We need to be more positive and less hostile as a forum

[PaulloDEC]

Look, I'll give you an example of a situation where I KNOW that what you are saying isn't true, and where I think having a thread here did a lot of good. So we've had a thread here for a while about a prominent Anime and video game voice actor, Vic Mignogna, who last year had a bunch of allegations come out against him for sexual harassment, assault, grooming under age fans, just tons of gross shit. This guy has had rumors about him swirling around since I was going to anime cons in high school, so about a decade. But he was popular, he had a fanbase he had tailored specifically to shutting down and harassing anyone trying to speak out. Most of these allegations happened on Twitter and a movement started called #KickVic to get him banned from cons and gigs, but Twitter isn't a good place for posting permanent resources. Tweets get deleted, accounts get closed because of harassment or shame surrounding being an abuse victim, etc. So a user here made a thread about these allegations and the later lawsuit he would file to try and silence his victims. If you Google this whole situation the thread here is one of the first results. The thread has tens of thousands of views. It served as a constantly updating resource on the case, his attempts to silence victims, and how his toxic fanbase was lashing out at his victims and anyone from the industry who stood with them. That thread served as a very valuable resource for anyone trying to find out what was going on, and was free of any of the FUD his followers were trying to spread to discredit victims.

That's just one example, and Sibersk Esto deserves major props for keeping it up to date for so long.

Click to shrink...

I'm aware of that thread; I remember being surprised more than once to see it back on the front page. I'm glad you were able to generate tangible results!

But I think you'd likely agree that threads like that are the exception rather than the rule. Is it worth the negativity for the one thread in fifty that creates those kinds of results? I don't know. Maybe it is.

 

[Deleted member 2474]

there are many topics in this forum i straight-up just will not post in at this point because expressing certain opinions will get me dogpiled, banned, or both. and it's so immensely frustrating because i know as well as many of you do that there's a whole lot of right-wingers and shit who will say exactly what i just said, and they're full of shit and just mad because they can't be racist/sexist/homophobic. unfortunately that fact has made it even harder to voice actual criticism of the site and its culture because well-intentioned criticism just gets lumped in with the assholes and dismissed.

it's exhausting. i've been here since day one, made great years-long friends here and at ol' gaf, and tried to enjoy the place as much as possible, but for too many people on this forum it's just become a game of deliberately trying to pick fights, act holier-than-thou, and oh, definitely this shit:

But what I'm seeing more and more, is that people are trying their best to characterize their "adversary" opinion as something as close as possible to any of the cardinal sins of the forum. If someone critiques a developer, for example, someone will try to frame it as a "lazy dev" rethoric. People dont want to get banned, so some of them would back down from a valid argument before it can be framed as such.

Click to shrink...

for instance, right here! in this very thread!

See, this is exactly the type of post I was talking about. Completely civil, and yet it necessarily puts the burden on trans folks and their allies to justify the validity of their stance to you. Shit's tiring.

Click to shrink...

queer people don't want to see a dozen threads about jk rowling being a bigot either! we fucking know! and we're tired of it! these threads do not benefit queer people, they just rub this shit in our faces more and more and give some (usually) cishet allies here a place where they can show off how good of an ~ally~ so they can feel good about themselves. and yet if someone like me were to say this, we'd be accused of trying to silence discussion or dismissing concerns from trans people or whatever the fuck. because there is a dire problem on this forum of performative wokeness, of trying to score points on other posters and call out anyone with a controversial opinion to get them banned for ~justice~. and it's god damn exhausting and it's making this site miserable without confining myself to a handful of threads.

 

[aerie]

What is wrong with me wondering if we need 100 JK Rowling threads in a thread about the health of this forum? Why are you attacking me for this? Honest question.

Click to shrink...

What you're arguing for here is coming from a place of privilege. There are better places to put our focus and criticisms, especially during Pride.

 

[Deleted member 42055]

What you're arguing for here is coming from a place of privilege. There are better places to put focus and criticism, especially during Pride.

Click to shrink...

Thank you. Saved me a response, which would probably have been very testy.

 

[Ellyshia]

It would be one thing if the world was all sunshine and flowers, but the world is genuinely on fire and will likely be for years to come. I think this site is a pretty good reflection of that. Etcetera forum Is basically just an aggregate of news we would see elsewhere anyways.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

This is a discussion forum. We discuss things here. You jumping on my post is exactly why this thread exists.

Click to shrink...

That poster shared their feelings just the same, yet you're describing it as being "jumped on" and are already on to the "this is a discussion forum" jargon. This type of shit is exactly why no one is interested in entertaining these bad-faith discussions with some of you on these matters. Their concern was genuine, you weren't really attacked and you pulled the woe is me card right off the bat while completely ignoring anything else said.

 

[Ruisu]

This is a discussion forum. We discuss things here. You jumping on my post is exactly why this thread exists.

Click to shrink...

They're not really jumping on your post anymore than you're "jumping" at the threads you mentioned though are they
This isn't an attack, or a personal affront, hell they're not even being agressive

 

[flkRaven]

because there is a dire problem on this forum of performative wokeness, of trying to score points on other posters and call out anyone with a controversial opinion to get them banned for ~justice~. and it's god damn exhausting and it's making this site miserable without confining myself to a handful of threads.

Click to shrink...

This is a wonderful sentence. Dunk or be dunked on. Reminds me of the Bieber thread the other week where everyone was clamoring to call him a trash rapist.

 

[Deleted member 4321]

Ban fewer people but give warnings/send PMs to people who are being jerks.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

We generally encourage threads such as this, the only time we close them is when they start to get hostile or unproductive. Like, we're not going to allow people to come in here and complain about their bans or say how horrible staff is. We're people too and your words to affect us; everyone always tries their best and we do everything with the best of intentions.

But general feedback about how we manage threads and the site as a whole? Absolutely, go for it. We're always looking for constructive feedback.

Click to shrink...

There are some suggestions being pushed that things posted on the forum are only viewed by people who are members and thus the wider platform/reference value of the site in the broader gaming community is being questioned due to that. Since you're an admin, can you elaborate a little on the reach of the forum, like generalized analytics on lurkers, page views, search engine results, etc.?

 

[subpar spatula]

I am probably one of the more hostile posters due to my own stubbornness. All I can say is learn that you don't need to reply to every one. Your own temperament will change for the better, and you are less likely to catch a ban.

 

[Deleted member 4034]

But this thought process is cowardly right? It effectively boils down to: 'we can't do anything about it so lets not bring it up. Lets only talk about "positive" stuff.'

Click to shrink...

But I didn't say any of that.

And this sort of thing is where I start getting "hostile". When people read what you say and then guess what you really mean.

My severe overestimation is in reference to when people get defensive over certain conversations or allegations and I'm sitting here thinking "what exactly can Era do that you're afraid of?" Usually when someone people like gets called out for doing something shitty.

 

[Deleted member 32822]

People do get really heated on here for no reason. The other day, someone posted that they had 400 hours in Animal Crossing. I was impressed, and remarked that they really got their money's worth. Then, some random curses me out for saying that just because someone spent 400 hours in a game doesn't mean they don't deserve QoL updates. I was like...what the hell?

 

[Speevy]

Ban fewer people but give warnings/send PMs to people who are being jerks.

Click to shrink...

I think the ban thing is a result of months of discussions about how actions weren't happening swiftly enough to those insensitive to marginalized groups.

They upgraded the ban hammer to a ban laser.

 

[Magic-Man]

This forum can be pretty negative on both sides sometimes, to the point where I need to take a break or ignore threads just to stay positive. Especially on Etcetera, where the first page tends to focus mostly on the negative. I get the need to spread awareness for topics, but there's only so much that I can take before going into "world is useless" territory. That's just a personal thing though.

Tbh, I sorta think that we need to split Etcetera Forum into two different divisions, at least for the time being. One would concentrate on more positive and fandom-related topics like movies and such. There's a lot of good threads that can get lost in the clutter of the average news day. The other forum would be for politics and world news. The mental health thread should be pinned in both (I've actually had to search for it on multiple occasions, surprised it isn't more visible).

Also (unrelated to my preceding paragraphs), I wish that the community wouldn't automatically assume the worst in people all of the time. I remember making a post about liking my best friend some months ago, and I was sorta blasted with toxicity. I got some genuine advice in there with helped me out a lot, but a lot of it was insults and assumptions that weren't true and discouraged me from asking for advice from anybody on this forum for a while. It was honestly quite depressing.

This is just my opinion though. Maybe this forum isn't the best for my mental health.

 

[Odrion]

Nevermind, not worth it.

 

[lorddarkflare]

But I didn't say any of that.

And this sort of thing is where I start getting "hostile". When people read what you say and then guess what you really mean.

Click to shrink...

Okay, fair, then what do you mean? There are not many conclusions that can be drawn from the original statement.

 

[Squarehard]

I am probably one of the more hostile posters due to my own stubbornness. All I can say is learn that you don't need to reply to every one. Your own temperament will change for the better, and you are less likely to catch a ban.

Click to shrink...

I have to say from personal perspective, you've actually been a lot better than in the past, as you own up to mistakes when they happen.

It's harder to grow than stay the same.

Not that my opinion matters much anyways, and we've really never crossed paths before in any posts, but just thought I'd let you know. :D

 

[Armadilo]

Lets try to be happy and I guess Like you said, no politics

 

[PaulloDEC]

I think the ban thing is a result of months of discussions about how actions weren't happening swiftly enough to those insensitive to marginalized groups.

They upgraded the ban hammer to a ban laser.

Click to shrink...

The ban stuff is always going to be awkward, because we literally have half the forum demanding harsher punishments and the other half demanding more leniency.

I don't envy the mod team here. It's a difficult, sometimes impossible job.

 

[flkRaven]

The ban stuff is always going to be awkward, because we literally have half the forum demanding harsher punishments and the other half demanding more leniency.

I don't envy the mod team here. It's a difficulty, sometimes impossible job.

Click to shrink...

Ban the people requesting more bans lmao

 

[Fanto]

We generally encourage threads such as this, the only time we close them is when they start to get hostile or unproductive. Like, we're not going to allow people to come in here and complain about their bans or say how horrible staff is. We're people too and your words to affect us; everyone always tries their best and we do everything with the best of intentions.

But general feedback about how we manage threads and the site as a whole? Absolutely, go for it. We're always looking for constructive feedback.

Click to shrink...

I think there should be a general feedback thread then if this is something that is supposed to be encouraged. Most forums have them. If you're always looking for constructive feedback, then why not have an official place where people can give it? Sending private messages to staff or randomly opening threads like this isn't the same thing. I truly think that threads like this move fast and become overwhelming for the staff specifically because there has never been an official place set aside for these "meta" conversations to exist without the chance of being locked and shutdown.

Yes, a new feedback forum 3 years into the life of the site would probably get overwhelmed with people wanting to post in it. Yes, it would need to have some hard and fast rules and people would need to adhere to them if they don't want to get banned (perhaps even just thread-banned from posting in the feedback forum for a while, but that's a topic for the feedback forum I think). Yes, it would require people on the moderation staff to perhaps have to do some more work because at least some of them would need to keep an eye on it and respond to people in it. However, I think the benefits for the community as a whole to have a place to give feedback or ask questions about moderation in a civil and respectful manner would be good for the long term health of the site.

 

[Mariolee]

We generally encourage threads such as this, the only time we close them is when they start to get hostile or unproductive. Like, we're not going to allow people to come in here and complain about their bans or say how horrible staff is. We're people too and your words to affect us; everyone always tries their best and we do everything with the best of intentions.

But general feedback about how we manage threads and the site as a whole? Absolutely, go for it. We're always looking for constructive feedback.

Click to shrink...

Ah I see. I guess I've always felt like, for example the last thread, any criticism of the site was criticism of the moderators themselves. Now that I think about it, most of the threads that were locked were getting toxic or were complaining about specific bans. Fair enough.

Again, just give us a warning before closing this thread if our behavior is going on the downside.

People do get really heated on here for no reason. The other day, someone posted that they had 400 hours in Animal Crossing. I was impressed, and remarked that they really got their money's worth. Then, some random curses me out for saying that just because someone spent 400 hours in a game doesn't mean they don't deserve QoL updates. I was like...what the hell?

Click to shrink...

I do feel this way as well, and partially I am to blame as well. People definitely feel itchy on the trigger to post something sarcastic or be a smart-ass when sometimes people just want to post, be jolly, and have a good time. It feels like we're constantly punished for being happy about something. This is something I'm working on myself.

 

[Deleted member 42055]

What is wrong with me wondering if we need 100 JK Rowling threads in a thread about the health of this forum? Why are you attacking me for this? Honest question.

Click to shrink...

Just so you don't claim you were dogpiled without an actual response -

Say there was a famous individual who had shown over time to be racist. Now say for whatever reason the general population doesn't know this because they aren't following said person on social media. Say the Black Era community then decided to make a thread which catalogued that person's racist comments so as to educate others who may not know.

How would anyone react if a white person started to complain that such a thread exists? If more threads were made when that famous individual continued to show themselves as a racist? They wouldn't dare. No one would dare.

You as a straight person questioning why the Era LGBT community wants to keep visible the gross views of a major public figure... see where I'm going here ?
Just ignore the thread(s) if it's not an important issue to you and respect that it is clearly an important issue to many on here.

 

[davepoobond]

often the only resolution to most of what ails the forum ends up being ban more people, so people constantly try to get each other banned by calling each other out for having opinions they don't like.

 

[Baphomet]

Forums are designed to get hostile , I don't see a way you can eliminate that besides not loggin in again.

 

[Mik317]

yall need to use the thread ignore feature more.

it allows those threads to still exist and reach their intended target and also allows it so news doesn't get dropped to the second page all the time.

Because its a losing battle otherwise.

 

[Mariolee]

I wonder, is there a way to bring up genuine concerns over certain media like Naughty Dog's crunch problems or JK Rowlings TERF tirade, whilst still allowing posters to still enjoy and celebrate the media? I think this is a problem this site runs into a lot.

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

Just wanna reiterate what I said in the last thread that the site's "Latest Threads" feature is really nice if you want to just see the new threads and not the most active. Not sure if you can separate it by forum, though.

 

[Deleted member 1476]

I think the JK Rowling threads are a good example. Do we really need a new thread every time she says something terrible? It's all just the same "fuck JKR!" posts every single time. What is this accomplishing?

Click to shrink...

Your troll posts on Patriot threads accomplish nothing yet you still do them.

At least people complaining about JKR are doing against a shameful bigot.

 

[Tobor]

Except that resetera is characteristically toxic. There are gaming forums that are nicer and more constructive than this one. There are leftist forums that are kinder and more supportive than this one. Why is that?

Click to shrink...

I would guess it's because there are less people? The more users the harder it is to moderate.

Most of what I'm reading in this thread is not exclusive to this forum. It's an internet/social media existential crisis, and it is exacerbated by volume.

 

[Speevy]

The ban stuff is always going to be awkward, because we literally have half the forum demanding harsher punishments and the other half demanding more leniency.

I don't envy the mod team here. It's a difficult, sometimes impossible job.

Click to shrink...

I think the proof is in the results. It always is.

I remember users saying they did not feel safe here because of how people treated them.

The mods definitely listened.

The question is whether that has made us into a place where more people want to post. Are we bleeding users or growing our userbase?

 

[data]

Again, just give us a warning before closing this thread if our behavior is going on the downside.

Click to shrink...

This can be hard, because it can become a timing thing where moderators are not available. By the time they are, the discussion could've already devolved past the point of no return.

I think mod posts are the warnings that we see when they have had a discussion and can see a way to attempt to right the course of the discussion from devolving into hostile discussion again.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I'm aware of that thread; I remember being surprised more than once to see it back on the front page. I'm glad you were able to generate tangible results!

But I think you'd likely agree that threads like that are the exception rather than the rule. Is it worth the negativity for the one thread in fifty that creates those kinds of results? I don't know. Maybe it is.

Click to shrink...

Don't give me credit, that should go to Sibersk Esto and everyone else who kept that thread going. I put it on ignore because I was already aware of Vic being a PoS and the subject matter is triggering for me.

Sure, but for I still think there is value to them. Like if you were harassed/abused/mistreated by a gaming industry figure, and you posted on Twitter about it, and you got a mix of support, of hate, probably a lot of threatening DMs, you might back off Twitter for a bit. Then you might go on Reddit and see what people are saying (likely a shit show). Maybe you see a GameFAQs thread shitting on you and calling you a liar. Then you see a thread here and most of it is supportive, people doubting you are being banned, and maybe you feel a little better knowing the gaming community isn't complete shit.

I'm sure in 90% of cases that doesn't happen, but if it does even 10% of the time that seems worth it to me.

 

[Antrax]

I'm aware of that thread; I remember being surprised more than once to see it back on the front page. I'm glad you were able to generate tangible results!

But I think you'd likely agree that threads like that are the exception rather than the rule. Is it worth the negativity for the one thread in fifty that creates those kinds of results? I don't know. Maybe it is.

Click to shrink...

I actually really think that thread should be the model. It was a single thread (which made it easy for victims who didn't want the constant reminder on their dashboard to hit ignore on), and the title was updated constantly as new things developed. Threadmarks were used extremely well, and as a whole, I don't think it's any surprise that it's one of the more well-known Era threads off-site (not by scum people, but actual folks doing work in that space; a random friend of mine from college who has never played a video game was sharing links from it).

queer people don't want to see a dozen threads about jk rowling being a bigot either! we fucking know! and we're tired of it! these threads do not benefit queer people, they just rub this shit in our faces more and more and give some (usually) cishet allies here a place where they can show off how good of an ~ally~ so they can feel good about themselves.

Click to shrink...

I also have to echo this sentiment. I've been out as bi for over a year now, but I think I'm finally ready to say I'm not cisgender (maybe genderfluid, maybe just trans, do want to start transitioning, no idea how). I have to admit that constant reminders of how that's going to go over with a lot of people is ...... not great. Reminders of hatred and violence aren't really necessary. I already get that accidentally* and so intentionally saying "hey you, come look at these frequent reminders of what people think about you, don't look away!" is not my preferred method of handling it.

*for example, you know the fun meme going around where you plug your birthday and "Florida Man" into google to see what story comes up? My birthday is too close to the Pulse shooting so I just got stories about that. Super fun! /s :(

 

[Painguy]

I blame it on the twitter based threads. Twitter is just too much honestly, and its vibe leaks into a lot of the negative threads. Imo most negative threads seem to be based on twitter drama. Either make a seperate board for twitter related threads or just ban twitter threads imo.

Twitter is a mistake.

 

[B.O.O.M.]

Except that resetera is characteristically toxic. There are gaming forums that are nicer and more constructive than this one. There are leftist forums that are kinder and more supportive than this one. Why is that?

Click to shrink...

Just for my reference, can you provide some examples?

 

[Speevy]

Just for my reference, can you provide some examples?

Click to shrink...

People generally don't like to provide examples of posts because that always risks calling out users, which creates a messy situation an an almost instant thread lock.

 

[Quzar]

Just for my reference, can you provide some examples?

Click to shrink...

I'm assuming they're talking about the Waypoint forums?

 

[Hound]

There seems to be a big disconnect between the posters who just want a video game forum that's not flooded with neo nazis, posters who just finished their 100 or graduate level social science course, and other people who are extremely into their individuality relevant topics. Some people just have different priorities and there's tension from that.

I've seen a lot of posters argue in good faith but have the opposite opinion of the masses and they get banned simply for having a dissenting opinion. They don't name call, they aren't disrespectful, they simply state their opinion, right or wrong, and provide reasons why they think that way. Honestly, I'd give specifics but I'd be afraid I'd get labeled as being on their side and catch a ban myself. But it kind of defeats the purpose in certain discussions if everyone thinks the same way.

Click to shrink...

This concerns me as well. I'm not in the habit of finding myself agreeing with people who get banned for things like that but I think it contributes to negativity on web forms. It's extremely difficult to have positive quality conversations when the mod team seems to hand out bans like candy for simple dissenting opinions and lets everyone else dog pile those posters with low effort "fuck off outta here" and equally aggressive wall-of-text type replies. Seems to create an expectation and normalization of extreme hostility. There's certain mod(s) that seem to hang out around those types of threads but that's none of my business... Note I've seen this type of behavior on other unrelated hobbyist forms that I've been on in the past. It just seems to never make things more positive, although this place is better moderated overall.

 

[Pirate Bae]

There are some suggestions being pushed that things posted on the forum are only viewed by people who are members and thus the wider platform/reference value of the site in the broader gaming community is being questioned due to that. Since you're an admin, can you elaborate a little on the reach of the forum, like generalized analytics on lurkers, page views, search engine results, etc.?

Click to shrink...

I won't get into specifics for the sake of forum security, but our reach is quite wide. We've been featured on many news outlets in the gaming industry and outside of it.

So in short, to answer your question, yes. Many people who have not registered for an account are aware of us.

 

[timedesk]

Ban the people requesting more bans lmao

Click to shrink...

Not to be a dick, maybe you weren't being serious, but a lot of the threads that discussed harsher punishments were made by LGBTQ+ and minority posters who felt that their threads and discussions were being harassed by bad faith posters. Lots of examples were posted of people harassing those threads and being given slaps on the wrist. The mod teams made efforts to talk to them and adjust their policies.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

Except that resetera is characteristically toxic. There are gaming forums that are nicer and more constructive than this one. There are leftist forums that are kinder and more supportive than this one. Why is that?

Click to shrink...

What are these forums? Not a gotcha, honest question.

 

[Arc]

Your troll posts on Patriot threads accomplish nothing yet you still do them.

At least people complaining about JKR are doing against a shameful bigot.

Click to shrink...

False equivalency. Sports threads are not serious, and that's how people talk about sports. Fun is not against the TOS last I checked.

I used the JKR threads as an example because it's recent. I can acknowledge that there may have been better examples to use instead, especially in June.

 

[B.O.O.M.]

People generally don't like to provide examples of posts because that always risks calling out users, which creates a messy situation an an almost instant thread lock.

Click to shrink...

oh sorry I should have been clearer. I meant examples for the more positive forums

I'm assuming they're talking about the Waypoint forums?

Click to shrink...

Thanks. Never checked it out before.

 

[Pirate Bae]

I think there should be a general feedback thread then if this is something that is supposed to be encouraged. Most forums have them. If you're always looking for constructive feedback, then why not have an official place where people can give it? Sending private messages to staff or randomly opening threads like this isn't the same thing. I truly think that threads like this move fast and become overwhelming for the staff specifically because there has never been an official place set aside for these "meta" conversations to exist without the chance of being locked and shutdown.

Yes, a new feedback forum 3 years into the life of the site would probably get overwhelmed with people wanting to post in it. Yes, it would need to have some hard and fast rules and people would need to adhere to them if they don't want to get banned (perhaps even just thread-banned from posting in the feedback forum for a while, but that's a topic for the feedback forum I think). Yes, it would require people on the moderation staff to perhaps have to do some more work because at least some of them would need to keep an eye on it and respond to people in it. However, I think the benefits for the community as a whole to have a place to give feedback or ask questions about moderation in a civil and respectful manner would be good for the long term health of the site.

Click to shrink...

I think that's a good idea, thanks for suggesting it. <3

I'll make a note to bring it up to the rest of staff~

 

[Poodlestrike]

I think that the discussion of "unnecessary threads" is sort of a red herring. Like people have said, the "ignore thread" button exists. You don't even have to go in to it. A certain amount of curation is good and necessary and part of the job as a mod, but like, there's topics that people feel are important to discuss, even if others don't like them or feel like they're necessary. If the issue is how people respond in threads generally, that's one thing, but the allowed topics of discussion isn't part of that.

I think the proof is in the results. It always is.

I remember users saying they did not feel safe here because of how people treated them.

The mods definitely listened.

The question is whether that has made us into a place where more people want to post. Are we bleeding users or growing our userbase?

Click to shrink...

We've grown a bit since the last time I checked, up to 50k users. I remember looking after I became a mod (so after the end of May last year, not sure when exactly I looked so it might have been more recent than that) we were around 46k?

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I won't get into specifics for the sake of forum security, but our reach is quite wide. We've been featured on many news outlets in the gaming industry and outside of it.

So in short, to answer your question, yes. Many people who have not registered for an account are aware of us.

Click to shrink...

That's what I figured. Thanks, appreciate the response.

 

[lorddarkflare]

I wonder, is there a way to bring up genuine concerns over certain media like Naughty Dog's crunch problems or JK Rowlings TERF tirade, whilst still allowing posters to still enjoy and celebrate the media? I think this is a problem this site runs into a lot.

Click to shrink...

Except that resetera is characteristically toxic. There are gaming forums that are nicer and more constructive than this one. There are leftist forums that are kinder and more supportive than this one. Why is that?

Click to shrink...

I think the main problem here is that this forum mixes important subject matter and fun gamer/geek stuff. We talk about the light stuff. We talk about the heavy stuff.

We are doomed to be stuck in this morass because we shit where we eat.

I like coming to this forum, I like that mix, but I also remember not to spend all my time here like I used to do. It is bad for my mental health in the same way social media is.

 

[data]

I blame it on the twitter based threads. Twitter is just too much honestly, and its vibe leaks into a lot of the negative threads. Imo most negative threads seem to be based on twitter drama. Either make a seperate board for twitter related threads or just ban twitter threads imo.

Twitter is a mistake.

Click to shrink...

It can be social media in general, not just Twitter that leads to the negativeness because of how divisive their communities can be. I don't feel we need to ban twitter threads; I mean, we even have guidelines for it, but some still slip through / can be allowed because it can be a discussion to be had ( at times. Other times it can be off-site drama with twitter people going at each other ). It's also sometimes how people reveal news / accusations.