Why is Online Discourse so Toxic and Accusatory?

Moggy wrote:banana split Tier

Quacky the Duck

I'll leave a big juicy ducky poo inside your very bestest work shoes for that slur.

Quacky The Duck wrote:

Moggy wrote:banana split Tier

Quacky the Duck

I'll leave a big juicy ducky poo inside your very bestest work shoes for that slur.

I'll fry you up with some rice and feed you to a stray dog

Moggy wrote:

Fade wrote:The principle of Daryl's story can be applied anywhere: talk to your enemy and have respect for them so they can see you as a human, rather than a charicature they can hate. A lot of online discourse flies in the face of this and it's why it ends up being so toxic. Don't know why you're so obsessed with twitter, that's a very tiny portion of the internet.

I'm not "obsessed" with Twitter. It has been brought up in this thread and is the obvious example of a portion of the internet that people think is toxic.

The principle is the same whether you are talking about an online forum, Twitter or anywhere else. I just don't think you'll have any success in converting bigots online.

I literally just had a conversation with someone on Reddit where they went from insulting me to calmly discussing pronouns.

That wouldn't have happened if I'd have insulted them back. Now next time they encounter a Non-binary person they're going to be more open minded.

Fade wrote:

Moggy wrote:

Fade wrote:The principle of Daryl's story can be applied anywhere: talk to your enemy and have respect for them so they can see you as a human, rather than a charicature they can hate. A lot of online discourse flies in the face of this and it's why it ends up being so toxic. Don't know why you're so obsessed with twitter, that's a very tiny portion of the internet.

I'm not "obsessed" with Twitter. It has been brought up in this thread and is the obvious example of a portion of the internet that people think is toxic.

The principle is the same whether you are talking about an online forum, Twitter or anywhere else. I just don't think you'll have any success in converting bigots online.

I literally just had a conversation with someone on Reddit where they went from insulting me to calmly discussing pronouns.

That wouldn't have happened if I'd have insulted them back. Now next time they encounter a Non-binary person they're going to be more open minded.

Cool. Lock the thread, toxic online discourse has been solved.

Fade wrote:

Moggy wrote:

Fade wrote:The principle of Daryl's story can be applied anywhere: talk to your enemy and have respect for them so they can see you as a human, rather than a charicature they can hate. A lot of online discourse flies in the face of this and it's why it ends up being so toxic. Don't know why you're so obsessed with twitter, that's a very tiny portion of the internet.

I'm not "obsessed" with Twitter. It has been brought up in this thread and is the obvious example of a portion of the internet that people think is toxic.

The principle is the same whether you are talking about an online forum, Twitter or anywhere else. I just don't think you'll have any success in converting bigots online.

I literally just had a conversation with someone on Reddit where they went from insulting me to calmly discussing pronouns.

That wouldn't have happened if I'd have insulted them back. Now next time they encounter a Non-binary person they're going to be more open minded.

Did everyone clap?

Stugene wrote:

Fade wrote:

Moggy wrote:

Fade wrote:The principle of Daryl's story can be applied anywhere: talk to your enemy and have respect for them so they can see you as a human, rather than a charicature they can hate. A lot of online discourse flies in the face of this and it's why it ends up being so toxic. Don't know why you're so obsessed with twitter, that's a very tiny portion of the internet.

I'm not "obsessed" with Twitter. It has been brought up in this thread and is the obvious example of a portion of the internet that people think is toxic.

The principle is the same whether you are talking about an online forum, Twitter or anywhere else. I just don't think you'll have any success in converting bigots online.

I literally just had a conversation with someone on Reddit where they went from insulting me to calmly discussing pronouns.

That wouldn't have happened if I'd have insulted them back. Now next time they encounter a Non-binary person they're going to be more open minded.

Did everyone clap?

Of all the threads to post a sarcastic response

Stugene wrote:

Fade wrote:

Moggy wrote:

Fade wrote:The principle of Daryl's story can be applied anywhere: talk to your enemy and have respect for them so they can see you as a human, rather than a charicature they can hate. A lot of online discourse flies in the face of this and it's why it ends up being so toxic. Don't know why you're so obsessed with twitter, that's a very tiny portion of the internet.

I'm not "obsessed" with Twitter. It has been brought up in this thread and is the obvious example of a portion of the internet that people think is toxic.

The principle is the same whether you are talking about an online forum, Twitter or anywhere else. I just don't think you'll have any success in converting bigots online.

I literally just had a conversation with someone on Reddit where they went from insulting me to calmly discussing pronouns.

That wouldn't have happened if I'd have insulted them back. Now next time they encounter a Non-binary person they're going to be more open minded.

Did everyone clap?

Quacky The Duck wrote:

Moggy wrote:banana split Tier

Quacky the Duck

I'll leave a big juicy ducky poo inside your very bestest work shoes for that slur.

Hello Brother.
Do you need any help with this duck racist?

Beaky The Duck wrote:

Quacky The Duck wrote:

Moggy wrote:banana split Tier

Quacky the Duck

I'll leave a big juicy ducky poo inside your very bestest work shoes for that slur.

Hello Brother.
Do you need any help with this duck racist?

Absolutely my feathered friend, together we can take down this monster.

I suggest we find a comfy hidden spot outside his bedroom window, and then keep him awake by quacking throughout the night.

Quacky The Duck wrote:

Beaky The Duck wrote:

Quacky The Duck wrote:

Moggy wrote:banana split Tier

Quacky the Duck

I'll leave a big juicy ducky poo inside your very bestest work shoes for that slur.

Hello Brother.
Do you need any help with this duck racist?

Absolutely my feathered friend, together we can take down this monster.

I suggest we find a comfy hidden spot outside his bedroom window, and then keep him awake by quacking throughout the night.

Interesting thread. I don't have much to contribute except that I sympathise with Fade's approach. In general I don't seem to have the same instinctive, disbelieving appal at other people's views or stances that others seem to have.

Maybe I don't have the same views on everything as many on this forum, but can say for sure that it is the affronted and angry tone with which things are sometimes discussed in Off-Topic that makes the think of stopping my years-long forum habit here. It's no big deal as I'm no big contributor round these parts but I think I've definitely considered it more recently than previously. Unsure if that's a general internet tone-change or just my own increasing aversion to it - may well be the latter! Maybe that's also a type of avoidance, but one thing I do know is that the internet can be a constant barrage of supposed battles about which you feel you need to have a stance or an opinion, which is its own type of distracting cognitive load.

deathofcows wrote:Interesting thread. I don't have much to contribute except that I sympathise with Fade's approach. In general I don't seem to have the same instinctive, disbelieving appal at other people's views or stances that others seem to have.

Maybe I don't have the same views on everything as many on this forum, but can say for sure that it is the affronted and angry tone with which things are sometimes discussed in Off-Topic that makes the think of stopping my years-long forum habit here. It's no big deal as I'm no big contributor round these parts but I think I've definitely considered it more recently than previously. Unsure if that's a general internet tone-change or just my own increasing aversion to it - may well be the latter! Maybe that's also a type of avoidance, but one thing I do know is that the internet can be a constant barrage of supposed battles about which you feel you need to have a stance or an opinion, which is its own type of distracting cognitive load.

You've long been a valued member of this forum so hope you choose to stick around.

Nothing a Skyward Sword bot couldn't replace! But thanks all the same I'll stick to corners I can contribute to.

i dont enjoy talking on the internet anymore

back in my day trolling was a art, and half of the people were trying to wind up the other half, good fun, and i was wearing an onion on my belt, as was the style at the time

now trolling is sending a cruise missile to your nans house or faceswapping you into a dog orgy and sending it to the local rspca, the stakes are too high and the rewards arent there

people are more interested in getting you ratio'd than farming a few lols

maybe giving everyone an 'equal' platform was a bad idea after all guys

I think in places where discussion can take place online - be it forums, Reddit, YouTube comments, the comments section of the Daily Mail or the Guardian, etc - you're only ever going to get a certain type of person in the first place. By that I mean people who are into online debate/discussion/arguing, as there are plenty of people who just aren't bothered or don't see the point and will never engage in any of that discourse anyway.

Then within the people who do partake, there are certain types of people. Some people genuinely want to discuss things and enjoy hearing others' opinions and thoughts, others shitpost or just try and rile people, others have to 'win' any argument and feel like they're the ones in the right, and others just cannot handle people having different opinions to them and seem to get incredibly angry and aggressive when people do.

You get all sorts across all online platforms or places of discussion, we have a few of the above on here too. But it's those really vocal and aggressive ones that tend to drown out the others, and so even if they don't comprise the majority of the voices, it comes across that they are, because the people who are like that are the most vocal and the most present in the places where the discussions take place.

Lotus wrote:Then within the people who do partake, there are certain types of people. Some people genuinely want to discuss things and enjoy hearing others' opinions and thoughts, others shitpost or just try and rile people, others have to 'win' any argument and feel like they're the ones in the right, and others just cannot handle people having different opinions to them and seem to get incredibly angry and aggressive when people do.

You get all sorts across all online platforms or places of discussion, we have a few of the above on here too.

Sometimes all in one person, depending on which videogame I'm talking about

I kinda don't count Twitter as it's so full of people arguing in bad faith there is no point giving any of it merit.

I post in here less and less because I always get called out for being a Fanboy, Irish and more recently for boasting about Ireland being ok these days. My employer (not the government) gave me money to combat inflation and I was really happy about it and posted it in here and got accused of boasting, others in same thread were happy their bills were less than they thought but they are not Irish so its ok....

The Irish government might be announcing some further help with energy bills later today but I sure as fook am not going to mention it in here. As the OP suggests, I wish people who accuse me of boasting could see things from my point of view, within society here I just don't see it as boasting when we still have a housing crisis.

In real time last week an entire storyline was invented about me, assuming I knew things when I didn't, accusing me of things that weren't true.

Photek wrote:
The Irish government might be announcing some further help with energy bills later today but I sure as fook am not going to mention it in here.

You just did.

deathofcows wrote:...Maybe I don't have the same views on everything as many on this forum, but can say for sure that it is the affronted and angry tone with which things are sometimes discussed in Off-Topic that makes the think of stopping my years-long forum habit here. It's no big deal as I'm no big contributor round these parts but I think I've definitely considered it more recently than previously...

Dang, deathofcows, I wouldn't want to see you stop posting on GR. I do get your thinking, though; I've had a number of breaks (sometimes an hour, sometimes six months) from GR in the past when I've become particularly frustrated. I now try to avoid those kinds of situations by sticking to some threads and avoiding others; a kind of self-management process that helps keep my mental health in a lot better shape. I think I finally came to the realisation that there is no real point arguing about things on internet - it's a waste of time and hardly anyone is going to change their thinking or listen to alternative thoughts anyway. This approach may not suit everyone but I feel better for it.

Photek wrote:I always get called out for being --- Irish and more recently for boasting about Ireland being ok these days.

you've been on this one for years

unless im really missing it, where are the anti ireland protestors on this forum? i think its in your head dawg