Update 2: My conclusion

• @dessalines@lemmy.ml, one of the developer of Lemmy, is a "tankie" who refuted the Uyghurs genocide.
• @dessalines@lemmy.ml is also an admin of and funds the website Lemmygrad.ml.

Update: So I dug around a little deeper, and found that

• @dessalines@lemmy.ml is /u/parentis_shotgun on Reddit. Source: https://archive.is/Ky9vd
• /u/parentis_shotgun moderates some subreddits, including r/InformedTankie, r/asktankies, r/GunZedong. Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/parentis_shotgun
• /u/parentis_shotgun got banned from r/socialism for "refuting the 'China is genociding Uyghurs'". Source: https://archive.is/CwFZC
• /u/parentis_shotgun then launched lemmy. Source: https://archive.is/132fW
• @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml, one of the admin of lemmygrad.ml, referred to themself as @dssalines@lemmygrad.ml in a post on lemmygrad. They also claimed that they built Lemmy. It seems like @dssalines@lemmygrad.ml changed their username. Source: https://archive.is/LlzKb
• At this point, I am convinced that the admin @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml is @dessalines@lemmy.ml.
• Another admin over lemmygrad.ml said that Lemmygrad is paid by @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml, while another mod said that @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml is funded by the NED. Source: https://archive.is/G5Dh7
• What is the NED? I have no idea, but Google suggests that could be The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an independent, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world.
• Lemmy was also funded by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet programme. Source: https://nlnet.nl/project/Lemmy/

On another topic, there are rumors circulating that we are fascists or supported genocide. These claims are completely false, and like most viral twitter threads, are coming from a single Mastodon user on a personal vendetta who didn’t provide any sources. Such slander doesn’t deserve any response and is best left ignored.

• Previous discussion on the moderation policy on lemmy.ml including response from @dessalines@lemmy.ml : Expressing concerns about moderation policy on lemmy.ml
• Accusation of a Mastodon user (probably the one they are referring to): https://mstdn.social/@feditips/106835057054633379
• Essays from @dessalines@lemmy.ml: https://github.com/dessalines/essays/blob/master/socialism_faq.md

Update: More info about @dessalines@lemmy.ml

I'm really enjoying Lemmy to be honest. A decentralized platform rekindles the feeling of internet forums and the excitement of finding something new in each community. Seeing such a candid report from the developers is nice as well and reaffirms my decision to stay, regardless of reddit's decisions or direction as a platform.

Keep up the great work everyone involved!

Sure, I think the tankie and extremely pro-CCP/Kremlin views expressed by the developers and lemmygrad server members are outright dumb. But I do appreciate that they leave room for all of us of differing views to exist without constantly clashing, by creating this federated system.

You know you've done well when you've made something that's bigger than yourself and your own interests.

I do appreciate the transparency from the Lemmy devs and re their views (whether only alleged or actual) on controversial topics, I think the issue is not in the software itself and in how the devs themselves are using it. However given the nature of the fediverse and how Lemmy is programmed, you can use the software however you like, as we do here on Beehaw.

Similarly, we can look to the "death of the author" debate to settle this. I'm not going to discuss what that is and what it isn't here (as that isn't the purpose of this post or this comment), however, I will state that my definition of "death of the author" involves critically enjoying a piece of media despite its author's bad views if and only if those views aren't inherent to the work and they aren't profiting off of my consumption of the work itself. Beehaw is like that. Sure the creators of the software are involved in a controversy, but the way the devs use their own software is not an inherent feature of the software. Beehaw has a fantastic setup and ethos, so I find my home here. Sure, there's not that many specific communities, but that's what federation is for.

Another analogy, however accurate (no analogy is perfect): people lobby governments with money to get them to pass problematic legislation, but people still participate in the economy.

TL;DR: The way the devs use the software should not impede our use of the software given that the devs' views are not inherent to any use case of the software.

For all the issues with the lemmy developers (and they're completely valid, though I'm not as familiar with the ins and outs of the discourse given how new I am to the fediverse) I appreciate their candor. I guess part of it is just that I'm used to corporate speak when receiving website updates and what not, but as long as they're receptive to changes that the platform needs and continue to make the platform more stable, safer, and more feature-rich, it's nice having a home on the fediverse run by genuine people, even if they're people I'm not the most aligned with ideally -- to be charitable

It seems to have become a habit that most good things about the internet is linked to the EU. I'm really grateful. That being said, I hope that Lemmy can become a collaborative project uniting a lot of devs rather than rely on two people.

About the scandal; as long as their opinions do not influence the platform I don't see them as relevant to Lemmy. If they are illegal, let justice do its work.

On another topic, there are rumors circulating that we are fascists or supported genocide. These claims are completely false, and like most viral twitter threads, are coming from a single Mastodon user on a personal vendetta who didn’t provide any sources. Such slander doesn’t deserve any response and is best left ignored.

My "Not involved in genocide denial" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt

This update, specifically how funding is happening, helped me understand some of the reasoning behind the narrow focus of the Lemmy developers. I appreciate them foregoing their regular paychecks to work on stability. Hopefully things settle down soon to the point that the extra eyes and hands on the project are more helpful than they are distracting.

Wow they went from 1 user to 27. It feels like way more than 27 people

(I'm aware of what they meant, but it's incorrect in English)

Thanks for sharing! Great project. Think I'll head over and donate 😊

Thanks for the link. I don't know the story, but I find it interesting that these two devs are essentially being sponsored to develop Lemmy. What sort of incentive does the sponsor have for funding this development?