3 ms·

I think that really hits the nail on the head. I don't know if people will ever stumble upon a set of interaction constraints that will make people civil if th

by wynand 17y ago

I think that really hits the nail on the head. I don't know if people will ever stumble upon a set of interaction constraints that will make people civil if they're not already committed to civility. In that regard HN has always been good (but not perfect, as evidenced by some of the episodes mentioned in this comment section). If someone lashes out and gets a calm response instead of being downvoted to oblivion or without being baited, the whole atmosphere becomes much less toxic (even if the original commenter insists on trolling).

Mz 17y ago
If someone lashes out and gets a calm response instead of being downvoted to oblivion or without being baited, the whole atmosphere becomes much less toxic (even if the original commenter insists on trolling). The other thing a calm (compassionate, tolerant) response does is it tends to prevent "train wrecks". One of the biggest problems with many online forums is the tendency for everyone to try to jump into the fray to "defend" righteousness and goodness and what not, thus keeping the fighting alive. Many of them are attempting to put a stop to the fighting but they miss the fact that fighting against the fighting is still fighting. Many people seem to just not know how to effectively defuse a negative situation and put a stop to it, which is a very different skill set than "arguing"/fighting. Fighting against it is the typical knee-jerk response of the vast majority of people, even for most very well educated and intelligent people. "Train wrecks" are best diverted by redirecting the flow of conversation in a constructive fashion rather than attacking the person who has said something that sounds asinine (but maybe wasn't really intended to be, they could be having a bad day or it's a pet peeve they aren't wholly rational about, etc).

3 ms·

I think that really hits the nail on the head. I don't know if people will ever stumble upon a set of interaction constraints that will make people civil if th

by wynand 17y ago

Mz 17y ago
If someone lashes out and gets a calm response instead of being downvoted to oblivion or without being baited, the whole atmosphere becomes much less toxic (even if the original commenter insists on trolling). The other thing a calm (compassionate, tolerant) response does is it tends to prevent "train wrecks". One of the biggest problems with many online forums is the tendency for everyone to try to jump into the fray to "defend" righteousness and goodness and what not, thus keeping the fighting alive. Many of them are attempting to put a stop to the fighting but they miss the fact that fighting against the fighting is still fighting. Many people seem to just not know how to effectively defuse a negative situation and put a stop to it, which is a very different skill set than "arguing"/fighting. Fighting against it is the typical knee-jerk response of the vast majority of people, even for most very well educated and intelligent people. "Train wrecks" are best diverted by redirecting the flow of conversation in a constructive fashion rather than attacking the person who has said something that sounds asinine (but maybe wasn't really intended to be, they could be having a bad day or it's a pet peeve they aren't wholly rational about, etc).