Truly a pretty terrible place for any kind of social activity.

People here are super self righteous and unwavering in their beliefs, quick to insult others and be generally bitchy, pedantic and quick to dogpile. Worst of all while still usually slightly wrong about a thing, but unwilling to hear it.

It’s basically the worst parts of reddit users where we have boiled it down to the most affluent or socially insecure.

Even if it’s as simple as a question people jump to defend their position with insults rather than answer it cause they get worried the person might be confused and it’s best to just make sure it’s a closed community as quick as possible.

This isn’t an open community it’s a private gated one where everyone jumped the fence and is scared that the wrong person might have come in with them.

Condescending is not welcoming.
Upvoting cause they are your in group isn’t community.
Berating outcasts cause you at least don’t feel like them is still bullying.

  • Admiral PatrickM
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    23 days ago

    I see your instance is federated with both Hexbear and Lemmygrad. Going to gesture vaguely at that being the root of your problem (or at least > 90% of it).

    Blocking instances helps, but you’ll still see users from there in the comments and in other communities (not on the blocked instance). Some UIs will hide users from blocked instances. I know Tesseract does (I wrote it to do that), but others might as well.

    My experience here has been pretty great after getting my blocklist and feed curated.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      -423 days ago

      Yeah I am also federated with lemmy.world and blocking that would silence the feed a whole lots more while being just as helpful to my psyche.
      The commies are at least consistent and up to date on things. Which is insane since they insist on a economic system from 200 years ago.

      I think the problem I have is that those outside of grad and hexbear also think their shit doesn’t stink but I literally have seen people openly mocking a user for nothing because he made a comment elsewhere that means they keep going after him to punish him for his opinion on anything. It’s cruel and fucking inhuman. It lacks all empathy and it’s not hexbear that was doing it.

      I also don’t want to block people just for existing with other opinions. I couldnt do it in real life. I can choose to not interact.
      Blocking feels like a bandaid for having a terrible community where everyone wants to be alone and right.

      • Blaze (he/him)
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        1223 days ago

        I think the problem I have is that those outside of grad and hexbear also think their shit doesn’t stink but I literally have seen people openly mocking a user for nothing because he made a comment elsewhere that means they keep going after him to punish him for his opinion on anything. It’s cruel and fucking inhuman. It lacks all empathy and it’s not hexbear that was doing it.

        Feel free to report this. This should not be tolerated.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          -1523 days ago

          Hahahahahahaha ohhhh… Yeah like that does anything. I’ve seen mods joke about it just being the person they all gang up on as if it was the thing to do.
          I’ve had some good interactions with mods, but that… Was 1 person actually. Same mod basically.

          The mods are a lot of the same people and someone from “outside” telling them they are horrified just brands you as another target for them to ignore as you get silenced out. The big communities are absolutely the worst offenders.

      • Scrubbles
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        523 days ago

        Am a mod of a few smaller communities but I think I speak for a lot of us. We aren’t in every thread, but if you see rule breaking, report it. That’s what we’re there for. I know that sort of behavior is against the rules in my subs.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          322 days ago

          Yeah I think I’ve realized I’m really only seeing the basic big theads on lemmy.world and the moderation there is kill or be killed and whatever the mods giggle at is allowed. Which means they let dogpiling happen if it seems deserved.

          I’m apparently in a rather small instance.

          • Scrubbles
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            122 days ago

            The benefit of the smaller instances IMO, you definitely get more control over your feed. Mods are still helpful, but reports do go to admins of your instance too.

          • Dark Arc
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            523 days ago

            Which is insane since they insist on a economic system from 200 years ago.

            I think it’s just that your argument against communism seemed to be based on its age, i.e. it “being old and out dated.”

            (Agree communism is not great FWIW)

            • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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              -323 days ago

              Yeah i thought it was a clever dig against it and also fun turn since I think I have had better conversations about modern day pop culture on hexbear.

              I just wasn’t exactly in favor of capitalism anyways just wasn’t the point.

              Thanks for being my sanity check on that.

              • @jeffw@lemmy.world
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                523 days ago

                I question what your criteria for a good pop culture discussion is if you enjoy discussions with a bunch of angry neckbeards

                • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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                  -222 days ago

                  They like to watch modern movies and shows that aren’t marvel, usually have good takes on influencera in here and have the right hate for vtubers.

                  Plus I think they are just closer to my age and social awkward nerds that are easy to call neckbeards. I’m not gonna get pop culture references of Gen X who seem to make a majority in here.

  • Diplomjodler
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    3123 days ago

    Must be a different Lemmy you’re talking about. My experience has been nothing like that and generally quite positive.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      -923 days ago

      Ok. Thanks for chiming in.

      Have a specific community you like to interact with or are you a Linux user?

        • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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          20 days ago

          The problem with nich communities on Lemmy is that you can browse the entire contents of a community in 10 minutes, and then you’re stuck waiting for more content for days or weeks on end. That’s fine if you’re only interested in asking for advice, or occasionally contributing, but it’s very limiting for someone who wants ongoing discussions about their hobbies or interests.

          • Blaze (he/him)
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            120 days ago

            their hobbies or interests.

            What are your hobbies or interests? There is probably a community that could use more discussion indeed. I usually recommend moderators of niche communities to set up a weekly thread so that people can discuss things. The best is to have a few users posting daily, but that’s harder to find the most niche the community is (hence why focusing on more generic communities probably makes sense with the current userbase)

            • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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              120 days ago

              I’ve looked for and joined communities for my hobbies and interests. I have my app set up to hide posts after I’ve viewed them. Currently my subscription feed is showing posts from last December, because there’s no new content that I haven’t already interacted with. I always check subscribed first, but then I mosey on over to local or all, since my subscription feed is pretty much dead.

              • Blaze (he/him)
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                220 days ago

                Maybe you can start discussions yourself? A generic “how is everyone doing with our hobby”?

  • @RangerJosie@lemmy.world
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    1822 days ago

    Twitter made me hate people. FB made me realize just how dumb people are. Reddit made me realize that there are no good guys in positions of power. Bluesky is actually pretty chill. But I prefer this format. A forum style.

  • @bl_r@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1323 days ago

    At this point, i’m having a decent time here but I also have a decent block list, an instance blocked, and another mostly blocked.

    I don’t mind the commies too much, since I’m an ancom, though I have argued with them on my previous main account a lot, and it did get exhausting since some communities dogmatically support specific arguments that have been proven wrong a hundred years ago or are based on strawmen, or fundamental misunderstandings, or on viewpoints that haven’t been mainstream since the 1800s.

    Lemmy has changed a bit since I joined when reddit announced their api changes. It used to be more radical, but I’ve seen a lot more centrists and center left folks join, and I think the mixing of that has caused a fuckton of drama.

    Though I don’t see a lot of insults anymore. I’ve been insulted a million different ways, but since march or april I’ve seen a reduction in people calling me a slur or people calling me a fascist or trumper even though my position is to the left of theirs. I remember being insulted incessantly after October of last year.

    I tend to be careful where I reply with political talk (AKA not on .world or most hexbear communities) but the non political communities are wonderful. I fucking love the queer communities here (even on hexbear) and the open source communities are also great.

    I just hope the toxicity drops to what I remember around June or July of last year once elections end.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      023 days ago

      Nice.

      I actually think I agree with a lot of your points but just got called a “shitheed” like 20 minutes ago by someone that clearly doesn’t agree on dictionary definitions.
      But I also make the mistake of trying to bring a rational take I hope in the big communities and that is not welcomed.

      But I think your block list is just better at covering those people as well cause I could give pretty specific names for people that have come at me and gone through my other comments to further insult me.

      I’m thinking it’s real world stress and isolation torrenting in and the anonymous nature makes it easy to treat people on the other side like garbage cause “what does it matter”

      Maybe should ban those people but I see a lot of agreement with that kind of treatment of others and it’s like being bullied in school all over again.

      • @bl_r@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        423 days ago

        But I also make the mistake of trying to bring a rational take I hope in the big communities and that is not welcomed

        I think the best way to avoid getting insulted just to conduct yourself carefully.

        What you said sounds haughty. It implies that everyone else is irrational and you are the sole voice of reason, and that you are ultimately right and that’s why people are taking issue with you. Things like that is what leads to insults flying. Even if you didn’t intend that, it is impossible to know that from the text alone.

        If you are talking online to “be right” rather than to discuss and debate, it will come through. And this is true even if you are literally correct in a case and have a dictionary definition as proof. People would rather talk to someone who isn’t trying to “be right” even if they are arguing on which view is correct. It’s about how you say things, and why you are bothering to engage.

        Part of why I rarely get insulted is because I’m careful with my conduct. Even when I doubt the person on the other side of the screen is being genuine, act as if they are. Those feelings have been wrong a few times, and if I used that feeling as a way to be rude and say “you are a disingenuous person” I can skip saying that and counter the disingenuous bit.

        How I approach responses is usually done in such a way that I try and prevent escalation. I’m not perfect, I often get on lemmy when I’m drunk and on the train ride home, or waiting for alcohol to wear off after drinking with friends online before going to bed. And usually I don’t have much of a filter then.

        The only time I ever get insulted anymore is when I’m dealing with zionists or people on the right, since we are diametrically opposed in our views. Specifically in the case of Zionists, I have a hard time being respectful though I try initially. Plus, they will always be incredibly demeaning and go “BuT YoU ArE QqUeEr tHaT meAnS tHeY wOuLd KilL YoU OvEr ThErE” while not even considering the fact that, at this point, Israel has very likely killed more queers than any Palestinian vigilante or governmental system that they are imagining. Hard to keep your cool when things like that happen, though I usually drop a meme that points out how horrid that position is and block em, since it isn’t worth continuing.

        As for my thoughts about why people are dicks online, i think it’s the lack of face to face communication leads people to be less respectful which over a few comments will escalate. And I think that people will often take something that would obviously not be seen as an attack in a face to face conversation as an attack online, where there is less context from tone or body language. I think that some people are socialized to be shitty to their political opponents due to the current media ecosystem. And most importantly, there are much fewer consequences. But i don’t think anonymity is a factor.

        I protest a lot, and in most cases I opt to maintain anonymity. But I don’t always. I’ve been at pride marches far enough from home that I don’t feel the need to make any effort to remain anonymous, and even at those I’ve seen people be shitty to my face, or to other people/the crowd. I’ll never see those folks again once I leave.

        Hell, I remember a fuckton of name calling and bullying at school when there was no anonymity.

        Finally, as for my blocklist, the point of a blocklist is to separate you from people you won’t get along with. If someone is going through your history to downvote you or insult you, that is what it is for. Blocklists have to be tuned and maintained by design in order to work.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          022 days ago

          Asking the bullied to conduct themselves carefully is exactly my point why I don’t like this place.

          You are assuming the conversations that I’m upset about but it’s ones where I ask a question and get told I’m trolling and a liar for not knowing something or a liar for knowing something.

          I shared details about physics of material fabrication in space once in a thread had a person just “nuh-uh” me and call me names and then people all agreed with him despite the fact that I tried to point I had a dual major in theoretical astrophysics and Astro xenobiology.

          Like whoever gets the people laughing and speaks like they have a big enough dick around here is still right by default. That isn’t a community it’s a cesspit.

          I just hate the idea of blocking people for one time being a jerk. I’ve disagreed with people then agreed with them later.

          I dunno I seem to want something that might not exist? It sure as heck feels lonely.

  • @bighatchester@lemmy.world
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    1122 days ago

    One thing I noticed is alot of people on Lemmy think that everything on the internet should be free and have no ads. In a perfect world this would be great but most of the sites people regularly use are expensive to operate and wouldn’t exist. I do use as blocker and pirate stuff sometimes but I also pay for YouTube premium and a couple other services. Plus I go to movie theaters whenever there is a movie I really want to see and support.

  • @oo1
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    922 days ago

    +1 for unpopular. I think planet earth is worse platform.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      22 days ago

      Yeah I’m starting to think it’s just nature of people to be shitty.

      Any subject at all and if someone thinks themselves better than you (and they will) then it’s practically pointless. They just like the high of feeling right more than anything else.

      Edit: also near 50/50 split so I guess this was an unpopular opinion

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      423 days ago

      Nah I love the movies community. I was able to talk about the weirdest thing I’ve seen all year Megalopolis over there. Literally just wrote a comment about it.

      Rough day elsewhere on the platform. Rough month really.

      But thank you maybe I will check it out!

      • Blaze (he/him)
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        423 days ago

        Thank you for that comment, happy that you like the community

        Sure, see you around!

      • @TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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        323 days ago

        After I finally get to watch it I’ll be over there with my thoughts. I can’t wait to see it.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          023 days ago

          The middle is a rough spot but make it through and I think Coppola tries to reward you in the best ways.

  • @JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
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    823 days ago

    There are two keys to success for an internet community:

    • limit the conversation to a circumscribed subject
    • have decent moderation

    This has not changed since the 90s. It’s the reason that any community devoted to “world news” or “politics”, whether it be here or on the R-site or anywhere else, is destined be a train wreck whereas one on “gardening” or “classic BMWs” or whatever will generally be pleasant.

    Fair-minded moderation is what turns a cesspool into a merely unpleasant hangout, or a decent community into a great one.

    IMO the gold standard for a successful community is clearly Hacker News, which (logically) combines a well-defined purpose with top-notch moderation. Rather than just deleting comments and handing out bans, the moderator there intervenes in discussions to push them back on course, often in a plaintive manner that appeals to people’s good sides. The positive results of this approach were even the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker.

    This is a not a technical problem as much as a human one. Restrict the bounds of conversation, then take a smart approach to moderation. Success will follow.

  • JaggedRobotPubes
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    822 days ago

    It has some crazy, but I’ve found it refreshingly with it in many ways. People here generally understand that getting paid enough money instead of ripped off by a billionaire is good. The stuff you shouldn’t have to filter for.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      021 days ago

      Yeah the topics aren’t necessarily the problem it’s how it’s not a conversation most of the time it’s just snarky fighting to be the most right or up voted cause they act like they are right.

      I would hope it’s not these topics making people shutty or else that doesn’t bode well for them.

  • Tedesche
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    723 days ago

    I find that if you avoid the political and news forums and some of the meme forums, you avoid 90% of the assholery that exists on Lemmy. But that’s true for Reddit as well and I think is probably just a truism about the internet in general.

    It’s not really the people, I think, that is the problem; it’s that people feel strongly about politics and when they have the anonymity and disconnection of the internet to free them from true social accountability, we express ourselves in increasingly overconfident and arrogant ways, which obviously pisses other people off and creates arguments. In other words, the internet is ideal for festering toxic debating environments. Our psychology just wasn’t meant for it.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      122 days ago

      Someone argued with me and called me a lot of rude things cause I called them privileged for them saying everyone should just buy an extra computer that they can use to run linux.

      Like when I called them out on it and said it’s a lot for people to just buy multiple devices for the sake of being both on Linux and Windows if people don’t have a purpose for Linux he called me a troll and spoke down to me as if his existence and level of life was what everyone else lives.

      It’s not just politics. It’s not even the politics that upsets me it’s the condescending self righteous know it all attitude that’s everywhere in this platform. That their life is objectively the way to be. It’s pompous and that’s absolutely the users.

      • Tedesche
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        222 days ago

        cause I called them privileged

        I mean, if you cast the first stone, don’t be surprised if people pelt you back, dude.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          22 days ago

          Third message after they told me to “get gud” for not being able to buy another PC and then treating me like a toddler for saying it didn’t make sense to own multiple PCs just to have one we don’t use for Linux and he asked if he “held my little hand long enough”

          I ain’t casting many stones first unless you consider the questions and the follows up an invitation to attack.

          • Blaze (he/him)
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            122 days ago

            Hm, they still said

            If you weren’t trying to be rude and it came off that way by mistake, my bad

            But yeah, not the best interaction indeed

            • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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              -122 days ago

              Yeah I was already upset by that point and they started by still doubting that I just wanted to ask a question and called me a bullshitter…

              But it’s my point. It makes conversations a fight to be right more than a conversation with no backing off. And by the end it just becomes 2 people being awful to each other for spectators.
              It feels bad from my perspective and I don’t learn anything.

              I think the platform inspires snark and winner takes all mentality.

              • Blaze (he/him)
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                222 days ago

                I think the platform inspires snark and winner takes all mentality.

                It’s really community dependant. As I said, tech communities can be quite toxic

  • @BonerMan@ani.social
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    622 days ago

    Get a instance that doesn’t federate with .ml instances or hexbear, block the Lemmy.world political communities and you can enjoy Lemmy mostly without assholes.

  • @sho@ani.social
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    623 days ago

    Like most people say if you want more pleasant experience, it’d be better to avoid politics.

    Dank memes is also tangled with politics and crudeness anymore and outlived their days.

    Also you don’t need to feel obligated to respond to rude or unpleasant people, just block em’ and go about your own interest.

    Lastly treat others how you would like to be treated. If you just go around trying to counterpoint argue and call everyone terrible then you might suffer some backlash.

  • Boozilla
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    423 days ago

    There is indeed a LOT of bitchy pedantry on here. I’m not sure it’s worse than other platforms, because this is the only one I’ve been using for a while now. I block very aggressively and that seems to help.

    Sorry you’re not having fun on Lemmy, I do get it. For some reason reddit keeps failing upwards and we’re not getting the influx of users I was hoping for. I’m still hanging in here but participating less and less.

    • Blaze (he/him)
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      823 days ago

      For some reason reddit keeps failing upwards and we’re not getting the influx of users I was hoping for.

      Inertia is directly related to how big their userbase is. And they pretty much killed all the text-based discussion forums.

      So I’m not hopeful we’ll get another influx that soon. People staying on Reddit will prefer to fix their personal API key every day to use a 2 years old Lemmy or Sync apk rather than try Lemmy.

      • Boozilla
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        523 days ago

        I’m also starting to think social media plus human nature = inherently bad combo. It’s not always bad, but it trends that way over time and at large scales.

        Real identity social media is bad because creepy corporations track your every move and people post fake and highly curated profiles.

        Anonymous social media is bad because too many people behave like unfiltered belligerent asholes.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          123 days ago

          People suck. Basically always hoping there is someone beneath them to feel better for treating them worse.

          It’s probably best to be in a situation where you can still get socked in the mouth for acting like a jerk while people are having a conversation.

      • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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        023 days ago

        Hahaha yeah the whole API key thing was what pushed me to Lemmy.

        The first time I got “you have used the maximum amount of posts blah blah blah” I was done with reddit… But then I found out that I’m having a lot less fun.

        I have to participate in the big communities and with awful people if I don’t want to be alone in an empty community.

    • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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      -123 days ago

      Honestly Facebook is even better just cause it’s people putting on the clown makeup to get a ride from you. Apparently they pay pretty well for those stupid community posts if you get enough attention.

      It doesn’t feel as self righteous at least is my point. People here deeply assume themselves smarter than anyone else here.

      I saw people dogpile a comment cause the first person in a chain misread it and assumed correctly and every comment trying to pull people out of the spiral was downvoted and shouted at for being wrong as they tore each other apart.

      It’s like chickens seeing another chicken bleeding. They don’t even think before they tear their kin to shreds.

      • Boozilla
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        323 days ago

        For whatever it’s worth, I’ve had some very positive interactions on here, too. And I’ve seen questions answered when people needed help. And generally useful info types of posts. The comics and memes are often good (if you like those, those are not everyone’s cup of tea). Anyway, it’s not all jackasses all the time on Lemmy.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          123 days ago

          It’s not worth nothing. I just wish I figured out how to get it not to be the majority without having to silence the spaces where people are.

      • @SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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        921 days ago

        Well that’s piqued my interest so I glanced over your comments. I have to point out that yes, people respond badly to you sometimes, reminding me of reddit.

        You should know that you seem unaware that your comments occasionally have a pugnacious or even bellicose tone, not necessarily intentionally mind you, but noticeable. Sometimes dismissive or contemptuous attitudes leak out and hostile replies state they are responding to that. It’s not simple bullying, it’s buttons being pushed.

        • @Krauerking@lemy.lolOP
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          221 days ago

          Thank you! I actually appreciate the honesty. That’s something I can work with.

          Maybe, hopefully.

          I don’t think it is far different from the snark I see but I don’t think I should emulate that I guess if I hate it when done to me. I just don’t like having to take the high road just cause I apparently invite it.

          • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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            120 days ago

            I realized a few days ago that I was letting the overwhelming negativity from this platform bleed over into other areas of my life, and I had to put that shit in check immediately. It sucks feeling like you’re always stuck being understanding and taking the high road while everyone around you is determined to burn things to the ground, but ultimately it makes you a better person and results in a better life and sense of self.

  • @ikidd@lemmy.world
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    321 days ago

    You forgot where their feelings about a subject hold more weight that your facts. Its usually over some childish pearlclutching.