Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lemmy?

Lemmy is a link aggregation platform similar to Reddit, except it is free open source software that is hosted across multiple decentralised servers known as “instances”. Lemmy instances are interoperable with one another through “federation” and users of each instance can post to, comment on, and interact with, any other instance so long as they are federated.

For more information about federation, and other federated services, see the About the Fediverse page.

How do I access Lemmy?

Lemmy instances are accessible through default websites like Lemmy.nz or through apps. For more info on mobile apps, see Mobile apps

Some instances also enable alternative website layouts if you don't like the instance's default one. LemmyNZ's options are listed on the Web apps page.

Does it matter what instance I join?

Yes and no. You can post to, comment on, and interact with, any other instance so long as they are federated with the instance that you signed up to.

Each Lemmy instance has its own admins who set the instance's rules and policies. This means there is variability in acceptable content, approach to moderation, sign-up requirements, and federated instances and services, across instances. As instances can have conflicting rules and policies, a Lemmy instance may choose to “de-federate” from another instance which blocks all interaction between the instances. You are unable to see posts from a de-federated instance and vice versa. Due to this, the feed of each instance is different from every other instance, and the user experience can vary substantially depending on where you sign up.

Generally, the front page of a Lemmy instance will have links to its rules, policies, and federated and de-federated instances, enabling you to get a feel for the instance before signing up. The list of instances federated with LemmyNZ can be viewed on the Instances page. By selecting “Blocked Instances” you can also view the instances that LemmyNZ has de-federated from.

Unlike many other platforms and websites, having multiple Lemmy accounts on different instances is fine and even encouraged, so long as you are not using them for vote manipulation or ban evasion. Having accounts on multiple instances can be necessary if there is de-federated content you wish to access.

What is different about LemmyNZ?

Sign-ups are welcome from anywhere in the world, but LemmyNZ is primarily for an NZ audience. If you're not from NZ and are interested in a more globally focussed instance, an instance from your own country or region, or even an instance dedicated to one of your interests, you can search this instance list to find one.

No matter the instance you sign up to, you are welcome to subscribe to LemmyNZ's communities, and to post and comment in them.

Whether you are signed up to LemmyNZ or another instance, you won't be able to create a community on LemmyNZ. If creating your own community is important to you, another instance is likely to be a better fit.

What are the LemmyNZ rules?

The primary LemmyNZ rule is a Kiwi take on the golden rule: “Don't be a dick”

Further information is available on the Rules page.

Breaching the LemmyNZ rules may result in a temporary or permanent ban as determined by the admins.

Who runs LemmyNZ?

LemmyNZ was set up and is run by lead admin Dave. MadPsyentist and terraborra are the other two admins. If you need to contact a member of the admin team you can privately message through Lemmy. Alternative contact methods are listed on the Contact page.

LemmyNZ is a volunteer effort and survives on donations towards the instance's hosting costs. To support LemmyNZ, please consider donating via the Donate page if it's within your means.

What do I do if I'm having account issues?

Contact one of the LemmyNZ admins either via a private message to Dave, MadPsyentist or terraborra, or through one of the alternative contact methods listed on the Contact page. The admins can help with account lockouts, rejected sign-up applications, and ban appeals, as well as general support for the instance.

What do I do if Lemmy isn't working properly?

Lemmy is an independent platform and the LemmyNZ admins have limited ability to assist with Lemmy bugs and issues, however, you can raise issues by creating a post in !support@lemmy.nz and we may be able to assist you.

Lemmy is still in a beta state but has become increasingly more stable in each release. If you believe you have found a bug consider reporting it through the Lemmy project page on GitHub.

How can I see posts from all of Lemmy?

On the home page, there are three options for the kind of post feeds you see:

• Subscribed: Only posts from communities you are subscribed to (similar to Reddit's home page).
• Local: Only posts from LemmyNZ (similar to a multi-reddit that shows content only from the communities on the LemmyNZ instance).
• All: Posts from all of the Lemmy communities that LemmyNZ is federated with (similar to Reddit's /r/all).

Multiple post sorting options are available for the three post feeds.

You can set a default viewing option for the LemmyNZ front-page in your account settings. On the Lemmy.nz website, click your username in the top right corner, choose “Settings” from the menu, then change the setting “Type” to either “Subscribed”, “Local”, or “All”. The same setting options are available in most Lemmy apps.

How do I find new communities to subscribe to?

The easiest method is to browse the “All” feed to discover active communities. However, if you're searching for something specific, the LemmyNZ Search page allows you to search for communities by keyword. If you are the first person to search for a specific community from LemmyNZ you may get no search results due to the way federation works between instances. Repeating the search after a couple of minutes should give time for Lemmy to pull the community.

You can see a list of communities that LemmyNZ has federated with through the Communities page. By default, this will show you all of the “Local” communities on LemmyNZ. By selecting “All” you can see the globally federated communities.

LemmyNZ also maintains a list of NZ related communities on our Communties page. There is also a dedicated !newcommunities@lemmy.world community where users post new communities they have created or found.

As an alternative to Lemmy's search engine, you can use the Lemmy Community Explorer site someone set up. To subscribe to a community from the Community Explorer click the house to set your home instance and enter “lemmy.nz”. This will convert the links on the Community Explorer to open via LemmyNZ allowing you to subscribe so long as you are logged into your account.

How do I create a new community?

LemmyNZ has a policy not to allow users to create communities. This was a deliberate decision to ensure that all communities on this instance remain dedicated to NZ and NZ focussed interests.

Some Lemmy instances do allow users to create communities. To create a community on that instance, you will need to sign up to that instance first. Lemmy does not currently support the creation of communities on other instances meaning you must have a local account on the instance. It is possible to elevate your LemmyNZ account to be a moderator once you have created the new community.

Where does my post belong?

The Communities page will display all of LemmyNZ's communities by default. Topic specific communities exist for NZ regions, politics, and other interests. The !NewZealand@lemmy.nz community is for NZ related general discussion not covered by other communities. An !OffTopic@lemmy.nz community has also been set up for topics that may not be NZ related, but which you'd still like to discuss with an NZ audience.

If you want to create a post about something that isn't NZ related, you can post to a community on another instance using your LemmyNZ account. Federated communities can be found on the Communities page by clicking “All”. For more information on finding communities see “How do I find new communities to subscribe to?” above.