4 ms·

Being the same person online as offline destroyed everything great about the internet. When you were an asshole you got banned from the website, and then you ha

Being the same person online as offline destroyed everything great about the internet. When you were an asshole you got banned from the website, and then you had to trim some of your sharp edges off so you didn't get banned from the next one. These days being an asshole results in either you aurrou ding yourself entirely with other assholes or getting your real life ruined by losing your job or even being arrested in some countries. There's no more opportunity to learn and grow. You either get it right the first try or you keep your online discourse rated PG so you don't cross the wrong people. Everything is so serious now. We couldn't even go back if we wanted to, because ignoring and banning xXWeedLuvurXx for calling you the n-word and moving on is a lot tougher when his name is John Smith and he works in accounting.

giardini 4y ago
aurrou ding !? Is this a new Australian metaphor?
- burnished 4y ago
  Think it was intended to be surrounding
Kenji 4y ago
Very true.
slater- 4y ago
I think you're exactly right. In my youth, the internet was about having fun, about being INTERESTING, even if your mom or your boss wouldn't understand. And you could always just walk away from your Buffy Xanga and get into something else. Now, the language of ridiculous places like LinkedIn has become the norm, on pain of having your life derailed. "HI MY NAME IS JOHN (HE/HIM), I LIVE AND BREATHE ENTERPRISE SALES SUPPORT IN THE THRILLINGLY DYNAMIC ECOSYSTEM OF SAAS, MY DREAM EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD WAS TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT WORK, I WEAR MANY HATS, MY DOG IS MY SON, IT WAS A BLESSING TO ATTEND THE BLACK EYED PEAS CONCERT, SINCERE THANKS TO UNITED PETROLEUM AND ALSO TO ROSA PARKS" I return again and again to the scene with the construction worker neighbor from Office Space: Peter: "does anyone ever say to you 'sounds like someone has a case of The Mondays?' Neighbor: "No, man. Shit, no, man! I believe you'd get your ass kicked saying something like that"
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
delecti 4y ago
There are still plenty of very large websites that make that possible though, and also plenty of large websites. I'd rather not lose my preferred identity on here, reddit, or twitter, but I could easily make another account on any of them if I got banned for being too spicy.
seydor 4y ago
Internet discussions don't scale. I think we are at the end of the road, it has already become impossible to have honest debate about something online. Some of us maintain the illusion that things will return to a somewhat more bearable state but it is futile. I think newer generations know it's not going to happen. I fear that AI will lead to people basically talking to themselves and to their imaginary perfect friends. This will make people even nastier, and somewhat alien to each other. But maybe that's the natural course of things
- slater- 4y ago
  Maybe you're right about us being at the end of the road for internet discussion, and at first I want to say "oh no," but maybe it's not a bad thing. No use continuing to pursue something once you know it won't work, and it's stupid to kill yourself trying. I worry about your AI point, too. An imaginary perfect friend/sex bot/super advanced furby/whatever would be compelling in the short term, but ultimately it leads down a cold lonely road. I can immediately think of some acquaintances who already kind of live like this. It breaks my heart. What do we do about it? Raise our kids so their allowance depends on the amount of broken phones they bring us? Oh hey also could you please prove you're not an AI designed to say things I agree with?
  - seydor 4y ago
    I try to look at the bright side. It is true that many things that need discussion cannot be discussed online because people slide in moral arguments and derail it. But with an AI one can have a patient/unemotional discussion to see ho w deep the rabbit hole goes. Supposing AI can indeed converse, this will be productive. But we have to detach social life from this. There is a role for the AI but communication is social and has other purposes. Perhaps we could communicate the results of our introspection with the AI, though
- OhioMan2943 4y ago
  Many of the newer generation don't know what the world was like beforehand, so they may not be able to replicate it, know that something is missing or feel the need for that something.

giardini 4y ago

aurrou ding !? Is this a new Australian metaphor?

burnished 4y ago
Think it was intended to be surrounding

Kenji 4y ago

Very true.

slater- 4y ago

I think you're exactly right. In my youth, the internet was about having fun, about being INTERESTING, even if your mom or your boss wouldn't understand. And you could always just walk away from your Buffy Xanga and get into something else. Now, the language of ridiculous places like LinkedIn has become the norm, on pain of having your life derailed. "HI MY NAME IS JOHN (HE/HIM), I LIVE AND BREATHE ENTERPRISE SALES SUPPORT IN THE THRILLINGLY DYNAMIC ECOSYSTEM OF SAAS, MY DREAM EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD WAS TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT WORK, I WEAR MANY HATS, MY DOG IS MY SON, IT WAS A BLESSING TO ATTEND THE BLACK EYED PEAS CONCERT, SINCERE THANKS TO UNITED PETROLEUM AND ALSO TO ROSA PARKS" I return again and again to the scene with the construction worker neighbor from Office Space: Peter: "does anyone ever say to you 'sounds like someone has a case of The Mondays?' Neighbor: "No, man. Shit, no, man! I believe you'd get your ass kicked saying something like that"

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

delecti 4y ago

There are still plenty of very large websites that make that possible though, and also plenty of large websites. I'd rather not lose my preferred identity on here, reddit, or twitter, but I could easily make another account on any of them if I got banned for being too spicy.

seydor 4y ago

Internet discussions don't scale. I think we are at the end of the road, it has already become impossible to have honest debate about something online. Some of us maintain the illusion that things will return to a somewhat more bearable state but it is futile. I think newer generations know it's not going to happen. I fear that AI will lead to people basically talking to themselves and to their imaginary perfect friends. This will make people even nastier, and somewhat alien to each other. But maybe that's the natural course of things

slater- 4y ago
Maybe you're right about us being at the end of the road for internet discussion, and at first I want to say "oh no," but maybe it's not a bad thing. No use continuing to pursue something once you know it won't work, and it's stupid to kill yourself trying. I worry about your AI point, too. An imaginary perfect friend/sex bot/super advanced furby/whatever would be compelling in the short term, but ultimately it leads down a cold lonely road. I can immediately think of some acquaintances who already kind of live like this. It breaks my heart. What do we do about it? Raise our kids so their allowance depends on the amount of broken phones they bring us? Oh hey also could you please prove you're not an AI designed to say things I agree with?
- seydor 4y ago
  I try to look at the bright side. It is true that many things that need discussion cannot be discussed online because people slide in moral arguments and derail it. But with an AI one can have a patient/unemotional discussion to see ho w deep the rabbit hole goes. Supposing AI can indeed converse, this will be productive. But we have to detach social life from this. There is a role for the AI but communication is social and has other purposes. Perhaps we could communicate the results of our introspection with the AI, though
OhioMan2943 4y ago
Many of the newer generation don't know what the world was like beforehand, so they may not be able to replicate it, know that something is missing or feel the need for that something.