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I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

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Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#131

Post by stonemetal »

jmduke wrote: post #120
corresation wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is visited by tens of millions of people of virtually every demographic. Corralling them as "internet nerds" seems a bit like you're trying for some bullying yourself. In any case, talk about much ado about absolutely nothing. A bunch of people said silly things, largely under the assumption that it was no consequence (that no one was hurt, etc): In many ways the comments on there are performance art. It is th…

Reddit is visited by tens of millions of people of virtually every demographic. Corralling them as "internet nerds" seems a bit like you're trying for some bullying yourself. The post to which you're replying didn't even mention Reddit. Reddit is by no means the only place where a nerdy demographic (and I'll define 'nerdy demographic' as 18-25 that skew towards STEM education and exhibit above-average internet usage)…

He did in fact mention it.

It's also interesting to see how many times Reddit (and other communities) fly into a rage-fest because of lack of context,

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#133

Post by derefr »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #97
philwelch wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fedoras come off well with the right outfit, sure. Most fedora-wearing nerds don't get that right. If you do, more power to you.

Yeah, wearing a beat-up $10 fedora with a T-shirt and jeans is not a great fashion decision. (But note that "poor fashion decisions" does not mean "disgusting, reprehensible goblin," despite the usual fashionista hyperbole.) I have a nice, properly-fitted felt fedora that I try to keep in good shape, and I wear it with a nice button-down and slacks at a bare minimum, usually a tie and sometimes a full suit. I've had…

> But note that "poor fashion decisions" does not mean "disgusting, reprehensible goblin," despite the usual fashionista hyperbole.

You're reading their casual implication in the wrong direction. What they usually mean is that disgusting, reprehensible goblin implies poor fashion decisions. Thus, by Bayesian inference, poor fashion decisions are evidence which increases the likelihood that you are a disgusting, reprehensible goblin.

And fashion is entirely about Bayesian inference--or "judging a book by its cover," as it is sometimes known. ;)

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#134

Post by potatolicious »

jlgreco wrote: post #63
jakebellacera wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anime tshirts? I wouldn't say so. Depending on where you're at culturally, anime could be relatively obscure. Hipster is a blanket term that really means something along the lines of "they're doing something unique to others in order to stand out and be 'cool.'" A "geek" may wear a Github or a Mario T-shirt because it's "cool" within their circle, but relatively obscure to the general public.

I don't think it is accurate to just sum up "hipster culture" as obscure, or even obscure and retro. It is more nuanced than that. You could dress up like a 1980s goth kid, which is retro and relatively obscure these days, but I don't think many people would consider that hipster. I think anime t-shirts are similar, even where anime is obscure (also, I think outside of college campuses, anime is universally more obsc…

> "You could dress up like a 1980s goth kid, which is retro and relatively obscure these days, but I don't think many people would consider that hipster."

You might be surprised. There used to be a Tumblr blog called LookAtThatFuckingHipster, and it was kind of funny the insane range of people that get submitted there. Part of the silliness of hipster-hating is that it would seem we can't even agree what constitutes a hipster! I remember seeing more than a few emos and goths in the bunch.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#135

Post by dnautics »

josefresco wrote: post #81
potatolicious wrote: post #7

Hipster-hate strikes me as just another thinly veiled form of bullying, and it's interesting to see how readily internet nerds - the people who are disproportionately to have been bullied in the past - engage in it. Look! He's different! Let's make assumptions about his motivations and get him! It's also interesting to see how many times Reddit (and other communities) fly into a rage-fest because of lack of context,…

Author summarizes the rage quite well: "The reaction, then, had nothing to do with hipsters. It was a hatred of people that need to stand out for standing-out's sake. That realization was at once positive and negative—people didn't hate me because I was a hipster, they hated me because I looked like I was nakedly desperate for attention, and had gone about that attention-grabbing by glomming on to marginalized trends…

"It was a hatred of people that need to stand out for standing-out's sake. That realization was at once positive and negative—people didn't hate me because I was a hipster, they hated me because I looked like I was nakedly desperate for attention, and had gone about that attention-grabbing by glomming on to marginalized trends"

But that is (one) definition of hipster.

Casual speculation: Would the situation have been different if the sign advertising the service weren't hidden? I think yes.

Would the situation have been different if he weren't wearing stereotypical "hipster attire", and instead were in say a pinstripe suit? I think yes.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#136

Post by xvolter »

jmduke wrote: post #120
corresation wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit is visited by tens of millions of people of virtually every demographic. Corralling them as "internet nerds" seems a bit like you're trying for some bullying yourself. In any case, talk about much ado about absolutely nothing. A bunch of people said silly things, largely under the assumption that it was no consequence (that no one was hurt, etc): In many ways the comments on there are performance art. It is th…

Reddit is visited by tens of millions of people of virtually every demographic. Corralling them as "internet nerds" seems a bit like you're trying for some bullying yourself. The post to which you're replying didn't even mention Reddit. Reddit is by no means the only place where a nerdy demographic (and I'll define 'nerdy demographic' as 18-25 that skew towards STEM education and exhibit above-average internet usage)…

The article mentions Reddit being the place where C.D. Hermelin was textually abused for being a hipster; or more accurately, accused of being a hipster solely because he was using a typewriter. Reddit is the only place where the internet nerds in discussion come from.

Reddit however is not made up of internet nerds. Reddit is made up of average joes who know enough about computers to register at facebook and reddit. The average reddit user is no more advanced than the average 13-year-old nowadays - can browse the internet, turn of a computer and install some games on their smartphone and tablet. They were never made fun of for being internet nerds, because they're not nerds nor geeks. They're just average joes; because as you say, everybody is on the internet nowadays, and those who are the truly advanced users who MAY have been made fun of more because of it generally do not spend their time raging about a hipster. I say may because honestly, geeks are not the object of ridicule as they once were.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#137

Post by potatolicious »

sc00ter wrote: post #119
potatolicious wrote: post #7

Hipster-hate strikes me as just another thinly veiled form of bullying, and it's interesting to see how readily internet nerds - the people who are disproportionately to have been bullied in the past - engage in it. Look! He's different! Let's make assumptions about his motivations and get him! It's also interesting to see how many times Reddit (and other communities) fly into a rage-fest because of lack of context,…

Ah yes, because that kind of thing never happens on HN...

Oh it most certainly does, which is why I use this site less and less over time, and referred to "internet communities" in general, Reddit being only one of many.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#138

Post by jonnathanson »

potatolicious wrote: post #7

Hipster-hate strikes me as just another thinly veiled form of bullying, and it's interesting to see how readily internet nerds - the people who are disproportionately to have been bullied in the past - engage in it. Look! He's different! Let's make assumptions about his motivations and get him! It's also interesting to see how many times Reddit (and other communities) fly into a rage-fest because of lack of context,…

"Above all other things, internet communities is what makes me cynical about humanity."

The internet is like alcohol: it doesn't put ideas into people's heads. It just lowers their inhibitions. If people are being dicks on the internet, it's because they are dicks, and the internet gives them a relatively consequence-free forum for expressing their dickitude.

If we're "cynical about humanity" because of "internet communities," we should be "cynical about humanity" because of humanity, full stop.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#139

Post by zalew »

drcode wrote: post #130
canthonytucci wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Context is so important. I remember seeing this on reddit and thinking that surely it must be staged satire, poking fun at the types (pun intended) of people one sees around Chelsea. Without the context of it being a piece of (really rather compelling) performance art, the photo looks like a person who is trying very hard to be noticed.

I guess the issue for me is that there is a cachet in our society for successful artists- That's why so many people want to try art, because art is "cool". But the reason art is cool is PRECISELY BECAUSE artists have to take risks and stick their necks out and have to be able to take the heat if their art gets a bad reception. It seems to me OP wanted the cachet of doing art, but doesn't want to accept the risk that…

> It seems to me OP wanted the cachet of doing art, but doesn't want to accept the risk that is an integral part of being an artist.

yeah, many celebs behave that way. they don't mind seeking irrational popularity that makes them sign multi-million contracts, but get extremely butthurt when popular opinion shifts against their favor when something goes wrong. the same medium and communities that made them famous and rich suddently get called a bunch of abusive haters that need to get exterminated.

Re: I Am An Object Of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything

#140

Post by Yhippa »

> I often wear tight jeans, big plastic-frame glasses, shirts bought at thrift stores.

... and then later ...

> And that my wardrobe was more a function of my budget than hipster assimilation.

To me his style comes off as hipster assimilation. Am I missing something?

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