To understand how Lemmy works, let’s break it down into its main components:

Content management: Users can create, edit, and delete posts containing stories, links, and comments. They can also upvote or downvote posts to influence their visibility on the site.

Federated architecture: Lemmy is designed to work with other federated sites, allowing users to interact with content from different platforms seamlessly. This means that users can post on one site and have their content appear on other connected sites, fostering a more interconnected community.

Voting and ranking: The upvoting and downvoting system allows users to influence the visibility of posts. Highly upvoted posts will be more visible on the site, while downvoted posts will be less visible. This helps to create a self-regulating community where quality content is promoted and less relevant content is demoted.

Commenting: Users can add comments to posts, allowing for discussion and debate on the content. This encourages conversation and fosters a sense of community among users.

Scalability: Lemmy is designed to be lightweight and easy to set up, making it suitable for small to medium-sized communities. It can be deployed on various platforms, including traditional web servers and cloud-based platforms.

In summary, Lemmy is a lightweight content management system that enables users to create and share stories, links, and comments within a federated community. Its key features include voting and ranking, commenting, and scalability, making it an ideal choice for creating forum-style link collection sites.

(Obligatory: GPT generated EILI5)