I’ve found that the the instance is incredibly toxic with the cultivated “dunking” culture rewarding participating in insular, anti-social behavior for Internet clout and mods participating in sectarianism by disingenuously labeling non-ML leftist voices and critical historical analysis as fash.
Depends on what you consider leftist, I suppose. As a community, Hexbear isn’t toxic at all, just firmly anti-liberal. There isn’t really a culture around “dunking,” at least not in my experience.
If I want a struggle session, I go on Lemmy.ml, if I want to relax, Hexbear is more friendly. At least, that’s my personal experience, as a recovering debate-bro.