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Not completely on topic, but one thing I've noticed in having my name attached to an online account is that I often start to make a comment, realize it could be
by jon_richards 9y ago
Not completely on topic, but one thing I've noticed in having my name attached to an online account is that I often start to make a comment, realize it could be considered vaguely political, and delete it.
In my mind, all my political beliefs are perfectly rational and I have nothing to gain by putting them out there for others to demonize ("give me six lines" and all that). Which of course leads to me never having my beliefs challenged and potentially having to change them.
- randallsquared 9y agoSame. I used to talk about political topics all the time (ah, the 90s...), but now hardly do.
- autokad 9y agowhats worse, is a specific comment you make can be an eternal judgement about you, as if you could not change your mind since then. i say things that i might change my mind on the very same day. i say things i dont even agree with when i said them.
- dionidium 9y agoIt's now a pretty popular idea on places like Hacker News that conversations on controversial subjects are tire fires in which no minds are ever changed. I think this is both wrong and dangerous. Minds are never changed in the moment, of course. That's not how beliefs (or the stubborn and prideful humans who hold them) operate. But my mind is changed on important subjects all the time! And heated online discussions have played a large role in that. The belief that there's no point in talking about emotionally charged or controversial subjects says more about the rigidity of the person saying that than anything. But in this moment where everything you say online is an indictment of character, a set-in-stone reflection of who you are in your deepest soul, I'm starting to think it's just not worth it. I think that's a real loss.