Why are comments like "use Firefox" okay on Lemmy while "go vegan" is getting downvoted?
People consider vegans on Lemmy as too preachy. Even in vegan communities here, mods have to remove soooo many inappropriate comments (I read a few of these and they keep getting removed for good reasons). Comments that suggest going vegan on posts about animal abuse are downvoted.
At the same time, whenever there is something about Windows or Chromium based browsers, people here are doing exactly the same. "Just use Linux/Firefox/whatever".
Tone. Use Firefox/Linux/whatever posts also get downvoted when they are to preachy.
Wrong: "If you use Windows/eat meat you are evil, repent now !!11! There are no reasons for any person to be doing it, if you don't understand that you are a monster as well."
Right: "I/my company/my dog were using Windows/eating meat and it's not all bad but the negatives outweight the positives. That's why I switched to Linux/not eating meat. If anyone else wants to try this is a good way to start: .... "
You're right but in my experience on Lemmy so far, it need way more for Firefox or Linux comments to be considered preachy while pointing out facts like "producing meat leads to animal abuse" is considered too preachy.
I'm not really biased in this since I'm biased towards both equally. Just wondering why everything mentioning veganism in any way on Lemmy (like this post) keeps getting downvoted.
This is not exclusive to Lemmy, this happens the same way in real life - when you critique their food choice people tend to get in the defensive. This happens whether it's about their health, ecology or ethics and of course it gets worse when you are implying that their choices hurt others.
Of course this is not exclusive to food. Everything that is seen as part of your identity leads to this defensive reaction (see politics, sports teams etc.) and they double down on their current stance.
I bet vegans would be a LOT more successful if they would be more empathetic toward non-vegans and would approach this topic more tactically.
Often times it's no different than someone preaching about religion. "You're going to burn in hell if you don't accept Jesus into your heart!" isn't too much different than "you're a murderer if you eat meat!"