From Chicago. I made the plunge to Mastodon (and here) after the Reddit shenanigans and just seeing the repeated bad-faith policies by Twitter. I have been using redirector and libredirect for the last month or two to actively decide who I give my data to just as a fun experiment into best practices.

I think it’s slowly starting to be clear that this type of setup will be the way forward for the more tech-savvy, privacy-focused users, and hopefully/eventually it hits the mainstream as well, but otherwise, it’s just self-selecting into the type of people I want to be around, which will probably be better for my mental health anyways.

I’m into cycling, trading, sci-fi and FOSS. Currently reading The Expanse and taking a sabbatical year from work

Edit: Just want to encourage people to engage w/ and create content over the next few weeks. Activity and friendly faces are probably the most determining factor in whether someone becomes an active user or just browses for a few minutes

Another former reddit user from the Twin Cities here. Enjoying learning about lemmy so far, still trying to figure out how it works! Big fan of disc golf, board games, books, and video games.

Hi everyone. I showed up here because I saw Seahorse at the Akron pride fest with his awesome flag, told some of my likeminded friends about it, and they found his post. I showed up to applaud him, and decided to just stick around.

I used to use Reddit, with a very carefully curated list of subreddits, which I used replace my Twitter constant stimulation requirement. I had to ditch Reddit the day they killed Apollo and won’t be returning unless they reverse that decision.

I’m happy to have found this place, it’s nice.

I’m from Akron Ohio, work (remotely) in tech (job based in San Francisco), and do not like cops, landlords, or the ruling class really.

I feel like I’d fit in here pretty well.

Hi there from Madison, WI! I am the developer of Voyager :)

Just joined. Also, transitioning away from Reddit. From Pittsburgh (hence yinzer in my user name), then DC area for @ a decade, & last 2 decades in a state run by folks who think the Desantis nuttery is worth emulating. Lefty, divorced dad of 2, who I’m glad inherited the don’t sit by quietly but stand up against bullies from their parents.

Nature is my go-to self-care & main hobbies. Nature photography & hiking, nature documentaries, learning about the regions native flora, fauna, geology, & environmental degradation, etc.

Hello new friends. Name’s Kenai, hailing from Kansas City, Kansas. Lived here most of my life, so I definitely consider myself a midwesterner with midwestern concerns lol the recent sociopolitical atmosphere has led to me wanting to find like-minded folk in my general area (similar concerns etc), so here I am. Am in my mid-thirties, technically married but not registered, kind of in that nonbinary blob end of the gender spectrum (he/fae). I have two cats and two dogs (Maine Coon, Orange Himbo™, Chihuahua, black Labrador), love animals of all kinds so I’ll pet it if it’s cute. Used to keep hamsters and educate others on proper hamster care. I am on the ASD spec so I can sound a bit weird sometimes I promise I’m not trying to be rude or abrasive; if I come off that way please let me know and how, so I can try and adjust my internal programming lol

I love video games, mostly witchy games, cozy homey games, fantasy, and Da Sims. Which stole my life for like four years straight. How rude. I’m also a software … um. … I make PHP web apps. Not sure how to call that. My life dream is actually to write books, not really for the money, more because books were a huge deal for me growing up and I’d like to be the writer of the book that helps some other kid someday. I’m also an artist, play violin, and speak five languages. Space and science are my jam, and if anyone had bothered to actually teach me maths as a child, I’d probably be working for NASA.

Glad to be here!

Hey Ya’ll, 👋 I’m part of the adopted Midwest down here in Kentucky. My resume includes Euchre, the Boundary waters, fishing, and an old pair of boots. I work as a freight broker and I’m currently on the front lines for all the tariffs and logistics issues going on. It’s been some rough sledding. Glad to have a community outside of purview to engage with. And yup, Bluegrass rules.

Howdy folks - comrade here in Northern Chicago. New to Lemmy so if I do something wrong I’m sorry bout that.

I’m fairly involved in mutual aid, so if you feel like you need some help with getting started please feel free to message me. I can recommend groups in chi / cinci or help research groups in your area.

As Seahorse aptly mentions in the first pinned post - now is the time for organizing! As long as we don’t give into despair we got this!

From a Wisconsin Exurb of the Twin Cities. I am an astronomer and instrumentation physicist, most of my day job is debugging software and electronics. But sometimes it is looking at galaxies and exoplanets. I am getting back into running after an injury and am currently reading about political economics.

Hello, 9thSun here. Chicago resident. Boost for Reddit stopped working so I wanted to check out Lemmy. Hella into technologies.

Hello, I’m void. Lifelong Michigander; catch me weekly dancing at R1 GLC. Other interests include free software, metal and industrial concerts, bio implants, and fermented foods—both homebrew and vegan goodies.

Howdy! I’m Evan, I’m from STL, and recently graduated from S&T with a BS in CS, going back for an MS. I’m a linguist, software engineer, musician, FOSS contributor, and Fediverse enthusiast. I build computers, run servers, write music, and get angry at the US/MO on the daily.

P.S.: call me scum, because I’ve only ever used Reddit via their official app, but at least I jumped ship!

North burbs right on border of Chicago. Also a fellow reddit refugee. Can’t believe how sad I was when baconreader stopped working, and my stubborn ass knew I’d walk away.

So happy to have found Lemmy, and a midwest instance to boot.

Still not sure how all this works, but it does more than fill the need of interesting screen time.

In to skateboarding, snowboarding, motorcycles, gaming.

Work as a systems programmer specializing in audio and video systems.

Hello from Kansas (burbs of Kansas City).

Like many, I came from reddit. Spent about 10 years there; about 5 just lurking, then about 5 years a little more engaged.

My hobby is hobbies. I think I just like learning and tinkering. My list of endeavors includes photography, diy audio, camping, cooking/smoking, woodworking, beer brewing, gardening, music (making and consuming), home diy, etc, etc.

Some lasted, some did not, others come and go.

So many times Ive had a nuanced question posed to a community of enthusiasts yield 1000% better results than several hours of searching and reading. I’m looking forward to exploring and interacting here.

Hello! I’m a Wisconsinite soon moving to Minneapolis. Born and raised in western Wisconsin.