this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2024
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If that was the only issue with Reddit...
I don't know what it is, but people there seem to be turning nastier and nastier. Like for instance, I posted some technical question on an electronics subreddit earlier, and something in my post - not sure what - landed me a -15 score, and people replying that if I didn't like it I could fuck off. All I said was that some component wasn't placed in a terribly convenient location in the new design, and the people who posted angry and rude comments weren't even the designers. I mean what the actual fuck...
It seems a lot of subreddits I used to enjoy participating in are now full of people in a really antagonistic mood, and I often hesitate to post anything there now because I know it has a 50% change of turning nasty. And so instead, whenever possible, I post in the equivalent Lemmy community because even though they have a hundred times fewer users, it's a much less frustrating experience.
I come interact on Reddit or Lemmy to have a good time, not to pick up a fight and get insulted by passive-aggressive internet lusers with frayed nerves.
A lot of the progressive-minded people have left, leaving a much higher percentage of conservatives and jackasses.
Reddit is worse because society is worse
But it has always been bad
I don't know about that.
I've been hearing society is bad and getting worse from a variety of people since I was born in the height of the Cold War, and I've come to believe it's only a perception. It's no better or worse than it's ever been: it's just that as people get older and the standards of their youth change, they feel alienated by a world that is increasinbly not theirs anymore.
I'm old enough to be a grumpy old man but I keep reminding myself that this isn't my world anymore either. And if I'm honest, I don't see how the world of today is significantly worse than when I was a kid and we were all preparing for nuclear armageddon any minute now. And I always remind myself how my grandparents and my parents constantly told me to stop listening to "degenerate n*ger music" and quit wasting my time with those damn computer things and pursue more "manly" endeavors. I don't want to become bitter like they were because I have no real reason to: the world of today really hasn't done anything to me, it just feels weird.
However, I will say this: social media brings the worst out of people. It's like reality TV of the 80's and useness, but turbocharged. I think the utter social mediocrity that is social media contributes a lot to the perception that society is worse: it isn't, it's just that the worst of it is a lot more visible and more vocal.
Attitude is the main reason I started looking for reddit alternatives over four years ago, not ui or privacy or moderation or the api stuff (which came a lot later). I have a lot of theories for why it happened (that aren't just the capitalism and astrotufing circlejerk) but they're hard to back with substantial evidence
I'm not unconvinced that R×ddit isn't completely overtaken by shills & people who have swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker.
Have a critique? See a flaw? Something that bugs you about a product? YOU'RE WRONG, IDIOT!!! EVERYONE LOVES [thing] SO YOU ARE STUPID FOR CRITICIZING IT!!!!!
Quiets down the detractors. They don't have a voice.
Quiets down anti-capitalists, politically-motivated folk, logic-minded.. you know. People who cause trouble for those with something to sell you.
The reverse happens on Lemmy too in some community. Like for example the fairly popular[email protected]: it's a radical anti-capitalist, probably pro-communist and most assuredly pro-anarchist community, which is generally fine by me. But if you go in there to express a reasonable opinion that isn't "burn all corporations" or "kill all capitalists" and expect to have a reasonable discussion, that's just not gonna happen. You'll just get modded down. It's not so much a place do discuss anything than big anti-capitalist circle jerk.
So you can find places where people are angry and nasty like on Reddit here, but usually you kind of know in which community you'll find the anger. On Reddit, the anger is everywhere and for no reason, including on subbreddits that aren't the least bit controversial. And even if you don't criticize a product or diss a company or its products, most Redditors are ready to jump at you because... well, they seem to feel the need to be aggressive.
I'm fairly convinced the nature of the platform turns them like that: Reddit is subtly aggressive too and I'm convinced it rubs off on its users.
A lot of Lemmy markets itself as a highly free-speech platform. Which is fine..... but I've been around the internet enough to know that sites with anonymous free speech attract all kinds of folk who may not have the best of intentions.
Lemmy is far from some kind of online utopia. Make no mistakes about that!
Lemmy is far from perfect, and I'm 100% certain it's going to become completely terrible as soon as a critical mass of the morons currently haunting Reddit transition over. But for the moment, it's refreshing, the signal/noise ratio is still high, and it doesn't feel like you're being exploited for your data and advertised to all the time.
All the cool people moved to Lemmy. All that's left on Reddit is the bottom of the barrel and some people who don't have enough knowledge to switch
Some of the cool people moved to Lemmy, but it still seems like a fairly small fraction. I think a larger number have just completely given up on social media and are no longer participating.
cope
lemmy is cool and all but there's still a lot of cool people on reddit
have a look at r/rainworld and tell me that they aren't cool people
I mean obviously. There's gonna be some bits of light left in the abyss.
To be fair, that description of being piled on by angry people who are looking for an excuse to be angry could easily describe a lot of threads I've been in on the Fediverse lately. Seems like there's an unfortunate mood going around right now.