5 ms·

I'd go one step further: most of the people responding are probably not jerks or assholes, just people sharing their own opinions in a playfully exaggerated way

I'd go one step further: most of the people responding are probably not jerks or assholes, just people sharing their own opinions in a playfully exaggerated way which, when done in person and accompanied by grins or laughter rarely causes offense. "You like THAT movie?! That movie is the WORST! I've lost all respect for you!" They have no way of knowing that the author of the original tweet is expressing something that has real significance to them.

mlyle 4y ago
Eh. I think what you're describing is step 1. Step 2 is people online hearing other people talking like it has real significance to them, perceiving it as a real important norm, and then persecuting others for it.
haswell 4y ago
> "You like THAT movie?! That movie is the WORST! I've lost all respect for you!" I don't know, this is still pretty jerky behavior when you're on the receiving end of it, even if the person speaking is "joking". Even if the entire goal is to have fun, at whose expense? Why can't I just like a bad movie and not have to catch shit for it? I think there's some truth to what you're saying, but I think there's more to it. In 2022, it's not enough to have an opinion. You must have THE opinion. You must be passionate about it. You must attack others who do not share it. Anything less makes you a Bad Person. This is modern online discourse. I hate it. I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but only a bit. There is something about online social interaction today that goes far beyond "the playfulness is lost to the medium". I'd argue that the playfulness in many cases no longer exists. And if it does, it's indistinguishable. Hidden among 10 other opinions that are also unnecessarily aggressive, and are not attempting to joke about it.
- moehm 4y ago
  > Why can't I just like a bad movie and not have to catch shit for it? I don't know anything about movies, but I know a thing about wine, food and spirits. A thing most people don't understand is that liking a thing != the thing is actually good and vice versa. A good critic always says enjoy what you like, and their job is aiding your way to find it. Often there are objective-ish criteria to judge a thing (e.g. balance or complexity in a wine). But nobody knows what you personally enjoy. If you enjoy the taste of burned meat, a medium rare steak may not be what you like, but you can't say it's not good. Same is probably true for movies as well. Just because a movie is bad, you can still like it. And you can dislike a good movie as well. Those two things are not the same.
nobody9999 4y ago
>I'd go one step further: most of the people responding are probably not jerks or assholes, just people sharing their own opinions in a playfully exaggerated way which, when done in person and accompanied by grins or laughter rarely causes offense. "You like THAT movie?! That movie is the WORST! I've lost all respect for you!" They have no way of knowing that the author of the original tweet is expressing something that has real significance to them. You may well be correct -- in fact, I'd say you certainly are for some folks. That said, given the ubiquity of Poe's Law[0], it's an iffy proposition to engage in irony/satire/sarcasm in text-only forums. That's a sad truth about online discourse. And it pains me. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law
spc476 4y ago
One Christmas, my SO gave me the book _A Confederacy of Dunces_. I hated it, and only finished reading it because it was a gift (and I wanted to at least give it a fair chance). I talked to a friend of mine (a former English teacher at the University of Alabama) about the book, and it turned out it was one of his favorite books. We ended up having a great discussion about it. I think it's important to keep in mind that others aren't you, they have their likes and dislikes and it might be a good thing to learn why they have the opinions they have.

mlyle 4y ago

Eh. I think what you're describing is step 1. Step 2 is people online hearing other people talking like it has real significance to them, perceiving it as a real important norm, and then persecuting others for it.

haswell 4y ago

> "You like THAT movie?! That movie is the WORST! I've lost all respect for you!" I don't know, this is still pretty jerky behavior when you're on the receiving end of it, even if the person speaking is "joking". Even if the entire goal is to have fun, at whose expense? Why can't I just like a bad movie and not have to catch shit for it? I think there's some truth to what you're saying, but I think there's more to it. In 2022, it's not enough to have an opinion. You must have THE opinion. You must be passionate about it. You must attack others who do not share it. Anything less makes you a Bad Person. This is modern online discourse. I hate it. I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but only a bit. There is something about online social interaction today that goes far beyond "the playfulness is lost to the medium". I'd argue that the playfulness in many cases no longer exists. And if it does, it's indistinguishable. Hidden among 10 other opinions that are also unnecessarily aggressive, and are not attempting to joke about it.

moehm 4y ago
> Why can't I just like a bad movie and not have to catch shit for it? I don't know anything about movies, but I know a thing about wine, food and spirits. A thing most people don't understand is that liking a thing != the thing is actually good and vice versa. A good critic always says enjoy what you like, and their job is aiding your way to find it. Often there are objective-ish criteria to judge a thing (e.g. balance or complexity in a wine). But nobody knows what you personally enjoy. If you enjoy the taste of burned meat, a medium rare steak may not be what you like, but you can't say it's not good. Same is probably true for movies as well. Just because a movie is bad, you can still like it. And you can dislike a good movie as well. Those two things are not the same.

nobody9999 4y ago

>I'd go one step further: most of the people responding are probably not jerks or assholes, just people sharing their own opinions in a playfully exaggerated way which, when done in person and accompanied by grins or laughter rarely causes offense. "You like THAT movie?! That movie is the WORST! I've lost all respect for you!" They have no way of knowing that the author of the original tweet is expressing something that has real significance to them. You may well be correct -- in fact, I'd say you certainly are for some folks. That said, given the ubiquity of Poe's Law[0], it's an iffy proposition to engage in irony/satire/sarcasm in text-only forums. That's a sad truth about online discourse. And it pains me. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law

spc476 4y ago

One Christmas, my SO gave me the book _A Confederacy of Dunces_. I hated it, and only finished reading it because it was a gift (and I wanted to at least give it a fair chance). I talked to a friend of mine (a former English teacher at the University of Alabama) about the book, and it turned out it was one of his favorite books. We ended up having a great discussion about it. I think it's important to keep in mind that others aren't you, they have their likes and dislikes and it might be a good thing to learn why they have the opinions they have.