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Hello everyone, new user living in Northside Indianapolis but a lifelong Midwesterner that doesn't plan on leaving. I've been concerned with the trends on Reddit for years now since u/spez has been trying to make as much money off the platform as they can. The recent silencing of noncompliant users for opinions on what is supposed to be an open forum was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

I am a firm patriot to the actual ideals of the U.S. and believe economic system should not be tied into it's governing documents as any kind of argument from the wealthy elites controlling the country and the media. The best system for all the people is the best system for the country whether its "Capitalist" or "socialist" or something else. The foundation of the country is a free, open, Democratic Republic not locked to one economic scheme and right now only the leftists seem to be trying anything like that.

Long time deep thinker on civics, political ideology, systems of all types (controls, engineering, human). And how they should best function. A big passion for history. Love gaming of all types, sci-fi and fantasy nerd. Will take a strong opinion and debate about anything for the fun of it as long as it stays intellectual and not an emotional topic.

Looking to start actually being involved in community both here online and in the local area as well and this seemed the place to be. More than willing to discuss anything I said here and would love recommendations for communities.

Hi all, I'm from the greater St. Louis area. I'm a queer, nerodivergent guy (he/him) looking for a more local internet. I've sorta been in college for a couple years now for multimedia and web development. It's had to be put on the back burner as of late for my mental health. I love art, games, music, and a bunch of dorky stuff. I work in home with people with intellectual disabilities and I didn't know that I could love a job so much. On of my favourite quotes is "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." (Albert Camus) and if you were to ever see me in person I think that's a good summary of the vibe I give haha.

Cheers, from Missouri.

I, like plenty of the other people here, come from Reddit. I'm into maker things, and I'm trying to improve those skills, learn to solder, learn CAD, etc. I also have IT skills regarding PC building and maintenance. Looking forward to being here.

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

Sup nerds. I'm Miah, I'm from Western Michigan. I'm a UNIX/Linux nerd, Right to Repair advocate, and transgender woman. I've been working on our cars by myself and would love to make some car nerd friends. My wife and I have 24 chickens, and a budding garden.

Hey all, I live in Wisconsin and am exploring moving over from Mastodon because I like the Reddit-style interface better than Twitter-style. Like probably most here, I'm a tech nerd who is forever trying to get people away from the centralized internet.

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.

Hi there. Iowan leftist fleeing the mainstream platforms to help my mental health. Feeling disillusioned with national political action and wanting to focus my attention locally. I'm and avid gardener, war-gamer/mini painter, and forever D&D GM.

Hi, I'm in Central Illinois. Reddit doesn't let me make accounts anymore... they want email addresses and I want privacy.

Good morning, midwestern Lemmites! Actually a Hexbear refugee, I got banned when they found out I organize with Trotskyists. Don't worry though, my IRL organizing work creates enough personal irritation that I don't need to harass people who disagree with me in order to get it. I'm just here cuz its a leftish space of localish people, who post memes and stories I can comment on. I like Music, art, videogames, tech, books (history, social theory, sci fi)...well I actually have too many hobbies and interests to list. Thanks for letting me in your little instance!

Hi y'all! I'm from Indiana. Nice to meet you all!

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

Really Don't know how to introduce myself as an anon. I guess I live in ohio. Won't say where. I don't really have any other social media, I think it's all kinda a psyop now. Flesh simulator has a good youtube video about how reddit is a giant psyop. So i'm barely online. I don't watch tv, i stay away from chambers of influence. I think Tik Tok purposely pulled a facebook and got Drumpf elected. I am a leftist, F off if you don't like that.

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(tm), 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!

Hi, it's just me, and thanks so much for having me. I had to migrate, I couldn't abide by the sheer onslaught of typical liberal stuff that began coming in avalanches, lately, and I've got a lot of unlearning to do as I continue to properly educate myself.

I was a little confused a while back at a post where a user complained of being banned, but his post was extremely misleading, so I apologize for my confusion. That cleared right up when he showed up in DMs talking about how weird our good host is.

I appreciate your patience and helping me learn. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, so I appreciate directness. I'll get over hurt feelings, if any are caused by it. Thanks again for allowing me.

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!

Hello all, I'm a network engineer currently living in Grand Forks, ND, but from Sioux Falls, SD, and planning to move to Minneapolis in a few months.

I've been off Reddit since they killed 3rd party apps and figured I should finally replace it with something else.

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.

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 30 year old central Missourian. Had a Reddit and Imgur account, left Reddit at the last purge of subs and users. Have been using Imgur exclusively since then. Not quite the same, except for it also slowly getting worse as they monetize it. I enjoyed woodworking, blacksmithing, leatherworking, ren-faires (shocker given those previous two), and cooking. Past tense as I now have a 1 year old and there's no time for anything besides work and parenting a baby/toddler with my spouse. Wasn't planning to interact much, as agreeing to a popular opinion isn't helpful and I don't have time for arguing something pointless, however a post below reminded me that I should, as engagement does help grow this new platform. An attempt will be made.

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

Hello. I'm a SE Michigander. Dad, Guitarist, bicyclist, humorist, hockey playerist, gamer, outdoor enjoyer. Currently sober after 20-something years of violent un-sobriety, but not in recovery. I used to be a PE teacher, but now I work with robots kind of.

hi from Peoria, IL. Been here about 6 months and just found the docs, lol. Thanks to all you admin types driving. Good times.

Lemmy docs

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.

Hi! Joining the Midwest group from just outside the St. Louis area. I'm a mom of 3, working in STEM. I found Lemmy on Reddit and am working on slowly transitioning over here. I like it so far (but still feel like a noob). Being a progressive in the Midwest can feel pretty isolating and I've come to appreciate some of the like minds I've encountered on Reddit. Hoping I can still find that here while moving away from centralized platforms.

Hi everybody,

I'm a transplant from the Mountain West, moved out here for school and have been living in the Great Lakes region for just over three years now. Deleted my social media accounts at the end of last year and have been making an intentional effort to have a more engaging, thoughtful, and curated Internet presence.

I'm a bisexual, Spanish-soeaking immigrant, dating a trans man. Love learning and discussing science, history, and politics. Also into strength training (weightlifting and calisthenics) and looking for more cardio activities to rotate through. I was a chef in a past life so cooking and gardening are also big hobbies. Finally, I'm also getting into auto repair and photography in a big way, so hopefully I can meet some fellow enthusiasts in those realms! Glad to be here and thanks for having me.

Greetings! My name is Matt and I live in Indianapolis. I'm migrating over from a single-user instance. You can also find me over at @leopardboy@netmonkey.xyz. Thanks!

I'm a new Lemmy user, teacher, and cyclist from the St. Louis area. Hello everyone!

Hi everyone!

I live in Chicago on the North Side and work in higher education. Been in the city on and off for about 10 years with a gap in the middle when I lived in Asia. I came to Chicago for grad school and really liked the city and the Midwest more generally.

I have been pretty active in the Fediverse for the past year on Mastodon, Pixelfed, and Bookwyrm and decided to give this a try! I'm also trying Kbin as well but really am not understanding the whole Threads + Microblogging. Feels kind of like a having a phone taped to a toaster. Am I the only one who feels that way?

Any good, active communities you might recommend? Any tips to make the most out of Lemmy?

I like reading a lot. I'm into fantasy, sci-fi, philosophy, and religion. I'm really interested in environment, ecology, and climate issues. Always looking for new things to explore in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

Hi everyone, another Chicagolander here, this time from the western suburbs. I just moved over here from kbin.social, which has been broken quite a lot lately. Prior to that I was on reddit for an embarrassingly long time, bailing on it when the shit hit the fan last summer.

I'm also on Mastodon where I post very infrequently - I prefer the link aggregator with comments style services such as Lemmy over microblog things.

I'm a middle-aged immigrant dude who is into a lot of nerd shit like scifi, books, video games, electric vehicles, as well as photography and motorcycles. I also ride bicycles for fun and exercise when the weather doesn't suck.

Hello, all. I've done a bunch of weird stuff from injecting people with radioactive stuff, a pit stop at writing and publishing fiction, to renting virtual apartments for real money. Currently spend half my time in northern IL, half in southwest OH.

Hi. It's cold most of the year. The summers are dreadful. There's a couple of days in the spring and fall that are beautiful.

I migrated from reddit a long time ago. I was on world, and realized world was really big and thought maybe I should get more out of the federation thing and go more local. So I did.

Hi there! I'm in Madison and am pretty active on the subreddit. I'm making my way over here slowly but surely. I am in grad school for urban planning. I enjoy talking and debating politics and philosophy, and am active on the Social Democracy subreddit.

Howdy. I'm a life-long Ohioan. I was never a Reddit person, but I figured I'd give lemmy a try. I'm on Mastodon as @stinerman@mastodon.social.

I’m an Iowan academic sociologist working in private analytics trying to address homelessness. Been a Reddit user for a long time (digg before that) and now I am here.

Hi!

Ohioan here... I too am a recent reddit refugee.... anyone else having digg deja vu?...

Likes: Nerdy things, Video Games, Animals, Ohio sports teams, Music, Traveling

Been on Mastodon for a few months (suck it twitter) and with Reddit's recent money grab figured I'd check out other parts of the fediverse.

Hello, I've been here for a few days now and getting the lay of the land. I live in Wisconsin, originally from Minnesota, so you betcha I'm a Midwesterner. I'm also a Reddit refugee (didn't get banned because I stopped contributing a while ago, but I still couldn't stop the doomscrolling. I definitely would have been banned. Go Luigi).

Although I live in a very liberal city, I don't feel like I'm on the same wavelength as a lot of people. You don't like the oligarchy taking over, but you simply cannot stop throwing your money at Amazon? Ok. Maybe the really radical ones will go stand in front of the Tesla chargers on Friday with signs, which is perfectly safe and I'm not sure accomplishes anything because everyone in this city agrees with you (although I am coming around to the idea that it builds a sense of community and a common cause, and maybe makes it ok to rebel just a little to start). I just feel like there has to be something else. I don't even know what to call myself anymore, I'm sure as hell not a Democrat, even though that's who I've always voted for, more and more while holding my nose. I know there are people out there who share my mindset and who can inspire me, and that's what I'm hoping to find.

In the meantime, I'm focusing on limiting my capitalism as much as possible (I am far from perfect; I like my stuff and have to really curb my desire for additional stuff) and donating what I can to those who are doing something (ACLU, NRDC because right now lawsuits seem to be the first step), trying to get myself to read more actual information and not Reddit memes, and trying to figure out what I can do about what's going on in this country, because I dont think I can live with just sitting around hoping it blows over.

Hey, joining from the Metro East of the STL area. I browsed until I came upon this instance and took the plunge. Heard about Lemmy in a few places, including reddit.

Hi new here from Saginaw, Michigan

Hello! I've been using Lemmy for about 2 months now (since the reddit disaster).

I've been trying to find an instance that would be a good fit for me and I'm in Ohio and I just thought this would be the best fit!

Long-time fedi user here. I only ever used reddit for reference purposes since search engines are thoroughly broken, and I am hoping to build myself a feed here that can do some of that same research shortcutting. I don't know how much I'll post, but I'm here!

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 all!

I’m in the Chicagoland area - deleted all social media besides Reddit, but Reddit’s platform continues to decline and I am exhausted with not being able to have any form of discussion that goes against any opinions of the “mods” and the big business/far right bots.

I would love to connect with likeminded people in my area, and be able to really connect to enact positive change and maintain our sanity. I think the world is in a very dark place, I hope we can be the light.

Very new to this platform - would absolutely love to connect with anyone who also has tip and trips to get the most of of lemmy! :)

Outside of being a passionate leftists, I am proud ADHDer and cat mom. I work two jobs to maintain independence and take care of the fur babies, but I am slowly trying to be more social and outgoing after everything the pandemic threw my way.

Hello, it's yet another refugee from the sync for lemmy raft - i dont do much more than lurking and posting about pixel phones