10 ms·

The internet used to be cool. It was full of smart people saying smart things. Now it's mainly a communication tool for 13 year olds and desperate housewives.

robg 15y ago
I wouldn't go that far. I'm just surprised when the internet culture dictates the zombie response. If someone sat next to me on an airplane, heard me mention MIT, then waxed eloquent for an hour, I'd be nodding along with a big grin. Contrast that with me asking if MIT was involved in a conflict or if the speaker wanted a donation. It would make no sense. So why do we allow and enable that attitude online, especially here at HN? It's not just mean, it's vapid.
- forensic 15y ago
  I think an airplane, and face-to-face life in general, is actually a much more exclusive and filtered place than you realize. On the internet you are interacting with people who you would never run into face-to-face. They don't have a position in the world where they ride on airplanes. They dress in such a way that you would not even consider them for a conversation. Their body language communicates hostility and fear. They generally won't even live in the same city, or even the same country. How often do you visit Montgomery, Alabama? How often do you visit Turkey and strike up conversations with the local neurotics? The internet is where these people go to dump their neural refuse. People who are seen as pathetic hobgoblins when face-to-face use the internet megaphone to spew bile everywhere.
quanticle 15y ago
The internet used to be cool. It was full of smart people saying smart things. Yeah, maybe in 1992. For all practical purposes, the quality of Internet discussions been at its current state for the past two decades. Complaining about it won't make it any better.
- sp332 15y ago
  Yup, right up until September 1993. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Eternal_September https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Eternal_Septe... Complaining might not be productive, but reminding people that things used to be nicer is a good way to stave off despair that it can never be nice again. The Internet was nice, for years and years, and if we remember how to do it right, maybe we can make it nice again.

robg 15y ago

I wouldn't go that far. I'm just surprised when the internet culture dictates the zombie response. If someone sat next to me on an airplane, heard me mention MIT, then waxed eloquent for an hour, I'd be nodding along with a big grin. Contrast that with me asking if MIT was involved in a conflict or if the speaker wanted a donation. It would make no sense. So why do we allow and enable that attitude online, especially here at HN? It's not just mean, it's vapid.

forensic 15y ago
I think an airplane, and face-to-face life in general, is actually a much more exclusive and filtered place than you realize. On the internet you are interacting with people who you would never run into face-to-face. They don't have a position in the world where they ride on airplanes. They dress in such a way that you would not even consider them for a conversation. Their body language communicates hostility and fear. They generally won't even live in the same city, or even the same country. How often do you visit Montgomery, Alabama? How often do you visit Turkey and strike up conversations with the local neurotics? The internet is where these people go to dump their neural refuse. People who are seen as pathetic hobgoblins when face-to-face use the internet megaphone to spew bile everywhere.

quanticle 15y ago

The internet used to be cool. It was full of smart people saying smart things. Yeah, maybe in 1992. For all practical purposes, the quality of Internet discussions been at its current state for the past two decades. Complaining about it won't make it any better.

sp332 15y ago
Yup, right up until September 1993. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Eternal_September https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Eternal_Septe... Complaining might not be productive, but reminding people that things used to be nicer is a good way to stave off despair that it can never be nice again. The Internet was nice, for years and years, and if we remember how to do it right, maybe we can make it nice again.