About 6 months ago I made the decision to stop browsing r/All and only go to specific Reddit communities that match my interest. The protest has been a excellent opportunity to just completely cut Reddit out of my life.
Many are clamoring for a Reddit killer. Maybe just need a Reddit model killer. Return to multiple forums, smaller and more specialized.
Maybe part of the reason why people are increasingly at each other’s throats is because, online, everyone is subjected to everyone’s opinions. This leads to “Nancy “seeing “Bob” write an opinion about sexuality/religion/politics which infuriates her and she sends off a tweet storm to avenge herself, directing attacks onto Bob and his like. “charlene” sees her compatriot being attacked and launches a tweet storm at Nancy and all her followers which then “Charlie” sees and can’t believe the level of stupidity and hate and intolerance in the world so he sets out to make it right… by launching a tweet storm which then is seen by etc etc.
Also, I think they’re used to an idea that the internet was like Las Vegas. What happens there stays there. Not so, now you have a bunch of angry people slinging electrons at each other, many of the just absolutely floored at how stupid and hateful other people are, their eyes are opened, they go into work or their family function with this knowledge and launch a tweet storm, or a brick, but in the “real world.”
Like squabbling children or hen pecking, a little is necessary but sometimes you have to separate them before they destroy each.
Temple of The Screaming Electron
(In original BBS incarnation, “& the Temple of the Screaming Electron”, only looking it up because of your comment did I find out that the BBS I spent a while with outlived the BBS era as an internet forum.)
https://web.archive.org/web/20070710135400/http://www.totse....
Greedy fucks who just want to make money, insane moderators, the government who doesn't want you to host hate messages.
Sure a small hobby forum can be funded out of someone's pocket but something the size of Reddit? Not a chance.
Breaking that passive hand habit has been the hardest part but my use will drop to 1% of what it was. I’m not going to quit completely because I don’t use other social media and sometimes I have questions related to a specific thing that I’m not sure where else to ask, but those instances are quite rare.