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Twitter for anything political is horrible, but politics pretty much is horrible everywhere right now due to extreme polarization. Personally I find Lindy West

Twitter for anything political is horrible, but politics pretty much is horrible everywhere right now due to extreme polarization. Personally I find Lindy West the author responsible for this horrible cultural polarization after all she wrote very similar horrible things on exgawker site jezebel, that targeted individuals for harassment as well.

astrodust 10y ago
I've actually found it to be a pretty good filter because you can curate the sources more carefully than you can on other systems. Tumblr is a waste of time. Medium's too much of a commitment. Facebook is dead to me. Reddit's political feeds are full of trolls. So that doesn't leave much left.
randomdata 10y ago
What makes that polarization horrible? Being able to take in so many different points of view, and trying to appreciate where they are coming from, makes it exciting and interesting. Discussions really become horrible when everyone agrees.
- drspacemonkey 10y ago
  >Discussions really become horrible when everyone agrees. "Discussion" isn't really the appropriate term to describe what I see on Twitter. I think "spastic digital shit-flinging" would be more accurate.
  - randomdata 10y ago
    Certainly the "eloquency" can be incredibly low (which I am sure is exacerbated by the reduced character limit, but is still present in venues that allow for longer messages), but when you try to take in the underlying point there is still something to be gained in my opinion. Granted, it's not always easy to try and take an objective look at heated messages when you, yourself, have an emotional attachment to the subject. Then again, part of the fun is trying to remain objective about subjects you are emotional about.
    - drspacemonkey 10y ago
      >it's not always easy to try and take an objective look at heated messages when you, yourself, have an emotional attachment to the subject You're making a lot of assumptions, and none of them are true. I have no emotional attachment to fan drawings of cartoons I've never seen, or the shirt Kanye was wearing at a gas station, or what some politician I've never heard of in a country I've never been to said about home mail delivery or something equally trivial. Nor do I ever post on Twitter. I don't even have an account. But my eye twitches whenever "somebody said a thing on Twitter" somehow becomes news, or a trending topic, or a witch-hunt, or a cause, or a boycott. Twitter is a wasteland of hashtags and horseshit, devoid of anything resembling meaningful human interaction.
      - randomdata 10y ago
        > You're making a lot of assumptions, and none of them are true. Assumptions about what? My experience is what it is. It's interesting that you are able to make the assumption that the description of my experience can be untrue. On what basis is that done?
        drspacemonkey 10y ago
        My dislike of the level of discourse on Twitter has nothing to do with my "emotional attachment to the subject". It's a total shitshow regardless of whether or not I care or even know anything about the subject. That's where your assumptions are wrong.
        randomdata 10y ago
        I have made no assumptions about your situation?

astrodust 10y ago

I've actually found it to be a pretty good filter because you can curate the sources more carefully than you can on other systems. Tumblr is a waste of time. Medium's too much of a commitment. Facebook is dead to me. Reddit's political feeds are full of trolls. So that doesn't leave much left.

randomdata 10y ago

What makes that polarization horrible? Being able to take in so many different points of view, and trying to appreciate where they are coming from, makes it exciting and interesting. Discussions really become horrible when everyone agrees.

drspacemonkey 10y ago
>Discussions really become horrible when everyone agrees. "Discussion" isn't really the appropriate term to describe what I see on Twitter. I think "spastic digital shit-flinging" would be more accurate.
- randomdata 10y ago
  Certainly the "eloquency" can be incredibly low (which I am sure is exacerbated by the reduced character limit, but is still present in venues that allow for longer messages), but when you try to take in the underlying point there is still something to be gained in my opinion. Granted, it's not always easy to try and take an objective look at heated messages when you, yourself, have an emotional attachment to the subject. Then again, part of the fun is trying to remain objective about subjects you are emotional about.
  - drspacemonkey 10y ago
    >it's not always easy to try and take an objective look at heated messages when you, yourself, have an emotional attachment to the subject You're making a lot of assumptions, and none of them are true. I have no emotional attachment to fan drawings of cartoons I've never seen, or the shirt Kanye was wearing at a gas station, or what some politician I've never heard of in a country I've never been to said about home mail delivery or something equally trivial. Nor do I ever post on Twitter. I don't even have an account. But my eye twitches whenever "somebody said a thing on Twitter" somehow becomes news, or a trending topic, or a witch-hunt, or a cause, or a boycott. Twitter is a wasteland of hashtags and horseshit, devoid of anything resembling meaningful human interaction.
    - randomdata 10y ago
      > You're making a lot of assumptions, and none of them are true. Assumptions about what? My experience is what it is. It's interesting that you are able to make the assumption that the description of my experience can be untrue. On what basis is that done?
      - drspacemonkey 10y ago
        My dislike of the level of discourse on Twitter has nothing to do with my "emotional attachment to the subject". It's a total shitshow regardless of whether or not I care or even know anything about the subject. That's where your assumptions are wrong.
        randomdata 10y ago
        I have made no assumptions about your situation?