I like that kbin is smaller compared to some lemmy instances. I also prefer the UI. Bigger communities tend to feel a bit overwhelming for me. I also appreciate how transparent Ernest has been regarding kbin’s development. That said, it’s been a bit challenging to figure out how to utilize some of the federation features that kbin has to offer–microblogging in particular. From what I’ve seen, people don’t generally seem too interested in this feature, but I think it’s nice to have.
I agree with pretty much everything you mentioned. Regarding the activity, I wish there was a bit more effort from others as well. I can understand why they don’t though–I was typically a lurker as well. It’s just unfortunate when I see posts from users that want to see more content as well before they feel incentivized to contribute, which unfortunately serves to perpetuate the problem. Not saying this is you (also not trying to antagonize any lurkers, because again, I understand), it’s just something I’ve observed. That said, I appreciate what folks like Ernest are doing. #Kbin and the rest of the #fediverse resonate with me conceptually, so I’ll continue trying to support it how I can.
Of course, it’s fine for people to be lurkers—I was one in the vast majority of the subreddits I joined—but the advice I’d give to everyone is that if you’re upset that there’s not much content or that something isn’t being talked about, make that content! That’s been the approach I’ve been using. If I think, “Man, I wish there was a post on this,” I make that post. Again, it’s understandable for people to lurk, but I do wish more people who were dissatisfied with activity tried to help fix the issue as opposed to abandoning the concept of the fediverse or using it much less.
I could not agree more–I’ve also been trying to engage with content by sorting through “New” more regularly. It’s now my preferred method for discovering content.