That's just how it is around here. To (some?) SV types friends are edges in a social graph, preferences are like/dislike counters, and humans are language model

That's just how it is around here. To (some?) SV types friends are edges in a social graph, preferences are like/dislike counters, and humans are language models. Welcome to the shallows. That said, life's fast, especially on news-keyed discussion forums and thoughtful, balanced comments on complex issues can take a really long time to compose as well as become very long and I think most do not bother with that (including myself; I view it as an unfortunate pathology of this site's general set-up as well as modern online life). It can be tough at times, but it helps to remember that these voices are far from everyone's. In certain threads they suspiciously congregate though.