I don't know if you've noticed this, but threads or comments about Lemmy or the Fediverse get downvoted a lot on Reddit and trolls who claim that it's "dogshit" and "not going anywhere" get systematically upvoted.
Some of those trolls get then exposed when you ask them what Lemmy instance they tried and one of them with whom I had a surreal exchange answered with something like "yeah ofc I used Lemmy, this is the instance: join-lemmy.org" ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
It's frustrating that these trolls keep contributing to the big lie that "Lemmy is not ready yet" and that there's "no viable alternative to Reddit".
This and the overwhelming number of comments being "against the mod protests" just prompts me to question whether there isn't some brigading being organized straight from the Reddit HQ.
Also, people have a natural tendency to form "teams." Even if they don't particularly like what Reddit's admins have been doing they may identify as part of "team Reddit" and so see other teams as the enemy.
Besides, the way to convert isn't by arguing. You do it by providing a good platform (not there yet), good content (not there yet) and good community (kinda there?).
Yup.
Don't get dragged down into the mud. They're kicking up shit because they feel like they're losing something. Like the thing they like is under attack and in danger. Getting into fights with them not only validates their feelings, it makes everyone else see it as a "both sides" thing.
I've just read up on that experiment on Wikipedia and the conclusion you present seems to be shortcoming to tell nicely. Reassuring to me was that the two groups occasionally ganged up on the experimenters, being aware they're being manipulated. Thanks for mentioning this, yet for me it seems to be way more to it than '2 groups will fight inevitably '