You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
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Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#2It's good advice.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#3If there are T's & C's I need to read before being permitted to talk to someone, I'll probably just skip the whole thing. Which I guess lines up with the title of the article.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#4I was fortunate to learn this from pointless internet flamewars early in my life. Understand why you're in an argument and what you hope to accomplish by being in an argument. On the internet, it is usually very clear that you will accomplish nothing except maybe introduce receptive onlookers to a new idea, so the choice to minimize engagement is easy.
I think applying this has generally made me more successful outside of the Internet, too, by being more conscious about how I approach conflict. Unfortunately, in the less pseudonymous world where preconceptions and reputation have more weight, the advice also holds, but the calculus is a big mess. Arguments can have only downside risk, but you don't have the option to disengage.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#5Someone is wrong on the internet!
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#6not knowing when to engage is as important as knowing when to do so. some people learn from their mistakes. some people don't, they look for reasons that make them feel vindicated.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#7I sometimes notice my nervous system relax a bit when I log out of this website, because I know I won't get sucked into anything (he writes on this website)
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#8Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/386/
It's solid advice.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#9> Even if you are a formal spokesperson for a company, you don't have to engage.
This is key! At a lower level, if you're modding a Discord server or whatever, you can ignore people, and if they become a real problem you can just ban them. You don't need to engage with their drama, you don't owe them anything.
Re: You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
#10It's worth replying if someone gets a key detail wrong or simple misunderstanding and you can set record strait