At this point when I see people like that I just think of how miserable their lives are and that the post they make is probably the only outlet they have to feel important or heard. I am not a fan of ignoring people but I may just start doing that at some point. But yes, Era is increasingly becoming toxic. A completely different environment than when the site launched where I remember creating a thread about "positive energy" in the forum.
lol Era in one postEverything sucks, nothing is getting better, we're all gonna die in 2 decades max and there's nothing one can do about it. So no shit no one wants to be nice about anything.
yeah you should check the preview thread its pretty disturbing
someone face a Sony exclusive an 8 and everyone raged at her for months for being a girl or something. That's when I realized the gamers are the worst
It's this timid "walking on eggshells" approach I find hard to take in good faith when it's about minority issues. The OT for the game has been overwhelmingly positive with plenty of people excited:There are a lot of threads about games that I'm scared to participate in because I'm usually indifferent. For example, being excited for Ion Fury almost seems like a crime here now, so I just don't participate in the forums when it comes to that game because I feel like the conversation is no longer about the game itself.
Lol If you think criticizing a Sony exclusive really gets people up in arms, you haven't seen people discuss Nintendo exclusives. It makes me avoid threads about Nintendo in general and I say that as a Switch owner.
These posts exemplify point #6 quite well:The Nintendo army is ever present but you know, those guys can easily be identified and blocked. With Sony exclusives even good posters turn into harsh defenders, and that's sad, because you know they're people whose opinions you'd like to engage with. Sigh.
In other words: you're not helping.Have you ever generalized a particular fandom or community (whether it's Nintendo/Sony/Xbox/PC gamers, or Ubisoft fans, or Dark Souls fans, Pokémon fans, etc.) in a disparaging way?
I know this place has fallen so much it's become a Marxist echo chamber. They've defended pedo's masquerading as trans, defended Antifar and only care about outrage.
I don't give a fuck about somebody's feelings trans or not and fuck off with this give up my liberty's just so I can't offend anyone, or heaven help me I assume somebody's gender.
I often imagine that reset is like that DSA conference where the guy dressed like a superhero goes nuts because someone used gendered language OMG how fucking dare someone the word He/She.
Get a fucking life you bunch of SJW's.
#trump2020
#getfukdera
#brexit forever
I think you missed the point before going for the throat, which is amusingly ironic.You mean posting bait on a thread about forum improvement. Yeesh.
I'd also note that I've seen an uptick of many just itching for a fight, like they're looking for things to get mad about...something, anything. Makes the forum feel incredibly toxic at times.
It's really disappointing. Seems like a really miserable way to live.
Interesting. Seems like everyone agrees about how... everyone else is toxic.
But hardly any introspection at all.
Can everyone who posted in the thread voicing their agreement really say that they are not part of the problem? Some, surely. I believe it. All? Not even close.
Be honest. Ask yourself:
Nobody is perfect so this isn't a call-out or a rebuke or anything. We all lose our cool from time to time. But let's remember that everyone who posted in this thread is part of Era, too. It's not just those vague, undefined other "toxic" posters.
- Have you ever trolled people? Have you ever posted an honest, sincere, dissenting opinion in an exaggerated or hyperbolic manner that you knew would rile people up, just for the lulz?
- Have you then ever complained about "dogpiling" when people start to maybe roast you a little over said comment?
- On the flipside, have you ever assumed that someone's different opinion than yours was trolling and immediately accused the other member of doing so?
- When you do see something you perceive as trolling, do you take the bait and contribute to the toxicity yourself, or do you ignore and/or report the post silently?
- Have you ever drive-by posted provocative comments, such as "lol I'm here for the salt" (perhaps with a popcorn gif), or vague one-liners or gifs?
- Have you ever generalized a particular fandom or community (whether it's Nintendo/Sony/Xbox/PC gamers, or Ubisoft fans, or Dark Souls fans, Pokémon fans, etc.) in a disparaging way?
- Have you ever generalized a particular thread in a disparaging way, based on a small (sometimes non-existent) number of replies you perceived as bad? (e.g. "This thread is embarrassing, so much <thing that 1 or 2 posters did>")
- Have you ever seen a thread you thought was pointless or stupid or about a subject you're "tired of", but posted in it to complain anyway?
- Have you ever, deliberately or not, misrepresented someone else's position in any way? Such as (but not limited to) mistaking enthusiasm for "shilling", or criticism of X for fanboyism of Y, or project motives to the other posters that aren't actually there.
More like Chernobyl without radiation.At this point Era without dog-piling would be like a fish without water.
Pretty much my thoughts on the matter, yeah. That's why I try to avoid certain topics like the plague since I already know there's going to be literally zero discussion in them.Good post OP. When ERA was established, it was pitched as a place that was supposed to be more open and willing to discuss versus the heavy dogpiling of old GAF.
And it was that, for a brief window. But it fell back into the old ways, which makes sense, since most of the users on ERA (at least initially) were old GAF members. A lot of the same attitudes, posting habits, etc carried over.
I have found that, outside of specific community threads, the discussions are not worth engaging in for the exact reasons you outlined. I would like to believe that things will change in the future, but I suspect they will not. Like others have already pointed out, people are hell bent on being right and having their opinion heard over others.
There are a lot of threads about games that I'm scared to participate in because I'm usually indifferent. For example, being excited for Ion Fury almost seems like a crime here now, so I just don't participate in the forums when it comes to that game because I feel like the conversation is no longer about the game itself.
In today's episode of white male snow flakes, a white male bravely stands up to the rainbow coalition of oppressors that just want some sort of representation and voice in an ever growing market without being harassed or murdered. Since we are the only true and real gamers no matter what.
So please everyone, let's go back to past oppressive systems of logic and function where I felt safe promoting unearned white exceptionalism without the added guilt piling on where women and Poc constantly have to explain why they should be allowed to exist in this industry. Really fucking rude that I can't safely be the racist troll my racist and misogynistic. environment has led me to believe was normal.
Yeah this false, dog piling and what that leads to (the person being dog piled losing their cool) is bad here. But it's like that on every forum where people have differing opinions. It's not unique to Era. It happened before down the block, it happened before here and it will happen long after we are all gone. It's human nature to team up and shit on someone. It predates the internet, it probaby started with the first civilizations.The dog-piling is a weird and uniquely Era thing I feel like, or at least it was never a thing on other forums I've used in the past.
Good post OP. When ERA was established, it was pitched as a place that was supposed to be more open and willing to discuss versus the heavy dogpiling of old GAF.
And it was that, for a brief window. But it fell back into the old ways, which makes sense, since most of the users on ERA (at least initially) were old GAF members. A lot of the same attitudes, posting habits, etc carried over.
I have found that, outside of specific community threads, the discussions are not worth engaging in for the exact reasons you outlined. I would like to believe that things will change in the future, but I suspect they will not. Like others have already pointed out, people are hell bent on being right and having their opinion heard over others.
You're absolutely right, there are many threads on both the gaming and etcetera forums that I have had dissenting opinions about, but didn't bother to post in because I knew exactly what would happen.
I used to really enjoy discussions, but it's gotten so much progressively worse that I am more and more just stopping by here to read gaming news, or get specific help in a game's OT, and nothing else.
This isn't really just a gaming thing, it's an online discource thing.
This community is a bubble that is so used to a single consensus that a different opinion gets dog piled upon and driven out. There is very little actual interesting discussion or varied perspectives or sharing of ideas. Look at any EGS thread.
You make a valid point, but I've seen other users dredge up posts from OTs like that in order to accuse other users of ignorance because they supported said game. It's not that I feel I have to walk on eggshells, I just worry that the next time there's a fiasco involving a developer and I want to comment on it, someone will find that hypothetical post I made supporting Ion Fury and accuse me of supporting the individual developers' stances.It's this timid "walking on eggshells" approach I find hard to take in good faith when it's about minority issues. The OT for the game has been overwhelmingly positive with plenty of people excited:
The other, separate, thread is about a current issue regarding one developer liking transphobic comments on the official twitter, and another developer spewing transphobic points at a trans member in the Discord, while another member belittles and insults them, alongside advocating for beating children. Then the developer nods to vaccines causing autism and said they aren't surprised that trans people 'off themselves' after surgery.
This is a valid topic of discussion for which participation isn't mandatory. I'm not sure why you couldn't post in the OT if you just wanted to discuss the game, where plenty of people have been doing just that.
A symptom of our times.Its just harder to discuss anything, at all, without someone branding you to far this, or not far enough that.
The rational middle ground is gone.
Everyone has their own brand of kool aid, and no matter what side you're on and what topic is at hand, people drink lots of it and pat each other on the back for drinking the same flavor. Tribalism and the need to belong, usually, more than if any of the issues actually matter or not.I find there's a lot of koolaid drinking here, becuase that's the best way I can say that off the top of my head (smh)
I appreciate you breaking it down further and understand your position a lot more as a result. In as much as you're not looking to interject yourself in that discussion I wouldn't look to do the same in the OT, but as you say - things aren't so clean cut when applied across an entire forum and a span of time.You make a valid point, but I've seen other users dredge up posts from OTs like that in order to accuse other users of ignorance because they supported said game. It's not that I feel I have to walk on eggshells, I just worry that the next time there's a fiasco involving a developer and I want to comment on it, someone will find that hypothetical post I made supporting Ion Fury and accuse me of supporting the individual developers' stances.
It's not that I don't think I can discuss, it's that I fear it being used against me maliciously. So I just don't partake in the discussion.
Yeah I don't post much here or bother contributing my thoughts as I just get tired of the dog piling rhetoric and drive by posts to ban because of a gaming opinion. Piss off or disagree with one person here or someone who thinks you've said something they don't like then you've pissed off the whole collective hive mind here and the dog piling will start. It's ironic as it reminds me of Trump followers chanting "send her back" until that person gets banned.You're completely right, OP. This forum is notorious for dog-piling. Half the time I don't bother posting in threads because of how bad it is here with virtually no one stopping it.
You should find your own niche forum or message board to discuss things in a more civil and elaborate way and use big forums or boards for quick, not-too-deep interactions. Most of the Internet has now adopted the trend created by social media websites: nasty one-liners, dog-piling and a vast majority pretty much shouting what they think is right on a few members who might disagree on a topic and try to express that in a polite non-antagonistic way but are accused of arguing in bad faith even if they have no history to support that.