I think it could be useful to collect this data, both for administrative and research purposes.
I’m unsure, currently, exactly what data should be collected by the censuses (that would be proposed and discussed here). The data that is collected, should be collected anonymously. Furthermore, participation should be entirely voluntary.
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My first instinct is that sometimes less information is more. I like the fact that our users are essentially anonymous and we don’t really have a set identity as a server, aside from being vaguely Canadian/North American. I feel that anyone can be a part of this server and not worry about fitting into the demographic composition or anything else. Sh.itjust.works, it doesn’t matter who you are or why you are here, as long as you treat others with respect.
Also, I am a bit wary about the reliability of an online census in general. It seems fairly likely that we will get a lot of junk data mixed in with the real data, making its usefulness questionable.
But I am also the type who loves to see and analyze statistics. If this idea does prove popular, we should definitely consult u/Otter from lemmy.ca, who has some experience with this already.
https://lemmy.ca/post/15125231
https://lemmy.ca/post/34976449
As you can see, this is not an easy task by any means. The privacy concerns are not easily dismissed. I’m not sure if lemmy.ca has actually done their 2024 survey yet or if they are still working on it.
Good proposal though, definitely worthy for discussion.
[…] It seems fairly likely that we will get a lot of junk data mixed in with the real data, making its usefulness questionable. […]
I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I presume that there are methods that can be employed to filter out bad-faith respondents.
I can see how users would be uncomfortable with the idea, but as long as it were voluntary and anonymous, I don’t see the harm. I remember enjoying looking through the Lemmy.ca stats which Otter compiled.
Nah, that idea can bugger right off.
Lemmy doesn’t need a “corpus of data”. Researchers can either request that people contribute, or they can bugger right off and scrape like anyone else.
Admins don’t need demographic data at all.
[…] Admins don’t need demographic data at all.
What makes you so certain of that?
Because it’s lemmy, not some corporate bullshit.
They might want it, but they don’t need it
