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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

#71

Post by mikestew »

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,…

"it's interesting to see how readily internet nerds - the people who are disproportionately to have been bullied in the past - engage in it."

My theory has been that the downtrodden are pissed because they're on the receiving end, not because it's wrong, evidenced by many examples of them engaging in the same behavior when the opportunity presents itself. Whether it's immigrant minorities or geeks/nerds, the pattern seems to come up time and again.

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

#72

Post by jlgreco »

idProQuo wrote: post #26
bolder88 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other funny thing is that there's a violent dislike of mainstream media on websites such as Reddit, and constant criticism when news stations take things out of context. Then they do things like this themselves on a daily basis!

^People write this comment on Reddit a lot. The one I'm about to write, they also write this one too. You can't talk about Reddit as a hivemind, because it isn't one person, or even a definite collective of people. The people who take things out of context, and the people who call them out, are different sets of people. If Reddit seems to have multiple personalities, it's because... well, it does.

Particularly obnoxious is when the most popular comments are in the vein of "most people here are being idiots" or "'the hivemind' disagrees with this, but..."

Really? Most people? Then why is your comment the most popular comment? (Hint: because the majority of people like to believe themselves superior to the majority of people. 'If everyone is being dumb but me, then that means I am unusually smart!')

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

#73

Post by philwelch »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #23

Tangentially related, things like this are why I have not stopped wearing my fedora (in appropriate situations, with appropriate outfits). Dear Internet Fashionistas: You've decided that fedoras and suspenders are the mark of a horrible person. Your opinions have no connection to reality. Over here in the real world, I look good. When I come back to the bar the next day to pick up my credit card, and the bouncer reme…

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.

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

#75

Post by danielrhodes »

I always find it interesting how people are eventually drawn towards the things they are naturally talented at. In this case, he is an excellent writer and so perhaps this flash of inspiration to write stories for people wasn't as sudden as it may have seemed.

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

#76

Post by drcode »

pdenya wrote: post #52
drcode wrote: post #38

NEWSFLASH: If you're doing something specifically to get attention, it's possible the attention you get might not be to your liking. (Though I agree people should be more open to people doing fun performance-ish stuff like this, it does not mean a performer is entitled to receive only positive reactions.)

I don't think you can expect this type of reaction from a performance. One of the larger issues is that people don't get that it was a performance. Roughly equivalent to taking a picture of a clown and making fun of him for his make up as if he walks around like that in every situation.

If you do some kind of guerilla performance art, going around in public doing weird stuff, then most people will probably not realize it's a performance.

Expecting otherwise seems irrational.

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

#77

Post by criley2 »

blhack wrote: post #12
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,…

This is really common, unfortunately. People who are raised being abused, or being excluded, are taught that those in power should abuse or exclude those not in power.

"cycle of abuse"

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

#78

Post by md224 »

Camillo wrote: post #68
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,…

I found it interesting that the redditors - or, as some might say, the "straight white male neckbeards" of Reddit - quickly turned apologetic when they heard the full story, while the enlightened feminists at xoJane ignored the new facts and persisted in their vitriol.

You also have to consider the context; the xoJane post was about a breakup, and it's a natural tendency for people to demonize another person's ex as a way of providing emotional support (not saying this is ideal, but it seems pretty common).

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

#79

Post by veridies »

Camillo wrote: post #68
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,…

I found it interesting that the redditors - or, as some might say, the "straight white male neckbeards" of Reddit - quickly turned apologetic when they heard the full story, while the enlightened feminists at xoJane ignored the new facts and persisted in their vitriol.

The situations aren't exactly analogous. All reddit had to go on was a photograph, whereas xoJane's userbase were told the story by someone directly wronged by this guy. (At least as they perceived it.)

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

#80

Post by criley2 »

idProQuo wrote: post #26
bolder88 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other funny thing is that there's a violent dislike of mainstream media on websites such as Reddit, and constant criticism when news stations take things out of context. Then they do things like this themselves on a daily basis!

^People write this comment on Reddit a lot. The one I'm about to write, they also write this one too. You can't talk about Reddit as a hivemind, because it isn't one person, or even a definite collective of people. The people who take things out of context, and the people who call them out, are different sets of people. If Reddit seems to have multiple personalities, it's because... well, it does.

Also, and possibly more importantly:

Each subreddit is a dramatically different place. Subreddits like /r/politics and /r/worldnews have devolved into very stereotypical circlejerks or very blind pro-snowden fervor.

And, with the reach that some of these larger subreddits achieve, it's naive to assume they are not actively manipulated. There's always rumors and occasional wisps of evidence of intentional bias being enforced by moderators in secret.

It's best to judge reddit by community, especially for subjects like "news" where there are several different communities with very different approaches in practice.

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