The question isn't if you're useful to Lemmy or not. We don't deserve to exert any weight on your heart with opinions and upvotes.

Are you doing something you think is worth your time, with or without external validation? Is this something you would do if you thought it was basically the internet version of putting messages in a bottle?

When you are old and on your death bed, what will the value of your reddit karma be? What is the value of it now?

Do things that matter to you. Do things that help you grow and be a better person.

Do you enjoy posting? That's all that really matters in the end. Karma is pointless.

Controversy can actually be good, as long as you're not saying stuff simply to provoke it for its own sake. If I wanted to only speak to something that agreed with everything I said I could just go tell an AI to act that way and waste my time there. Should communities be insular bubbles where everyone believes the exact same things?

Ask not if you are useful to Lemmy. Ask if Lemmy is useful to you.

I don't see most of your posts in the wild but the one I did was good. Glancing at your profile, you post quality which is just going to get a different kind if engagement than what we're used to on reddit

Stand tall, king. Numbers just scale a little different here and things move slow. You'll notice your posts will continue to get engagement for a long time after a reddit post would normally die down too.

I’ve been posting a lot lately But I seem like I’m controversial no matter what I post. I came from Reddit with over 2 million karma trying the API controversy.

Forget about karma and algorithm: votes don't mean much around here.

What's not different from reddit, as already mentioned, is that some people only seem to enoiy acting like jerks. The right answer to that is to 1) ignore them 2) to block them. They will still be able to (meaninglessly) vote but they won’t get a chance to annoy you directly anymore.

Should I keep posting or give up on Lemmy?

Should you keep on posting?

The Fediverse (lemmy being a small part of it, I'm from Piefed another and even smaller part of it) severely lacks active users so, from the Fediverse’s perspective the answer is obviously: yes, you should!

But one should never do something only because they think or because ethey’re being told they should do it. Even posting content on a forum. So, if you don't enjoy doing it, it's probably not worth your time.

I do participate as regularly as I can because I think most of the discussions are enriching and done with a correct mindset. I would stop participating if that was not the case. Like I quit using reddit the day I realized I could not agree with their latest policy changes (that was a couple years ago).

So, do you enjoy participating? If so, by all means keep on doing it as I have no doubt other people do appreciate your contributions too.

Every person that logs in and interacts in good faith in some way is useful to Lemmy.

Judging by your recent post history, it looks like you’re doing a good job at attracting positive engagement. Many upvotes and comments on your posts. Of course, with that you also attract some negative engagement, but that’s inevitable when posting about politics.

You’re useful.

Don’t stress about it. I think reddit gives people an unhealthy mindset about how internet forums are.

Don't feel like you need to be useful, but thanks for contributing.

Seems like a bit of a "pickme" post. You do you, don't worry about your 2 million updoots on reddit.

What you should do is stop caring about "karma", it has no value (even more so here, it's not even a thing). Don't do things to get likes, do them because you like doing them and/or think they can help others.

I haven't heard of any controversy, but I think you do important work. May not be glamorous work, but having a consistent flow of news on Lemmy helps me keep up to date on the goings-on of the world. I assume most people think similarly

For what it's worth, I appreciate your contributions. 👍

Thanks for your contributions!

None of us are useful to Lemmy because Lemmy is not "useful." Lemmy is a shit-pile of all of our combined thoughts and efforts. So, while no social media site is "useful," Lemmy brings us a place to be entertained and informed/misinformed.

Most of your posts are shit. Most of my posts are shit. While we each usually shit in our own corners, we occasionally look at each other's shit and say, "hmmm... This shit stinks." Or, "this shit is a little nutty and I like that!" And even less frequently, we cross paths while shitting and our shit combines to create a new type of shit that other people can enjoy.

So, don't try to measure your Lemmy "usefulness" based on karma, and instead focus on the shit. I often appreciate your shit, and your username always gives me a chuckle. Whether anyone likes it or not, all of our shit makes Lemmy's shit the shit it is.

You know what I have enjoyed about Lemmy? Compared to Reddit, I get fewer replies if I make a comment, and fewer upvotes. Yet the comments I do get are generally more interesting and more likely to be human. As I’ve grown more accustomed to Lemmy, I’ve begun to wonder what percentage of Reddit interactions were bots.

However, I’d love to see this grow some more. The large communities are taking off, but I will still use Reddit for more niche subjects (area-specific gardening, following a local sports team) because they haven’t taken off on Lemmy yet and I’d be talking to myself. And that means that you are useful, because a community needs members to thrive.

I don't see controversy in your first page of your profile, but discussion about the articles. IMO, that's what you hope for.

Your posts seem reasonable and you're contributing real content. Seems to me like that's the very definition of being useful to the community at large.

I came from Reddit with over 2 million karma

No one cares.

Judging by your recent post history, it seems you're mostly here for US politics, the one thing I am not interested in / don't like here (because it's so much and spreads everywhere). But I am not Lemmy. It just means I'm not your target audience.

I'd say keep posting. We need the content! Engagement is always low here, there is a lot of varied opinions here as well. Don't let it get you down.

I've had you tagged for some time for past discussions I found dubious and recognize by sight your name now but don't stop posting what you believe; I still want to hear what you say unlike others who just seem like trolls or bots. I often agree even. I don't want an echo chamber; I want ideas challenged in both directions.

I appreciate you, @return2ozma@lemmy.world and if you left us it would be a major loss.

I pay no attention to down-voters. The growing popularity of the fediverse brings as many bad people with it as good ones.

Over 2 million karma. Ooh La La dork jk

How did you even get the idea you're not "useful"? When I look at your profile, all I see is 90%+ upvoted posts, not that upvotes necessarily matter very much.

https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/66240489

Yes

Let go of the thought that updoots matter and you will find harmony.

1. Controversy is always going to happen with anything politics, which is clearly something very important to you
2. Your worth is not a measure of the controversy your posts generate or karma
3. Maybe instead of giving up completely, consider also posting about some things that bring you peace and joy. I have no doubt that there is much more to you than very understandable anger about the world we live in.

In my case, I can't survive on a diet of outrage alone, especially when I'm often picking up my phone to get away from some kind of life stress, so I'm always keen for more posts in art, photography or pet communities. It helps to break up the wall of misery that is the news and reminds me there are still things worth fighting for. Sometimes I need to see a photo of a beach sunset someone saw and thought was pretty, or read a post about how they discovered a new hobby even if I'd never try it. Show me the cute dog you saw on a walk, or the weird random trash you found on the street, I'm here for it.

Consider it a form of community building. rest, and morale boosting for the war against humanity and the environment that we've been caught in, if you will.

Nothing wrong with controversy. Know who you are and be open to learning.

isnt controversy good as long as conversation is civil?

Give up on reddit. There is no karma here.

I have you at +10, so you’re at least posting things I find meaningful. That being said, you post a lot of political things, so expect to bring many sides of the conversation to light. The fediverse has more types than Reddit.

yes. i enjoy your posts. i am happy to see you and many others.

All posting here is useful at this point

One thing about Lemmy that follows the Reddit formula perfectly is there’s always one jerk in every comments section. Don’t let em bother you.

I usually don't post links to news articles because I assume someone else will do it or already did it. And I'm right people people like you do it. So thanks. Just don't do it for 'karma', we don't need this silly competition for internet points here.

I think Lemmy (or the Fediverse in a broader sense) really benefits from everyone in it to just output as much as possible. More interaction, more content, more people coming for that content. If somebody does not like what you have to say they can just block you (or if it's really hateful be banned)

It's probably not you who is controverial. In my experience, a lot of Lemmy subs/pages seem to be echo chambers and circlejerks. Don't worry too much about karma. Lemmy is a whole different ecosystem. Sounds like you're trying to bring status into a place that doesn't value it. You're either preaching to the choir, or speaking your mind and getting flamed.

What do you mean "useful"?
I can understand being useful to a community, if you're an expert and expertise is sought-after, but idk what it even means to be useful to Lemmy as a whole unless you're developing Lemmy or apps for it.

Bee useful to a community, but don't try to be useful to everyone

If you get dozens of upvotes, you are not controversial. If you get half a dozen negative comments, just ignore them. Don’t let the comments get yah!

Don't worry about the votes. You are free now.

Post what you are interested in.