cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/58189605

What it looks like:

Here’s an example of such a post: https://sh.itjust.works/post/58082125

They uploaded an image and then included a URL as the body/text.

On Lemmy, it looks like an image post, with a small expando to the right of the title that you can click to show the body:

Why you should stop doing it:

  1. It makes high-quality posts look the same as low-quality ones.

I automatically downvote most image/meme submissions and posts with bad/non-descriptive titles for quality control. Linking directly to a source is how you make a high-quality submission. You can include screenshots or quotes in the body of the post.

  1. I could start clicking the expando next to the title to check if a source was provided, but there’s going to be a user option to block image posts in the next lemmy update (v0.20), so that format is not good since lots of people will start to automatically block them.

  2. You can put images in the body of the posts.

Why should anyone care?

Low-quality, easy-to-digest content will dominate and drown out everything else if no one does anything to limit it. It degrades the internet and our brains.

A blog that elaborates:

The Cargo Cult of The Ennui Engine https://medium.com/@max.p.schlienger/the-cargo-cult-of-the-ennui-engine-890c541cebcb

  • ns1@feddit.ukEnglish
    13·
    1 month ago

    Disagree. For those using the browser, with link posts you have to click the link to see anything more than the thumbnail which navigates away from the page. The ability to expand in-place, and to see the full picture with the comments when visiting the post, is a better experience for the viewer if the whole purpose of the post is to share an image. And that’s before you consider that it might be an original image made by the poster.

    • Anon518@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      if the whole purpose of the post is to share an image

      That’s a really specific example that’s not really relevant at all.

      But yes, blocking images is not a perfect solution to remove low-quality meme content, since there are some quality image submissions that will get caught in the net.

      a better experience for the viewer

      Content creators want people to visit the original. That’s more important.