doesn't work out, there will be others. This has all happened before..