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I think it might be good for you to reflect on what this "reply guy" thing actually means, and why it is (IMO) a good idea to use it to judge your comments befo

I think it might be good for you to reflect on what this "reply guy" thing actually means, and why it is (IMO) a good idea to use it to judge your comments before replying to someone, if you care in any way about empathic online discourse. For example, the artist: their livelihood is directly threatened by AI, if not now then probably in the near future, and they are responding by posting about their fear. It's transferred into enragement because that's what gets them engagement and support, but underlying that is fear. If they were to directly post about their fear there's a good chance they'd be mocked even worse so don't judge them too harshly for this. Then along comes someone who has no skin in the game, except that they think AI is cool and something they want to be seen as an expert in. They feel it's necessary to point out to the person who is fearing for their way of life how WRONG they are. When all that person wants and needs is support. In these types of situations, when you don't directly have skin in the game, and you don't have any support to offer, it's almost always better not to reply. Make your own post proving how right you are (without linking/tooting/screen-shotting or in any way referencing the other post), and let that other person get the social connections and support that they need. Otherwise, you are Reply Guy!

AlexandrB 3y ago
What you're describing is an echo chamber. If that's something you want there are better ways to get it than a public, general purpose venue like Mastodon. To flip the script a little, would this "Reply Guy" standard also apply when someone with family in Israel posts support for the Israeli government's actions and gets a bunch of replies about how Israel is committing a genocide? I kind of suspect that "Reply Guy" may just be a proxy for saying "you have the wrong politics".
- oytis 3y ago
  > public, general purpose venue like Mastodon. I guess that's what's wrong with Twitter, and what Mastodon unfortunately copied. The discussion dynamics roughly corresponds to shouting your opinions on a town square - and getting comments from passerbys. There is little expectation of privacy, and few means to create it (banning indiscreet commenters being one of them). That's why Mastodon is great for niche interests - the town in this case is small, and its inhabitants are well-aligned, but might get frustrating as you touch topics where many people can feel they are entitled to having an opinion about.
- Yotsugi 3y ago
  [flagged]
- esperent 3y ago
  Support the fearful artist, or leave them alone. Speak up against the person who you see as advocating for genocide. I don't think we need to over complicate this. Just do your best, you'll get it wrong sometimes but that's OK. It's a guideline for positive online discourse, not a law.
  - themaninthedark 3y ago
    I think you missed the nuance there. The hypothetical person supporting Israel has family in the country and is fearful of their family's safety. Wouldn't replying to them make you "Reply Guy"? The parent of the conversation did not say that the artist was fearful, they said "enraged" or angry. It was posited in a child comment that the anger was out of a place of fear. Depending on how you read the initial post, mood and priors, your reply to a comment can differ wildly.
    - oytis 3y ago
      > Wouldn't replying to them make you "Reply Guy"? Why not? I think discretion is needed in both cases. I, for one, am rather pro-Israel, but I wouldn't necessarily tell that to a Palestinian sharing their anger online.
keikobadthebad 3y ago
Well, I don't disagree it's good to see the other guy's point of view. But the author and whoever deals with their complaints are not interested in any other point of view - literally, there was no reason given on the ban and when I challenged it, no response. > Make your own post proving how right you are It's really not like that, my wife is involved in the creative arts too, this has been discussed and considered here a lot. I was active 20 years ago and learned a lot about how 'the cancer' GPL became legally normal. Even if it was like that, how is a one-shot platform perma-ban encouraging that outcome?
- oytis 3y ago
  It's totally OK to not be interested in other points of view. What got you banned from mastodon.social, not just blocked from commenting to that specific account though is I think the personal position of mastodon.social maintainer (and the author of Mastodon) regarding generative AI.
- esperent 3y ago
  They are not looking for points of view, they are looking for support.
themaninthedark 3y ago
It sounds to me like "Reply Guy" is being used as shorthand for, you are not supporting me in either position, emotional needs... Perhaps we have different concepts of what we use social media for, some use it as a para-social support system and others are as a tool to debate and examine different positions.

AlexandrB 3y ago

What you're describing is an echo chamber. If that's something you want there are better ways to get it than a public, general purpose venue like Mastodon. To flip the script a little, would this "Reply Guy" standard also apply when someone with family in Israel posts support for the Israeli government's actions and gets a bunch of replies about how Israel is committing a genocide? I kind of suspect that "Reply Guy" may just be a proxy for saying "you have the wrong politics".

oytis 3y ago
> public, general purpose venue like Mastodon. I guess that's what's wrong with Twitter, and what Mastodon unfortunately copied. The discussion dynamics roughly corresponds to shouting your opinions on a town square - and getting comments from passerbys. There is little expectation of privacy, and few means to create it (banning indiscreet commenters being one of them). That's why Mastodon is great for niche interests - the town in this case is small, and its inhabitants are well-aligned, but might get frustrating as you touch topics where many people can feel they are entitled to having an opinion about.
Yotsugi 3y ago
[flagged]
esperent 3y ago
Support the fearful artist, or leave them alone. Speak up against the person who you see as advocating for genocide. I don't think we need to over complicate this. Just do your best, you'll get it wrong sometimes but that's OK. It's a guideline for positive online discourse, not a law.
- themaninthedark 3y ago
  I think you missed the nuance there. The hypothetical person supporting Israel has family in the country and is fearful of their family's safety. Wouldn't replying to them make you "Reply Guy"? The parent of the conversation did not say that the artist was fearful, they said "enraged" or angry. It was posited in a child comment that the anger was out of a place of fear. Depending on how you read the initial post, mood and priors, your reply to a comment can differ wildly.
  - oytis 3y ago
    > Wouldn't replying to them make you "Reply Guy"? Why not? I think discretion is needed in both cases. I, for one, am rather pro-Israel, but I wouldn't necessarily tell that to a Palestinian sharing their anger online.

keikobadthebad 3y ago

Well, I don't disagree it's good to see the other guy's point of view. But the author and whoever deals with their complaints are not interested in any other point of view - literally, there was no reason given on the ban and when I challenged it, no response. > Make your own post proving how right you are It's really not like that, my wife is involved in the creative arts too, this has been discussed and considered here a lot. I was active 20 years ago and learned a lot about how 'the cancer' GPL became legally normal. Even if it was like that, how is a one-shot platform perma-ban encouraging that outcome?

oytis 3y ago
It's totally OK to not be interested in other points of view. What got you banned from mastodon.social, not just blocked from commenting to that specific account though is I think the personal position of mastodon.social maintainer (and the author of Mastodon) regarding generative AI.
esperent 3y ago
They are not looking for points of view, they are looking for support.

themaninthedark 3y ago

It sounds to me like "Reply Guy" is being used as shorthand for, you are not supporting me in either position, emotional needs... Perhaps we have different concepts of what we use social media for, some use it as a para-social support system and others are as a tool to debate and examine different positions.