5 ms·

>They are actually great platforms. With incredibly toxic userbases.

by BlueGh0st 7y ago

eej2ya1K 7y ago
What does "toxic" mean?
- ohlookabird 7y ago
  Maybe you haven't heard that word in this context before, it's of course not meant to be read literally. I understand it the same way as I would read "toxic workplace culture" or "toxic social environment", which is that there are people who bully, abuse power, take advantage of you, deliberately misunderstand you, are racist, sexist, etc.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- krapp 7y ago
  >What does "toxic" mean? Toxic -- adjective (ˈtäk-sik) 1) containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation 2) exhibiting symptoms of infection or toxicosis 3) extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful 4) relating to or being an asset that has lost so much value that it cannot be sold on the market In the context of this specific discussion, for the sake of disambiguation, the third definition listed above is the one being used. Here are some articles which may help to further clarify the concept of "toxic" as it applies to people, social interactions and online communities: https://psychcentral.com/blog/whats-a-toxic-person-how-do-you-deal-with-one/ https://psychcentral.com/blog/whats-a-toxic-person-how-do-yo... https://www.healthscopemag.com/health-scope/toxic-relationships/ https://www.healthscopemag.com/health-scope/toxic-relationsh... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/26/racism-misogyny-death-threats-why-cant-booming-video-game-industry-curb-toxicity/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/26/racism-... https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-say-the-nations-political-debate-has-grown-more-toxic-and-heated-rhetoric-could-lead-to-violence/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-s... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html
thiago_fm 7y ago
I have no problem there, people are very friendly on every reddit sub I enjoy visiting. The same is for twitter. What those platforms have in common is choice. If you are toxic and think it is fine to openly argue and make socially awkward comments the whole time, then you will view it that way. You will likely also get attracted by subs and communities that this happens.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  >I have no problem there, people are very friendly on every reddit sub I enjoy visiting. The same is for twitter. The only way to have a good time on those platforms and to a lesser (but increasing, in my unscientific observation) degree, HN is to only express opinions that toe the party line (party line being relative to whatever the mainstream opinion is on the platform or subset of it in question). Those platforms have features designed to amplify consensus and quash dissent.
  - tomp 7y ago
    or not care about downvotes
    - AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
      But why would you post if you don't care about people's reaction to your message?
      - humanrebar 7y ago
        You can care about how some people react without overvaluing the aggregate reaction.
  - AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
    It's good you mentioned HN. I also find it to be an extremely reasonable forum. Radical opinions pop up every once in a while, but somehow they still manage to cause little outrage and hatred. Kudos to the team (and all of us too!)
RegBarclay 7y ago
Agreed that there is a lot of toxicity. But I think there's value in learning to participate without being dragged down by griefers and trolls.
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  > there's value in learning to participate without being dragged down by griefers and trolls There's also value in knowing when to detach. For most people, these platforms are value subtracting.
- LanceH 7y ago
  It is generally not possible to participate on the reddit while presenting an alternate viewpoint. You go to your own echo chamber or you get downvoted into oblivion.

>They are actually great platforms. With incredibly toxic userbases.

eej2ya1K 7y ago

What does "toxic" mean?

ohlookabird 7y ago
Maybe you haven't heard that word in this context before, it's of course not meant to be read literally. I understand it the same way as I would read "toxic workplace culture" or "toxic social environment", which is that there are people who bully, abuse power, take advantage of you, deliberately misunderstand you, are racist, sexist, etc.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
krapp 7y ago
>What does "toxic" mean? Toxic -- adjective (ˈtäk-sik) 1) containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation 2) exhibiting symptoms of infection or toxicosis 3) extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful 4) relating to or being an asset that has lost so much value that it cannot be sold on the market In the context of this specific discussion, for the sake of disambiguation, the third definition listed above is the one being used. Here are some articles which may help to further clarify the concept of "toxic" as it applies to people, social interactions and online communities: https://psychcentral.com/blog/whats-a-toxic-person-how-do-you-deal-with-one/ https://psychcentral.com/blog/whats-a-toxic-person-how-do-yo... https://www.healthscopemag.com/health-scope/toxic-relationships/ https://www.healthscopemag.com/health-scope/toxic-relationsh... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/26/racism-misogyny-death-threats-why-cant-booming-video-game-industry-curb-toxicity/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/26/racism-... https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-say-the-nations-political-debate-has-grown-more-toxic-and-heated-rhetoric-could-lead-to-violence/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/18/americans-s... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html

thiago_fm 7y ago

I have no problem there, people are very friendly on every reddit sub I enjoy visiting. The same is for twitter. What those platforms have in common is choice. If you are toxic and think it is fine to openly argue and make socially awkward comments the whole time, then you will view it that way. You will likely also get attracted by subs and communities that this happens.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
>I have no problem there, people are very friendly on every reddit sub I enjoy visiting. The same is for twitter. The only way to have a good time on those platforms and to a lesser (but increasing, in my unscientific observation) degree, HN is to only express opinions that toe the party line (party line being relative to whatever the mainstream opinion is on the platform or subset of it in question). Those platforms have features designed to amplify consensus and quash dissent.
- tomp 7y ago
  or not care about downvotes
  - AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
    But why would you post if you don't care about people's reaction to your message?
    - humanrebar 7y ago
      You can care about how some people react without overvaluing the aggregate reaction.
- AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
  It's good you mentioned HN. I also find it to be an extremely reasonable forum. Radical opinions pop up every once in a while, but somehow they still manage to cause little outrage and hatred. Kudos to the team (and all of us too!)

RegBarclay 7y ago

Agreed that there is a lot of toxicity. But I think there's value in learning to participate without being dragged down by griefers and trolls.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> there's value in learning to participate without being dragged down by griefers and trolls There's also value in knowing when to detach. For most people, these platforms are value subtracting.
LanceH 7y ago
It is generally not possible to participate on the reddit while presenting an alternate viewpoint. You go to your own echo chamber or you get downvoted into oblivion.