how many people came to this platform due to leaving / being banned from Reddit?

Left reddit during the api/apps fiasco.
- There are DOZENS of us!
  
  …No? I’m pretty sure that was the first massive wave of relatively diverse active users. Lemmy was pretty fringe before that happened. I think there are tens of thousands of us.
  
  Same. Reddit without Relay isn't worth it
- Me too
- Same here! My app stopped working (rip rif.... You will be missed...!), I thought I give the official reddit app a try, it wouldn't let me log in no matter what I tried and then I heard of lemmy via feddit. Only went back once to delete all my data and to close my account.
- In hindsight, I'm really glad reddit did this. They single handedly gave their competitor (Lemmy) critical mass to be a true alternative. Without enough users, it's just not the same.
- Saaame.
  I used the reddit app many many moons ago, but then discovered Boost. Once it quit working flawlessly, Lemmy became home. And Boost for Lemmy is wonderful :)
- Same. I still miss bacon reader.
- This is/was the way. I mean, not that people are not welcome here now but still supporting reddit that long is like supporting Elon after he went mad or Trump after the first time around..
- Yep. Also left digg during their ad push fiasco to go to reddit.
- This. Fuck reddit
- Me too, although I also switched instances from lemm.ee to lemmy.ca when they shut down
- Same. Used rif.

I left reddit because fuck them
I still read through reddit pages if they come up in search - there's just too much useful info to ignore it. But I'm not going there directly
- Ditto. Use libreddit instances to read, but I do not feed the beast
  
  Is it just me, or does r/all seem like it's getting more conservative?
  
  There is c/feedthebeast@lemmit.online, but im not sure that counts
  
  What’s the issue with just using an adblocker? You cost them money to serve your queries but don’t make them any money provided you just browse and do not comment/post/vote

Dropped Reddit cold turkey when they closed the API.
It was an adjustment at first, but I do feel like the ecosystem has continued to grow and evolve, as well as me just adapting to what was on offer better.
I still never purposefully visit Reddit, but sometimes I just end up there from search results or links and it gives me the ick.
- Same here. Lemmy at this stage feels a lot like Reddit did when I joined back in the early 2000s.
  I'm glad I made the switch, because things are just generally nicer in a smaller community.
- This is exactly what happened to be. I tried Mastodon for a bit but it was kinda boring? So now I'm here.
- This is my exact answer. Thank you for writing it all for me.
- It’s Turkiye* now.

I wasn't banned, I just came here because of their API changes like many others. I always bring up "the grass is greener where you water it," so I came here, and mod !gamedev@lemmy.world. I still view and use reddit some; it's just more popular. But I try to do my part to make the Lemmy space a little more robust.
- "the grass is greener where you water it
  Great philosophy.
  
  Which is why I encourage everyone to mod a community, be it or on another Lemmy instance!
- Same here. I stay on Reddit for my local communities, some sports (though !cfb@fanaticus.social is still waiting in the wings!), and a couple of hobbies, but I actually just un-subbed from the remaining general interest subreddits I was on. There's less commenting here, but as much or more conversing.

I left Reddit in disgust during the API situation. All the cool kids were coming here, so I did too.
- Same here (I was never one of the cool kids, though).
  
  Lemmy is full of dorks, and I love that. Among its other flaws, Reddit could be mean-spirited at times. I haven't seen the same willingness to ignore ordinary human decency in favour of karma-farming here.

Left from api and spez being a terrible piece of shit. Was never banned. Stayed away from the many things that Reddit has done since

I left over the API bullshit.
- Same it was the bridge too far. Reddit was something I was willing to deal with on my terms. They decided that wasn't good enough and I'm smart enough to walk away from a toxic relationship.
- Same
- Yup, once they wanted to force their garbage app on me, I quit.

I escaped when they killed their API.

I too moved over during the api hulabaloo but I only used the website. I just was pretty sick of it and when I looked at the federation I was like. this is fine. Many folks want more numbers but I can take it or leave it as I like the sorta in crowd we got going.

I left over 2 years ago because of the whole API thing
- Same. Rip RIF is fun
  
  That sucks. I'm on Eternity for Lemmy thanks to Infinity for Reddit's nice community forking the project for Lemmy
  
  RIF ly beloved 😭

I'll be honest I came to the platform before the whole API-pocolypse because Reddit was down for about half a day, and I was getting tired of Reddit's BS. But ultimately the API-pocolypse made me swear never to post to Reddit again and cut it cold turkey, more or less.
- I was taking part in the blackout, but obviously Reddit the company did not listen, so I left. And here I am.
- I also came here shortly before the full API bullshit. They announced it (months?) before, or there were at least hints from app developers about what was going to happen.
  By that point i already had a laundry list of other shit i was pissed off about at that site. So i knew that was finally time to leave and find somewhere else.

Third party apps being killed was the final straw. I’d participated for more than a decade, but reddit changed. The hive mind got worse, bots took over, you couldn’t really have a discussion anymore. Downvotes were default, if your comment even got engaged, with while the rest were people/bots recycling tired old quips and reposts trying to ride a karma train for internet points. Somehow reddit decided to make sure right-wing subs had free rein despite knowing bad actors and paid foreign influence were blatantly happening. Then of course there’s reddit corporate sanitizing reddit by force and cramming ads and a their shitty app down users’ throats.
Reddit used to be the Old Internet in one place, but corporate f’d that up.
- I left when I couldn't use RIF, went back to the official app for a few days because I wanted to follow along with something, had a post removed from a dog food sub because I expressed an opinion, remembered what a shit show Reddit has become, and uninstalled again

I came here as a result of them fucking over 3rd party app developers. Never once have been banned by Reddit.
- Likewise. Then I realized how much better lemmy is than reddit and never looked back. Way higher quality content and discussions here

My one year anniversary was last month. Fuck Reddit shutting down Apollo and other clients. I was only a lurker, but here feels more like community and I'm pretty active.
- The great api killing was the largest lemmy jump I believe

I also left after the api access changes. I am so glad I switched, this a much more ethical model of operation.

Came here after API changes because I hold a grudge and I refuse to use the app again. Genuinely fucking unusable, all of the recent reviews are 1 or 2 star

Came here when they killed RiF, 2 years ago I think.
- Same. It seems like old Reddit. Which I missed. A few differences. But all in all I am glad I switched. Fuck Spez.
- Same, when the app stopped I looked for a new place to call proper home

Moved from reddit because reddit is now infested with old twitter people who are just so annoying. Also I like the idea of a non centralized social media.

Not banned, but the app I used stopped working, and the official app is horse shit. So I just leave.
- Same. The moment Apollo shut down I quit reddit and started using lemmy on the voyager (pretty much an Apollo clone for lemmy)
  
  apollo devs making digg, but digg will prob be just as bad as reddit lol, at least im not perma banned there yet

left because of api changes and their increasing censorship of content they don't like (I miss r/all having r/eyeblech).

It was 12 people.
- There are dozen of us! Dozen!

When they killed third party apps while disregarding the need for accessibility completely - their own app doesn't even let blind people manage their own subreddit because of that.
So yeah, because I left reddit.
- Man I can't even begin to fathom how little of a shit they give about disability and accessibility at this point.
  Would you believe Reddit was actually a great and welcoming place a long time ago? Can't blame you if you don't.
  
  It's 2025 and I know from experience the world is inaccessible, but the most basic accessibility options in apps... C'mon.
  And yeah I do remember, sadly. I miss the time reddit had silly inside jokes and comments weren't buried under bots talking to other bots. I miss Aaron Schwarz. (Although it must be said it was a weird time to be a woman acknowledging you were on Reddit because the times were... Weird back then)

Left because of Apollo shutting down. Thanks, Voyager devs, for recreating that experience on a different platform. :-]

As I've said before, Reddit's become the new Quora / Yahoo Answers.

left reddit in 2023 during the API debacle, funnily enough it's what made me aware of other social platforms so I guess it all worked out for the better
- 2023 refugee reporting in. Couldn't give up the Sync life.

I came here because I needed my FIX and well, reddit banned me for saying I should be allowed to punch nazis. Permanent, appeal instantly denied, which, yikes.
- Ah, the old "glorifying violence" eh?
  
  Call it whatever you please, I call it "Reddit is pro-Nazi"

Im mainly here cause I find the idea of the fediverse an intriguing concept to be honest :3

Came to Lemmy when reddit fucked up the api change. Month ago my Lemmy instance closed up so I moved to piefed instead as I find it more acceptable (take it as you want).
- How are you liking piefed? It seems to have better user tools.
  
  I like it so far. I'm no mod, but from user perspective it feels way better than lemmys default web interface.

Technically me, even though they eventually reversed it after appealing the ban 4 separate times (banned for "violence" for commenting "same" on a picture of a woman in a shirt that says "Punch a Nazi.") That whole thread showed that the admin staff of the site have nazis and/or Nazis sympathizers among them and I don't vibe with that shit. Once the API thing went through and RIF stopped working, I came here.

I left Reddit after the Apollo app was no longer usable due to the whole API thing. Their app is garbage and until recently their mobile website wouldn’t work (it would force you to visit with the app to view some subreddits).
Now, I use Voyager with Lemmy. I still check in on Reddit from time to time or when searching for info, but I use Lemmy mostly now.

I became aware of Lemmy during reddit’s API bullshit. I left, and never posted there again. Let their greed, bots, and enshittification rot.

Left reddit during the API controversy a few years ago. Never been banned or anything, just disagreed with the decisions being made.

Just joined 30 mins ago after I found out (really late) that OpenAI was using Reddit to train its LLM.
- Welcome in from the cold. We have hot cocoa and blankets.
- Welcome. Things will just continue to get shittier for sites and tech controlled by rich tech bros with no concept of reality. Stuff like the fediverse seems like the only answer at this point
  
  Hey, thanks! Yeah I think we were all naive at the dawn of social media and I stupidly trusted big tech. I've been getting rid of all big tech over this last month that and it's been kind of exciting finding FOSS and decentralized alternatives. The discourse seems more genuine and interactive. Hopefully it won't change.
  
  Lemmy will be killed by tech bros once enough people figure out there is an alternative to their bullshit. They want total control and they will kill anything they cannot profit off of.

Reddit is a shit platform, became worse with the IPO and LLMs, but mainly, to me, the moderation is completely haphazard and the shitty posters were let loose. The inconsistency in moderation made me give up on being constructive.
Here, if you find an instance and communities with good ground rules you agree with, it works. You even have a modlog for transparency.
- Transparency on Lemmy has some problems. Bans aren't attached to any message, so if you ban someone for the reason "This user is a Nazi pedophile who likes Coldplay", most users will just believe that. Comment removals work well, but bans can go against transparency by platforming lies from authority figures.

Around two years ago reddit effectively banned most third party apps. That was when Lemmy went from a handful of instances with 1000 or less active users (mostly those banned from reddit), to tens of thousands of users and hundreds of instances in a short space of time.
People here are saying there are dozens of people here who came from reddit, but I'd guess it's dozens of thousands, a pretty decent proportion of active users.

Left Reddit, won't ever go back. Lemmy still needs more traction, but at least it is not as toxic and influenced by corporate greed.
- Not as toxic and influenced by corporate greed so far. Let it get big enough and it'll come
  
  This is true but there are at least tools to fight that here. Even extreme options like defederation.

left during the subreddit mod purges. we closed our sub - 45k~ users with lots of creative, daily content when they announced the API changes and other shittery. They demanded it reopen or they'd appoint new mods, no new mods would step forward. I left and never looked back. I probably should have left long before but the community kept me there doing the modwork.
A note: APPRECIATE YOUR MODS. They're keeping this experience trash free as much as humanly possible. There's a certain type of person that volunteers to help build good communities and they mostly deserve your appreciation.
- I don't know, from what I've seen people that should be mods don't want to and those that want to shouldn't be.
  It's very similar to politicans actually.
  
  can't comment re: lemmy mods because I don't mod here. but. reddit and other social networks benefit incredibly - and I have no doubt lemmy as well - from the sheer mountains of trash, spam, fuckwits and bots that assail their daily content, that mods remove and you never have to see or only see for a few minutes. please stand up and volunteer to mod if you think you could help, it's certainly needed.
  
  They are humans and humans are biased.
  I just got banned from another instance.
  Vile personal attacks against me were left up, while lukewarm comments from me like: "Frace is a vasal state" got removed.
  .world is not much better.

Oh, at least two, I’d guess. But seriously, I left when the api was shut down and I could no longer use Apollo to browse. There were other signs, but that was my tipping point.

Saw the direction Reddit was going in. Decided to join Lemmy to see what was going on. 2 months later I was axed from Reddit. Now here, I live.

I stopped using reddit after the api changes, and started using lemmy after about a year of going cold turkey

Got banned for opposing genocide and Western imperialism in a main subreddit. 🤷
- I originally moved from the API change, but also eventually got banned for calling out the genocide in Gaza.

I got banned I guess for using a VPN? I honestly have no idea why. At that point, I decided I just don’t want invest in that platform anymore.

Farewell Apollo (the API fiasco), and thank you Voyager (my lemmy app)
- exactly why I came here. I was hardly using Reddit anymore as it was because it felt off. it still does feel off when I go back to visit, a lot of the posts are formatted in a very machine like way. when I found out about that r/changemyview AI comments thing I knew I wasn't crazy for thinking this.

Fuck Reddit and Fuck Spez.

Reddit is repetitive and tiresome on the main subs. It’s so bot driven. There are so many ads. Spaz is a dipshit.
That said Lemmy still lacks the small, niche subs, which are still ok over there due to small numbers.
That said Lemmy will get the numbers for those niche subs if we all join and contribute.
- Yes I'd love for the niche subs to grow more over here!

I came here during the API thing, stopped going on Reddit on my phone, and soon after left the site entirely.

I initially joined Lemmy because I wanted to leave Reddit after the API situation. Admittedly I still use Reddit because Lemmy doesn’t have an active enough community for all the topics I am interested in or want information on. Once it gets there, I will fully make the switch.

I was banned from Reddit as a "security precaution" which I assume means they didn't like the fact that my browser was always security hardened thus they couldn't track me to feed me ads.
I was already considering leaving for Lemmy, but when they straight up banned me for doing nothing wrong other than protect my privacy, that was the final straw. Mind you, I didn't even use Reddit that frequently anyway, which made me all the more baffled by their sudden decision with no warnings at all.

I was banned for calling out an antisemetic dogwhistle in an anime sub. Asking why I was banned instead of the other person led to a permanent sitewide ban.

Left Reddit after they killed third party apps ( R.I.P RiF) and haven't looked back. That site is dead to me.

I nuked my Reddit account when they dropped support for 3rd-party apps. Spez can eat a bag of dicks.

Got banned for calling an antivaxxer a waste of oxygen :3
- Lol I rememebr reporting some ppl telling ppl to kill themselves post trump getting elected, like they were sucidal and the trumpies were encouraging it, reported them and got like a 3 day temp ban for abusing the report system
  
  only time I ever reported anyone since it was so extreme
  
  I also reported a person like that, fortunately it was them that got banned, only for 1 week tho. Well, I hope that turned pernament bc I’m 100% sure she tried to come back
- You're not wrong

Got tired of all the doom posting in reddit. Not saying Lemmy is any different, but it's less prevalent at least.

Permabanned for supporting Luigi.
- Depends on the sub. I was banned from some for pointing out that Luigi isn't the hero he's cracked up to be.

They took a sub away from me with over 200K subscribers because I ran it in a way counter to Chinese investment interests.
I was there from the inception.
Am I an inflammatory piece of shit? Yes.
Is free speech dead? YES!