This place seems dead. I was skimming some stuff to make a few posts, after posting a basic casual conversation, the negativity shut me down like usual. I am sitting here with 5 tabs and some interesting stuff, but I’m totally disinterested in trying or even spending any more time here this evening. What value does that add for anyone when this place is dying a slow death of disinterest and low engagement? I never add negativity. I only ignore and block. I never discourage because I know I would be shooting myself in the foot. Why is this not fundamentally standard logic for everyone. If you disagree about opinions, appreciate diversity and ignore or better yet discuss. Anonymous negativity to strangers is psychotic behavior that should never have existed in the first place. It is not normal. It is no different that walking up to a stranger in a supermarket and yelling at them for what they wear or how they talk. That is crazy stupid.
Why do you worry about downvoting? Most people are utter idiots and the most reasonable opinions get downvoted. The bigger issue starts when moderators start removing comments they personally dislike and this seems to be more of an issue here.
I’m physically disabled and nearly a total shut in. This is my only real outside human contact. It is not really healthy largely because of this psychotic negativity. There are many aspects of Maslow’s hierarchy that are beyond my control to remedy and solve. This place could help with some of that. When it fails for fundamentally unnecessary reasons of amplifying a tiny minority, I try to call attention to it. Some instance admins have already mentioned it is due to a half dozen people. I’m actively trying to show that those half dozen people are having a negative impact on more than just comments in a tangible way that promotes their removal.
I understand. I don’t instantly block someone, but if the choice is between arguing pointlessly and blocking them or the community, I’ll block and move on. This does impact how useful the site can be for me, but I don’t think using it less is a bad thing.
I’ve come to the conclusion that social media is simply bad for a person, because I think it amplifies negativity. I’m not sure if it’s because we can’t see each other, or if it’s the asynchrony preserving what might have been a fleeting nasty thought and echoing it undiminished into the future, or that and more. I can’t think of a way to fix it - at least, not a way other than being the change I want to see, but it’s hard (as you’ve found) and takes a heavy toll on my emotionally-dysregulated ass. And sometimes I’m not the change I want to see - said emotional dysregulation is a bitch to manage.
Maybe that’s what community is, a constant struggle to communicate effectively with other people. Or maybe platforms like lemmy and reddit only claim to offer community, but don’t really. Maybe they can’t, with all the pseudonymity. Maybe nowhere can, nowadays, with so many bad-faith actors seemingly infiltrating every online space that exists.
I’m sorry you feel beaten down by it, bud. I don’t have answers, but you’re not alone. As a maker, remember: everything you build will outlast the negativity. The blizzard of shit takes will wash away with time, posts being deleted to save space and so on. Your creations will be shared and preserved by the people that like them and find them useful. I take solace in that, personally; maybe you can find some too.
Edit: top lel. I haven’t read this yet but the headline jumped out at me after having just posted the above: https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2025-01-07/the-internet-hasnt-made-us-bad-we-were-already-like-that-the-mistake-of-yearning-for-the-friendly-online-world-of-20-years-ago.html
People’s opinions are expressions of who they are and unwelcomed opinions feel like attacks for people unaccustomed to debate. Westerners; especially Americans; don’t like taking about “politics” in polite conversation so an overwhelming majority will remain unaccustomed to debate.
I agree that .world has low engagement as do all of the other non-political & non-technical Lemmy instances do and that fact is treated like another one of those unwelcomed opinions in those instances; that’s why you’re getting downvotes for pointing this out.
Lemmy was invented by and for people who exist at the intersection of leftist politics and open source technology and that makes them more amenable for debate but it could only work for you if you’re capable of comporting yourself accordingly in such spaces if those views don’t come naturally to you. If your politics or interest are too far out of sync with this core group of Lemmy users, then you either have to wait until the other social media platforms enshitify enough to force more people into Lemmy or go back to the enshitification yourself on their platforms.
I find it highly offensive when anyone tells me what I think or believe. You have no right to speak in my voice or write my narrative.
I love to debate. I love to learn and take in new information and perspectives. To assume is to make an ass-u-me. Do not assume you know me at all unless you have asked questions and are quoting or paraphrasing my statements in the context I made them.
I am not in any way resistant to negative feedback. I want to engage with people that are open minded and flexible in their thinking. Those that have a rigid mindset and parrot some narrative on the right or left are religious fools I waste no time with. Arguing belief systems is a fool’s folly.
I take offense at anonymizing negative feedback. This is not accepted or normal human behavior. It is the realm of criminals and cowards to stab people in the back without the opportunity to confront their assailant. I do not accept this criminality as normal. If you wish to have a counter opinion you must do so openly and debate and defend your opinion. Anything less is barbaric primitivism.
