Comment 2S2W Re: In a similar vein...

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Twitter has changed and here's why people are leaving

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In a similar vein... (Score: 3, Informative)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-09-04 02:24 (#2S1D)

If you enjoyed the Alan Jacobs article, here are some related critiques.

Freddie deBoer, a social liberal, on viciousness in online forums:
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/08/21/where-online-social-liberalism-lost-the-script/

David Sessions, a social conservative, on the quality on online media:
http://www.patrolmag.com/2014/08/25/david-sessions/the-state-of-the-internet-is-awful-and-everybody-knows-it/

Pew survey on Social Media and the Spiral of Silence:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/

Xianhang Zhang on the Evaporative Cooling Effect:
http://blog.bumblebeelabs.com/social-software-sundays-2-the-evaporative-cooling-effect/

Pipedot still has a small number of articles and comments, but the civility and quality we have here are becoming increasingly rare online. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that Pipedot is small and growing slowly.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 1)

by harmless@pipedot.org on 2014-09-04 08:28 (#2S1H)

but the civility and quality we have here are becoming increasingly rare online.
I happen to disagree. I have refrained from commenting on more than one article because the initial comments were so hostile that I couldn't imagine any useful discussion would come out of it.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 2, Insightful)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-09-04 08:51 (#2S1K)

You don't need to reply to the initial comment. Just add a separate top comment, and let moderators care about the bad apple.

If everyone refrains from commenting on an article just because there's a bad comment already, then the bad comments will take over.

If I don't write a comment to an article (after having opened it), it's usually because I don't feel I've got anything to say about it. It certainly is not because someone left a bad comment earlier.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 1)

by harmless@pipedot.org on 2014-09-04 09:02 (#2S1M)

Most times I don't have much to say about a certain topic, because there's no controversy between me and my opinion,
Only when we disagree is a discussion interesting. But when the initial comment is borderline rude, I can't imagine any useful discussion taking place. And I have better methods to waste time than to engage in a shouting match with strangers online.
If everyone refrains from commenting on an article just because there's a bad comment already, then the bad comments will take over.
I agree. But I'm not sure that's my problem.
and let moderators care about the bad apple.
Unfortunately, some inflammatory comments get actually modded up. That says to me: "If you disagree, go somewhere else." Which I do.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 2, Insightful)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-09-04 10:31 (#2S1R)

BTW, I usually find on online forums that the best discussions don't come necessarily out of disagreement but rather out of differing experiences. "I tried that thing, but I like this other one better because ..." or "that reminds me of something I read here" or "if you're interested in that thing you might also be interested in this other thing" and so on.

"Your opinion is wrong" gets boring very fast.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 0)

by harmless@pipedot.org on 2014-09-04 14:59 (#2S20)

How is
"I tried that thing, but I like this other one better because ..." or "that reminds me of something I read here" or "if you're interested in that thing you might also be interested in this other thing"
a discussion?
"Your opinion is wrong" gets boring very fast.
If you keep it at that level, sure. I usually expect actual arguments and reasoning as part of a discussion. "I like this." "Me too!" is not a discussion.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 2, Insightful)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-09-04 18:24 (#2S29)

I don't get it - two people or more complementing each other's knowledge and sharing information. How is that not a conversation? I'm not averse to controversy or differing opinions, but there are other ways to relate and contribute. Conversation is multifaceted.

Re: In a similar vein... (Score: 1)

by harmless@pipedot.org on 2014-09-05 05:43 (#2S2W)

While wiktionary seems to think that discussion is a synonym for conversation, I happen to disagree.

Two people mentioning how nice the weather is today is a conversation. It's not a discussion in my book.

But I agree that a discussion does not have to be about differing opinions.

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