I think it’s this in large part. Lemmy’s users are by and large migrants from Reddit for various reason.

But also, this place exists as an ideological alternative to Reddit more than a technical one. The API-pocalypse (API-calypse?) and enshitification and shameless money grabs to inflate stock prices were the final straws for a lot of people but it’s no secret that there are a series of positions and interests that are (assumed to be) shared by all the current Lemmy users.

As Lemmy grows its instances will continually have to determine who, what, and what beliefs and practices are welcome there

But also some people are just jackasses and need to argue, and they come into contact with people who want the same thing.