Sorry if someone has already asked this. This is my first post on Lemmy. I mean, I guess you could ask the same question about Reddit but I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be Read-It. But what does Lemmy mean? Is it a cute word for a small lemon?

  • @[email protected]
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    991 year ago

    I guess it’s a tradition to name fediverse projects after animals and the original creator was a big fan of the Lemmings games and Lemmy from Motorhead had just died.

    Here’s a link with info on the origin story:

    https://lemmy.eus/post/5460

  • @MomSpaghetti
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    501 year ago

    IDK but I can’t stop thinking of Lemmiwinks from South Park.

    • @SlynkOP
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      51 year ago

      I know. That episode was gross. Lol.

    • XillyA
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      41 year ago

      My SO always asks if I am “Lemmiwinking”. It does make me chuckle as my mind goes straight to South Park.

    • papalonian
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      21 year ago

      The name and the icon made me assume it was a South Park reference

    • XillyA
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      11 year ago

      My SO always asks if I am “Lemmiwinking”. It does make me chuckle as my mind goes straight to South Park.

        • pjhenry1216
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          01 year ago

          Rey Mysterio is more likely named after the Spider-man villain than the reverse. Mysterio the Spider-man villain was created about a decade before the man who became Rey Mysterio was even born.

            • pjhenry1216
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              01 year ago

              Ignoring the number of villains that aren’t animals, you’re talking about someone who was six when Mysterio first appeared. They weren’t born with the name Mysterio either.

              And I also am realizing this is likely a joke because a vast majority of Spider-man villains aren’t animals to begin with.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    This gets asked a lot, but we need a definitive answer from the guy who started the project, damn it. He just won’t tell us other than some vague references to “Lemmy” things. I guess there’s this;

    It was nameless for a long time, but I wanted to keep with the fediverse tradition of naming projects after animals. I was playing that old-school game Lemmings, and Lemmy (from motorhead) had passed away that week, and we held a few polls for names, and I went with that.

  • @SlynkOP
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    51 year ago

    Thanks for all the answers. Do you want blue? Lemmy smash.

  • calebubs
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    41 year ago

    I originally thought it was named after one of the authors of ActivityPub (which Lemmy is based on), Christine Lemmer-Webber. But I think that’s maybe just coincidence?