Ok, here’s the thing: Earlier this week I had the idea of setting up a Lemmy community focused on Lowpoly modeling done with PicoCad, Blockbench and Blender. I went with my Mastodon instance looking for feedback on community regulations. Then the admin of my instance contacted me to tell me if he wanted me to set up a whole Lemmy instance.

He told me it was something he had been thinking about for a while. He already has several projects in the fediverse: two Mastodon instances (TKZ.one and Mas.lat), one on Pixelfed (Pixelfed.es), one on Peertube (TKZ.video), etc. It’s just that, as I wasn’t familiar with Lemmy, I didn’t know where to start, and as I’m one of the only ones in the instance that is active on Lemmy…

Lemmy is the second page, after Mastodon, where I’ve been messing around the most and I’m close to a year around here (it’s not much, but it’s something), so I’m pretty familiar.

The instance is already set up (Lem.to). At the moment it has nothing, since we just finished making it today. It will be focused on the Spanish-speaking public, although I don’t rule out the possibility of bilingual communities (Spanish and English), although that remains to be seen.

So, I am asking for help to know how to get off to a good start in this new responsibility. I would like to do the best job possible and attract more users to Lemmy if possible. Any advice is welcome.

  • flicker@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    5·
    6 hours ago

    This is less for the hardware portion and more for the human element;

    Figure out what you want your instance to be about and be very clear about it. Maybe write up your rules and have someone friendly with experience go over it with a rules-lawyer vibe, because a lot of the unfun parts of running anything revolve around a tiny segment of the population who will test you.

    I have a lot of experience with this if you need assistance, and I know there are others here who do as well.

    Remember, being clear about what you stand for and what you want your instance to stand for isn’t just a benefit for you, it also helps let users know whether they agree with you or not, as there’s always another server they can join or post on if they prefer.

    ETA; if you’re open to it, I also have a lot of friends who love going over rules with a fine-tooth comb and enjoy helping people, so I could share it with them, too. You can also post openly on Lemmy somewhere and invite discussion. Remember, what you want most is to create the specific space you want. The more specific, the better. And that excluding people isn’t always bad! Safe spaces are necessary.

  • ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.comEnglish
    12·
    8 hours ago

    Check the lemmy support channels for better answers.

    My first thought was why have another instance instead of just making the communities. But then having another instance is great to push back against the centralization through the big instances.

    Having a non-English instance sounds great and with a fun focus but I really wonder how much traction you would get. Might try to broader your focus, maybe be Spanish focused first and those be your focused communities? Being the home to Spanish speaking lemmy users sounds great :)

    Or am I just blending together your stream of consciousness writing and not getting your goals?

    Also, I would personally federate with everyone until you find a reason not to. It’s a shame that many admins have walked off those they disagree with.