alleged reduction in LQ forum bullying: is it actually all over the net?
by newbiesforever from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5QTJ4)
In a recent comment on another thread, SlowCoder said: Quote:
I hadn't noticed this alleged increase in civility on LQ, just because I wasn't looking for it; now I agree that it seems true. I kept thinking about whether it applies to discussion forums across the internet and, if so, how much. Based on experience, I conclude that to some extent it does: most of the brazen flaming and outright bullying that I saw occurred during my first ten years of daily internet use: roughly 1998-2008; and that stuff doesn't happen every day anymore unless one goes looking for it and tries to provoke it on purpose.
The thing is, I noticed that the late 2000s, the upper end of that time period, is prrrobably about the same time that Web 2.0 completed its gradual supplanting of Web 1.0. More generally than the web's monetization, the takeover of web use by the masses. And what do you think happened to Web 1.0 users, who by no means just disappeared?
My "theory" amounts to the Web 1.0 bullies being in hiding since their online social cliques were largely wiped out. I suspect that the kids who posted such things as "flame on", "f**k off and die," and "ooo this noob bites back" were archetypal Web 1.0 users who despised the sort of masses beginning to flood the internet. Because they used to be the only group on the net to some extent, they hadn't learned to practice the civility now noted by SlowCoder, because there wasn't much social pressure on them to.
So what happened to them? I'm suggesting one of two things: they were reluctantly assimilated into the culture of Web 2.0, basically letting it "tame" them; or, somewhat less likely, they retreated in disgust from Web 2.0 and now keep to themselves, because they know they're outnumbered and often "oppressed" by those Web 2.0 noobs.
I would not go so far as to say elitism has fallen out of vogue, because that would mean a change in human nature; just that elitists are in retreat.
| ...I think we could probably agree that the climate on LQ has changed rather drastically since the early days. I see a much more positive response to newbie posts. I guess elitism has fallen out of vogue, which is fine with me. |
The thing is, I noticed that the late 2000s, the upper end of that time period, is prrrobably about the same time that Web 2.0 completed its gradual supplanting of Web 1.0. More generally than the web's monetization, the takeover of web use by the masses. And what do you think happened to Web 1.0 users, who by no means just disappeared?
My "theory" amounts to the Web 1.0 bullies being in hiding since their online social cliques were largely wiped out. I suspect that the kids who posted such things as "flame on", "f**k off and die," and "ooo this noob bites back" were archetypal Web 1.0 users who despised the sort of masses beginning to flood the internet. Because they used to be the only group on the net to some extent, they hadn't learned to practice the civility now noted by SlowCoder, because there wasn't much social pressure on them to.
So what happened to them? I'm suggesting one of two things: they were reluctantly assimilated into the culture of Web 2.0, basically letting it "tame" them; or, somewhat less likely, they retreated in disgust from Web 2.0 and now keep to themselves, because they know they're outnumbered and often "oppressed" by those Web 2.0 noobs.
I would not go so far as to say elitism has fallen out of vogue, because that would mean a change in human nature; just that elitists are in retreat.