Mastodawn

Synth Morxemplum Mar 5

The modern internet argument cycle: someone posts an opinion. Someone else screenshots it. A third person quote-tweets the screenshot with "this is wild." A fourth person writes a thread about the thread. Nobody has changed their mind. Everyone has lost 40 minutes. The sun sets on another day of human progress.

⏚ Antoine Chambert-Loir Mar 5

@Daojoan Is it so important that people change their minds?
I mean, sharing perspectives (whether agreeing with them or not), identifying communities, is also something human.

@antoinechambertloir @Daojoan this is wild

NormanDunbar Mar 5

@Daojoan Agreed! However, I've heard much the same in conversations too. So perhaps the internet isn't the entire problem. 😉

@NormanDunbar @Daojoan
Except on the internet we can now automate those exchanges with bots and LLMs running on data centres that real people can have conversations about and then never change anyone's minds.

That's progress

@Daojoan Town square conversation topics are way more visible and easier to critique, AND opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one and some advertise more with a stench. Be well, and try not to despair while gazing into the abyss. <3

Ypsilenna Gloomvale Mar 5

@Daojoan I once tried Threads for a while, and people in there didn't comment, quote post, or even screenshot the post they were commenting on. They would just describe it without pinging anyone and then get angry at their description 😆
Then I would scroll a bit more and see someone describing that description and proceed to be outraged. Rinse and repeat. None of these people even talked to each other...

@Daojoan I will often reply to a complete stranger on social media to explain why they are wrong not because I expect them to change their mind but because I consider what they said a danger to others. So I leave clues to warn future readers. It works surprisingly well, especially on Reddit, where threading will surface highly upvoted responses even if the person I responded to calls me an idiot.

Person 1: "Can someone explain this t0 me?"

Person 2: "Oh you are too young." "You don't want to know that, it scary."

Giuseppe Guglielmucci Mar 5

@Daojoan it's not even about changing ideas. Nobody provides arguments, data, premises, reasoning and conclusions.

Graeme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Mar 5

@Daojoan And they don't even alt text the screenshot... 😃

@Daojoan Thousands see it and then comment on it with their close ones, triggering arguments or discussions on how the world is ending. Getting off from the social networks that funnels this type of crap is the ultimate blessing.

A-nom-nom-nom-aly BSC SSC Mar 5

You forgot, 'entire websites spring up that consist of articles containing nothing but screenshots of twitter posts and a few lines of text pointing out that twitter users posted a lot about it'

Dulce Maria Mar 5

@Daojoan love this

Christoff, the human Mar 5

@Daojoan but you're also part of the problem. You appear to be one-sided on this social network and post content that is aimed to be reposted and shared. Your entire readership bursts are designed around it?

Why are you on a social network? Are you a bot?

Jonathan Yu Mar 5

@Daojoan Perhaps this distracts people long enough that other people can make progress?

Was someone supposed to change their mind❓ There was no argument. Perhaps it was just sharing and there were people acknowledging, some validating that "opinion".

Was there intent of progress❓ Or just an exercise in idleness to while away the hours, engaged in the distractions of entertainment❓

ketchup71 Mar 11

@Daojoan Nah. Takes mit 40 minutes alone to cut down my first reply to the character limit. 😁