“Link aggregator” is more appropriate than news aggregator.

I think of both as “ranked-threaded discussion” because I basically have no interest in their capacity as link aggregators, and rarely interact with link posts.

It’s no more or less a news aggregator than Facebook. You may find something relating to news on lemmy but you’re just as likely to find a drawing of a couple furries fisting each other.

I consider the site an online community where anyone can participate in or create a category to discuss anything under the sun.

social news site seems to fit pretty well

They are user forums/social media.

News Aggregator is only accurate if the sites actually scrape the web for news. Here and the other place rely almost entirely on users and bots for content. Since users and bots are neither hired or employed by the sites it’s disingenuous to claim either generates anything at all. Neither site is relevant without the user generated content.

I thought of the terms news aggregator and social news as inadequate as the category includes other types of sites that are not at all interactive. I personally view these types of platforms as “internet public commons” (with a digital anonymity option)

I appreciate the news aspect, but I come for the interactions with real people. The social news aspect is a type of bias check, but only a small facet of the functional usefulness of such a platform.

Thinking about the 3d printing space, I have no interest in the narcissism of blogging as an individual. I would prefer to contribute to a more anonymous social pool. I may lead at times but I have no delusion of grandeur about being some great leader and no desire to attempt to maintain some performative image, nor do I have any desire to follow anyone else in that vain. To me, this place encompasses that collective body of knowledge and sharing.