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The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

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Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#501

Post by fknorangesite »

vorpalhex wrote: post #316
progman32 wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you clarify your point? Not sure I follow.

If given a topic like "lgbtq" issues, the debate is not "Do gay people get basic rights?". Nobody is actually having that debate anymore and you're fighting straw men. Ie, these debates are not between "pro-lgbtq" and "anti-lgbtq". Instead most of these debates are more nuanced and complicated. I picked the "trap" debate because it's hotly contested, with both sides swearing up and down they are pro-lgbtq and both si…

> the debate is not "Do gay people get basic rights?". Nobody is actually having that debate anymore

On the contrary: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/texa...

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#502

Post by mabub24 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #206

This article or ones like it are, IMHO, long overdue. There is a bias online for people who are always online. It sounds obvious but "tech" companies and people online ignore or have a blind spot for people who remain offline. "Tech" companies and avid internet users generally see the world through their computers. If something is not represented online, then it is unlikely to register with them as being relevant. Fo…

It's an evolution on the Chattering Classes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattering_classes

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#503

Post by adhesive_wombat »

alias_neo wrote: post #133
AitchEmArsey wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a sign of the trying times we live in that I saw the extra "z"s in your post and instead of assuming a typo, I immediately think of Russian hackers infiltrating this platform.

Hehe the truth is much less nefarious; I was typing this on mobile, my 2 year old was climbing on me as I type and my wife was calling us both to hurry up and get to the dinner table, or else! Edit: and to explain why z's, it's exactly above the comma "," on my Android phone (Gboard), and it's easy to miss when you can't see!

While we're on the subject of things with horrible UX (Twitter), why is there no forward slash on GBoard as a long-press alternative but there is a backslash?!

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#504

Post by mekal »

alecbz wrote: post #393
ar_lan wrote: post #233

Twitter is the fastest way for me to feel like I'm a completely worthless human being, especially in the tech sector. It overwhelmingly emphasizes the following, from my experience: 1. If you are not famous, you don't matter. 2. Front-end engineers are invariably the most important and skillful, and backend engineers really aren't valuable. 3. If you hold any position that's even accidentally politically incorrect, y…

> Front-end engineers are invariably the most important and skillful, and backend engineers really aren't valuable. Heh, that's interesting. I didn't see a whole lot of that on Twitter (though I kinda see what you mean), but I did know a senior engineer that referred to front-end engineers as "finger-painters". I think both camps probably kinda looks down on the other a bit. (But I guess the frontend camp is louder o…

Regardless of what they think I'm still thankful for front-enders. CSS / UI-design/layout...people that enjoy that sorta thing are great because it means I don't have to do it. Maybe they feel the same way about backend work. Whatever, it all works out!

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#505

Post by demthrow6429 »

jahnu wrote: post #353
erichocean wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American, I'll try to explain how our two parties (and their voters) work in practice. The Left (voters) have two main platforms: economic and cultural. The Right (voters) have two main platforms: economic and cultural. The Left votes for the Democratic Party. The Right votes for the Republican Party. Independents mostly vote one way or another, and a small percentage vote for whoever seems most moderate that p…

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Interesting points. I'm still confused about what cultural policies the "woke" left implemented that would encourage other dems to vote for a third middle way part should one exist. I can see the other side easily.

Perhaps evidenced by my use of a throwaway, let me give a personal example

For most of my life, I identified and voted largely democrat. Over the last 5-10 years I've found myself far more independent aligned due in part to the issues mentioned of the parent poster. Some of the points of conflict include affirmative action. I am fully supportive of helping underprivileged groups, dedicated funding and corrective policy changes to remove things keeping them down, but do not think explicit affirmative action is the right way to go about that, and in fact feel it weakens ones position and seems clearly hypocritical from one ostensibly seeking equality.

I also take a broad issue with the sheer amount of effort the democrats have focused on issues of identity as opposed to class. Not that one should ignore the former, but I find the latter to be a far more central, immediate, and critical issue that needs addressing, and that the way the democrats are implementing their approach to the former, like their position on affirmative action, is instead driving a wedge and fighting against their best intentions.

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#506

Post by taurusnoises »

vorpalhex wrote: post #146
toastercat wrote: post #71

I tried being a Twitter user for a bit last year, mostly because a lot of engineers I admire use it to communicate about interesting topics and also their work. But after a while, I realized even they will pollute my feed with politically divisive topics, whether it be from them retweeting something, or liking a tweet, or even entering into the fray themselves -- Twitter will find a way to get me to see it. For a whi…

One of my pet theories for why social media is such a cesspool is that it exposes us to the whole of someone else. If I play boardgames with Sue, that's enough. We meet, enjoy a beer and play some Catan and go our separate ways. That's a fine relationship. If I follow Sue on social media, now I know her politics, religion, sex life, drug usage, opinions on every little thing.. and frankly, I don't care or want to. I'…

"If I follow Sue on social media, now I know her politics, religion, sex life, drug usage, opinions on every little thing.. and frankly, I don't care or want to. I'm happy just playing some Catan once in a while."

I have a slightly different view of this. People's opinions on things are always in flux, even if they sway heavily toward one side. What we see on social media is a person's opinions without the context of a human interaction. On social media, we see Sue's emotional response to politics without her having to negotiate that emotional response in relationship to another person sitting in front of her. She may "believe" what she says in the moment she types it, but put her in a room with a friend who disagrees and you can watch how her views shift, push back, concede, change, challenge, etc. On social media, there's very little of this taking place, because there's zero human intimacy at work. It belief in a vacuum not in relationship.

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#507

Post by kaitai »

toastercat wrote: post #71

I tried being a Twitter user for a bit last year, mostly because a lot of engineers I admire use it to communicate about interesting topics and also their work. But after a while, I realized even they will pollute my feed with politically divisive topics, whether it be from them retweeting something, or liking a tweet, or even entering into the fray themselves -- Twitter will find a way to get me to see it. For a whi…

I think everything is political, even code.... But the conversation Twitter fosters is not useful. I see people jumping on others for small mistakes or imagined slights, searching for inconsistencies ("On March 3 you said this about apples, on March 7 you said this about oranges -- why don't you have a CONSISTENT STANCE ON FRUITS YOU HYPOCRITE"), etc. And yes, it's so easy to comment from the sidelines; I see people sitting comfortably in Minneapolis or Miami criticizing a journalist tweeting about the refugee situation in Moldova.

Folks try to have nuanced discussion on Twitter but it's not possible when it's so reactionary and atomized. I no longer tweet either. I go on Twitter to find interesting people to follow in other forums, not to talk to anyone. I am a silent tweeter, heh.

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#508

Post by wpietri »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #484
wpietri wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

So how do you feel about people who want to change the status quo in the exact opposite direction you want it changed? Do you want to hear from them a lot? Do you wish there were more of them in your twitter feed?

No post body was provided.

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#509

Post by rackjack »

madrox wrote: post #273
vorpalhex wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my pet theories for why social media is such a cesspool is that it exposes us to the whole of someone else. If I play boardgames with Sue, that's enough. We meet, enjoy a beer and play some Catan and go our separate ways. That's a fine relationship. If I follow Sue on social media, now I know her politics, religion, sex life, drug usage, opinions on every little thing.. and frankly, I don't care or want to. I'…

My favorite theory comes from an HN comment describing it as the "toaster fucker problem." I'd attempt to re-explain it, but the original comment is great (and easy to search for. Not many mentions of the phrase "toaster fucker" on HN.) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25667362

Fun fact, this theory actually comes from a 4chan post.

Re: The new silent majority: People who don't tweet

#510

Post by izzygonzalez »

karaterobot wrote: post #114
izzygonzalez wrote: post #37

In analyzing my personal motivations and looking at "common sense" knowledge and psych research on the topic, I've come to the conclusion that we gain a lot of motivational energy from others. We live in worlds of stories and narratives, and those narratives are strengthened when mirrored and shared by others. If someone notices or sees my work or praises me for my work, it is a strong signal to my brain that it's on…

I'm kind of the same way, but I don't have a Twitter account, and haven't really ever had one. I have a private chat server with other people who make things and share them with each other. It's tacitly understood that we support each other's work and provide constructive feedback. Not to mention emojis. It's nice, gives me the brain chemicals I need, and I don't need to get exposed to Twitter. So, if you are hesitan…

That's a great lower-stakes way to approach it. I turned to Twitter because of the threading and big computer science community.

I think the vital part is the aspect of accountability. Even just committing to updating a friend on progress and asking them to keep you to your word helps. I've found it hard to get people to do that work because it sometimes requires shifting from "friend" to "boss" mode. I don't really think it's fair to put my loved ones in that position lol

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