(Untitled)

Feb 24, 2009 12:02

goodness. i can't help but think there is significantly more snarky (& i hate that word) flaminess on lj than there was in 2004. i'm 94% neurotic but still take issue with barbarism... it's only the internet.

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yhancik February 24 2009, 21:02:12 UTC
I didn't really notice that.. but I'm also way less active on LJ than I've been a couple of years ago.

You're 94% neurotic and you have the best lj-icons

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bord_du_rasoir February 24 2009, 21:03:58 UTC
My impression is hardly scientific, but my impression is that the level of snark has DEFINITELY shot up since 2004. But I don't know if that's correct. I remember encountering debate back in 2004 and discovering that it was a bastion of, as you put it, barbarism. And today, my recent encounters with politicsforum were initially marred by a shitload of snark, but it's gotten better as people have gotten used to me and I've gotten used to people. And of course, there are communities like stupid_free and sf_drama whose sole reason for being is snark. A look in their archives show stupid_free began in Nov. 2005 with a post or two a day on average, same as 2009, but that's likely because posts are regulated. Sf_drama began Aug. 2007 with about 10 posts a day, and now it's not uncommon for the number of posts to go up passed 20 or 30, or to occasionally exceed 50 ( ... )

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hereticalpigeon February 25 2009, 19:38:25 UTC
i only caught a little bit of that NPR story as i was going out the door, thanks so much for the link!

i think i will better-condensed thoughts after listening to it

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bord_du_rasoir February 24 2009, 21:13:23 UTC
Oh, and I wanted to add that I don't see snark as all that present on personal journals but almost entirely in communities where people of differing p.o.v. congregate. So, like, you don't see the same kind of bickering in obama_2008 and ontd_political where the views are relatively more myopic than in politicsforum, talk_politics, or politicartoons.

Honestly, I just feel it's absurd that people who can use a keyboard and type in coherent sentences, for the most part, don't act more civilly than they act toward one another. I mean, it's obvious in part due to the anonymity of the Internet. Though anonymity is a necessary component, it's not a sufficient explanation for people's behavior. We apparently have a lot of issues that we like to "work out" by way of picking ourselves up by bringing others down. It's really foolish.

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hereticalpigeon February 25 2009, 19:41:10 UTC
it makes me wonder if internet conflict is addictive... like people are getting a high from it & can't stop. you're right- it's not in personal journals, it's communities.

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hereticalpigeon February 25 2009, 19:43:38 UTC
insults can be damaging, even when read on a screen. i've been genuinely hurt several times & don't see why we can't simply be civil... because our contact is not face-to-face doesn't mean we have a free-pass for rudeness.

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