That's one thing Reddit doesn't somehow grasp: They outsourced their brand experience a long time ago when they were late to building an app of their own. To me and many others, reddit definitely is reddit is fun. There's no putting that genie back in the bottle.

This is the best answer. For a long time, VCs were willing to load up all sorts of startups and growth-stage companies with cash. But that changed last year. Suddenly, some investors found it made more sense to park their money in less risky, less time-consuming opportunities. That included stuff like bonds. Higher interest rates and an economy in crunch mode made the need to make money now more important than before.

I definitely miss Jerboa. But the past month has already brought so much chaos to my internet use. What's a little more?

That's true. July is definitely better where I am, but the blueberry festivals are starting this weekend.

Blueberries fresh off the bush. Tis the season.

Lol it's seriously crazy how much less active this place felt a couple of weeks ago. I can't imagine what it's like to be someone who was here years ago.

This brings up a good question: Do we really want everyone we can get?

On one hand, it'd help flesh out fledgling communities and keep threads and feeds more active.

On the other hand, the more people who come here, the more likely we are to see lower-effort, lower-value, and even counterproductive content and comments.

There's probably some magic number, an adoption level where communities thrive but are not watered down. I have no idea what that is, though.

Don't say, "I can't wait." It's OK to be excited for something but not to wish away all the moments between then and now. Each one is precious.

I picked that up a few years ago from a Buddhist book. It helped me with so many aspects of life.

I really hated when "maybe it's Maybelline" was popular on Reddit a few years ago. Never made sense to me that anyone would find any value in somebody repeating a dumb corporate tagline.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's good to hear there wasn't a lot going on because, honestly, coming here from Reddit feels a bit like participating in some sort of digital gentrification.

Are you gonna have contraband shoved up your anus?

OP could get constipated by doing a bunch of opioids. Obviously not recommended.

You're right. The fediverse is definitely in a better position to ward off the suck.

By now, we've all been around the internet long enough to know that good things never last. That's really life: Everything's impermanent. Lemmy will probably suck someday, as will much of the fediverse. But I'm grateful it's good right now and for the foreseeable future.

That's awesome. Thanks for the recommendation. I'd love to try this out. Going on the gift list!

Everyone in this thread crushes it compared to me. I mostly use Peak dehydrated meals, which are pricey. Good on all of you!

Never used it, but I could see it being nice. I'll never really get used to carrying out used toilet paper in a Ziploc bag. Just feels kinda gross and weird. But the time in the wilderness is always worth the price of admission.

That's the key thing for me. Reddit has totally lost any sense of trust and respect I had for the platform. Why bother supporting a company like that?

I feel you completely. I spend most of my free time with my family, hiking or paddling, or reading books. It's nice to have places online to burn some time, but I'd sooner give it up than be forced into some corporate playground. The past 15-20 years have shown that it just doesn't work.

Awesome! This has been puzzling me. Thanks!

It's a beautiful day to be mindful, present, and grateful. IWNDWYT.

That sounds like an excellent day! Enjoy! IWNDWYT.

I really don't know. I definitely recall Spez saying it's safe. But it seems like we'd be wise to not trust a word he says.

I also intensified existing hobbies.

Hiking went from a vacation or quarterly activity to several times per week. (Less now because of fatherhood.)

I returned to music and really doubled down on reading.

I picked up a couple of new hobbies: kayaking and spin bike.

And I started a business that's been doing well for a few years and became a dad.

None of it would have happened without sobriety.

Damn. You described it so well.

Fridays in autumn, right at the time the setting sun is lighting up the night sky, is such a trigger for me. This time of year, it's more like Fridays around 3, when the sun is shining and the trees are super green and robust. Idk -- there's something about the time and scenery associated with the pre-drinking routine that's difficult.

But I'm starting to feel really settled into sobriety. It only took six years of stumbling!

Wrote some songs with my sober friends yesterday afternoon and evening. Then came home and hung out with my wife while our baby slept peacefully upstairs.

That's a way better Friday than I ever had in the drinking days.

Welcome! I'm super stoked to be here, too. And each day this community seems to grow stronger.

I agree that reddit's future looks weak. The API change was horrible. Spez's approach to the whole thing was even worse: condescending, disingenuous, and hostile.

And the more I think about it, the less I see any hope for reddit as a place I want to spend time. This isn't just one bad episode. Once the company goes public, there's going to be more shit like this. The site will slowly gut itself for perceived short-term gains, over and over again.

No thanks.

Wow! That's an amazing video and story. Thanks for sharing. If I woke up to those noises, I'd for sure be baffled.

Fighting or mating lol. No idea either, but I love any animal where the two acts are hardly distinguishable.

New England is so cool! I've spent brief bursts of time there, mostly in urban areas, over the years, but didn't start hiking up your way until last year. Fell in love with the White Mountains last September and heading back in a couple of weeks. Also spent a few days hiking Acadia this spring. You guys have such an amazing place up there!

Wow -- I had no idea there were two sundews in the pines. I totally agree with you: This is exactly what I used to get from Reddit. So thank you. And I love a good bladderwort! I saw a bunch when I was canoeing with my wife and daughter last weekend.

So cool that you're gonna make the trip here. If you want to know about any cool spots to visit, I'm happy to share!

Off the top of my head, there's an easily accessible bog with a boardwalk called Webb's Mill (Google Maps has it by name -- it's in Forked River). I've seen a ton of pitcher plants and sundews there. Sometimes the entrance is flooded out because of a beaver dam.

Wharton State Forest has the Mullica and Batsto rivers, along with a bunch of wetlands. If you wanna take kayaks or canoes down them, Pinelands Adventures runs trips through mid-October.

Going off the beaten path is easy in the Pines, too. I have some bushwhacking spots that I love and am happy to share privately. The only problem is, I typically go when no carnivorous plants are out because the ticks and chiggers are brutal off trail this time of year.

Ah sorry for the novel. I grew up in what once was pine barrens but escaped the political designation and thus got super overdeveloped. And the culture escaped us, too -- almost no one I know has spent much time in the Pines, even though we're 20 minutes away. So I get excited when I meet a fellow traveler!

It was great. I was only there for a like 72 hours, but we packed a lot of miles and elevation into that window.

I hope you can get there, too. It's easy to access -- right near Fort Collins -- and well worth the trip.

I bet autumn is amazing there. Mid-May was wonderful. The only word of caution, which I'm sure is obvious to people who spend a lot of time in alpine environments but not necessarily so to people from the East like me, is that the high peaks were still buried in feet of snow.

Amazing! I spent some time in Silverton in summer 2021. Everything about the area blew me away. Incredible to hike and just exist there.

Great point! I heard one only once, and I remember it being super jarring. I'm always kind of amazed by how silently and smoothly they glide through the air.

Haha! Makes total sense. I appreciate your precision.

My knowledge of plants is mostly limited to stuff in the New Jersey Pine Barrens because I hike and paddle there often and read about it just as much. So when I think of a sundew, I'm thinking of the one I know that lives there.

(The Pines also has a cactus -- the prickly pear -- but now I'm questioning whether it's actually a cactus!)

Thanks so much. Next time I come across a cool plant that I can't identify, I'll post and tag you.

This is such an insightful and thoughtful post. It sums up exactly how I feel. I'm so over the negativity that I encountered daily on Reddit. Lemmy is a fresh start.

A few years ago, while searching for answers about how to live a better life, this simple and kinda sappy thought came to me. Maybe it seems obvious or sentimental, but I use it to guide my actions every day: Shape the world with love.

That's how I'm trying to contribute to Lemmy. And it seems like most other users are, too.

You need to capitalize the "G" in "Government" in every use. Thought that was bizarre years later when I realized it was incorrect and that I was anti-government.

Jeez. I'm sorry someone said that to you. Fucked up.

That's really cool. Forgive me for not knowing proper plant language, but its arms resemble a sundew.

Thank you!

That's awesome! Thanks so much for the detailed response and photo.

I love paddling past herons. They look like dinosaurs as they quietly take off.

A bald eagle is a great find.

That looks great. How long did you go out for? See any cool birds?

I had a super choppy and windy day yesterday, followed by a hardscrabble fight up a tight, overly vegetated river in the backyard of a main highway and an industrial park. A lot of porting and branches to the face. Definitely type 2 fun lol.

Agreed. Sometimes fiction reflects reality very well, in its own unique way. I used to be a journalist, and I recall some of my colleagues wondering whether they could do more good by moving to fiction and taking on larger issues in that medium.