The Now-Defunct Firms Behind 8chan, QAnon

Post by stonogo » Fri, Oct 23, 2020, 11:30 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #131

nitrogen wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second, it is very much out of the norms of HN to do email-style alternating quote/response the way you are. I've seen such used before (though with italics to help the eye find the breaks), when a comment makes too many points or is too complex to reply to without making it clear which part of the comment is relevant to which part of a reply. Is there a better way to format conversations on HN when comments reach th…

I really think the right way to do it is just to write a natural paragraph that refers to what the parent was saying. But what you did, with a single italicized reference at the top, is an HN idiom as well. A long back-and-forth of quote and rebuttal though is definitely not the style here. That style makes sense in Email and Usenet, because you're often using readers that don't show the parent comment at the same ti…

Post by IngvarLynn » Fri, Oct 23, 2020, 11:37 PM UTC

gameswithgo wrote: post #41

jmnicolas wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I'm not mistaken the NZ killer was on 8chan? It's the same argument with serial killer movies (at the risk of showing my age there was a strong controversy with "Natural Born Killers" at the time): you don't kill people because you chatted on the internet or watched a movie. You kill people because you had it in you. The things you were exposed before might color your act but that's it.

> you don't kill people because you chatted on the internet or watched a movie. There is this pervasive idea lately a crazy youtube video or text can't actually be harmful, which just isn't true. Ideas can inspire wars, murder, revolution, they can warp minds. People previously productive can end up obsessed with crazy junk. It is important to protect each other and ourselves from bad ideas. The question is how, of c…

Post by sarcastix » Fri, Oct 23, 2020, 11:41 PM UTC

grawprog wrote: post #178

I'll admit, I spent some time on 8chan both before and after jim Watkins took control. The story behind it all is actually pretty fascinating. One big thing I did notice though after a hiatus browsing there and going back. Watkins did something to that site. It was always pretty bad, a lot of the people there were pretty awful, but there wasn't an organized right wing presence pushing Nazi ideals and anti-Holocaust p…

Post by megameter » Fri, Oct 23, 2020, 11:55 PM UTC

bigbubba wrote: post #127

vonwoodson wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that we are “good in private” is a cultural statement. In fact, I’d have argued against it only a few months ago before I became aware that this is the norm for most of the world. In my world, all the dirty lies and secrets are kept private. We “put our best foot forward” and “manage our personal brand”. I think that this idea alone is worth discussing more, especially as it relates to justice. In my world,…

I assume 'your part of the world' is America. I can flip somebody the bird for obeying the speed limit and nobody calls cops with guns to stop me from being a shithead. I think it's generally true that people are more willing to be assholes to strangers than their close acquaintances. This has certainly been my observation of American culture at least. People are ruder to people the further removed from those people…

Post by Uhhrrr » Sat, Oct 24, 2020, 12:09 AM UTC

pwinnski wrote: post #48

jmnicolas wrote: post #3

Of course everybody knows the right way to convince conspiracy theorists that they're wrong is to go after them. I don't see what's wrong with having internet trash bins. At least the trash is in a know location, it doesn't spill everywhere. I'm not from the US, the only mentions of those sites I have ever encountered was journalists making a few articles about them.

I think this line of thinking is absolutely correct when conspiracy theories are fringe or harmless. You don't believe we landed on the moon? Okay, buddy, have a nice day. Occasionally, though, conspiracy theorists escape the harmless fringe and become actively harmful to society, which is what many of us believe is happening in the USA today. A racist conspiracy theory that posited, contrary to all evidence, that ou…