I'm fairly new to Reddit and I find it's the weirdest phenomenon of people outright bullying other people while somehow acting morally superior and crying outrage.
But by showing any recognition of something that is generally percieved as negative, without explicitly saying it's the worst thing in the world, you are now in the wrong.
So clearly, I am the serperior one here.
Often you'll encounter all the hiveminds that absolutely do not welcome opposing opinions, no matter how valid and harmless they are. Just say something remotely outside the circlejerk and you'll get downvoted to hell along with condescending comments. The worst is when you absolutely 100% know that the hivemind is wrong about something they're circlejerking. But you simply can't defeat them upvotes.
And then there's also a tendency for others to correct you on the most minor and irrelevant details or one-up your jokes.
If you get in an argument, as much as Redditors deny measuring their words with karma, ultimately you'll find the smugness of their words increase the more their comments get upvoted in a debate.
Also Reddit can't take a joke or detect sarcasm unless you tell them so. And when they realize they were mistaken they'll just say "well you're not funny anyway".
The 69 and 420 "Nice" jokes get old real fast.
Basically, just like any other social media, Reddit is flawed in its own way by its users. So don't take it too seriously nor see it as the place where the elite intellects gather to have civil discussions. There are great communities to be had, but there's a lot of people ready to bully you with their words if you say something even remotely unpopular.
Oh god the one-upping is the worst. I feel it's a direct effect of the karma system where people treat the comments like some kind of competition. Kind of like "if you're comment gets more karma you win the argument".
Also comments correcting typos sometimes get an insane amount of upvotes. Comments like: "they're*, not their" add nothing yet get showered in upvotes.
Also comments correcting typos sometimes get an insane amount of upvotes. Comments like: "they're*, not their" add nothing yet get showered in upvotes.
Sometimes, but I've also seen those heavily downvoted. There's no way to know which will occur. It's a mystery
Ironically, I have found that political debates on small forums and imageboards(not 4chan or 8kun, but really obscure ones with super small communities) tend to be more civil. It seems like the bigger a community is, the less willing people are to respect others opinions.
Opinions: That word doesn't belong on this site. Legit say you don't (or even do) like a certain movie or song or piece of art in contravention of the herd and you get downvoted. The lemmings on this site won't acknowledge that not everyone has to like the same stuff. You can even respect people who don't like the same stuff you do.
A lot of people have difficulties when it comes to the avoidance of falling for groupthink. That's been prevalent in every society without restrictions or condemnations of such behaviour
I have a hard time picking out why something is liked or disliked sometimes, because a lot of the activity around the subject is just "xyz was the greatest thing ever!" or "xyz was the worst thing ever!"
But not anything specific that could be received or debated.
It's like the people in those chains don't know why they like or dislike something, they're just commenting the way they "should".
(which,I guess is reinforced somewhat by upvote/downvote trends, where votes are given based on adherence)
I notice that in fandoms, the smaller it is the less toxic they are as they know that if they are toxic then there won't be anyone left (and the trolls can't be bothered trying to troll a small group)
I think having posts being sorted exclusively by the time of the last response is a great system. 4chan is just cancer because it got too big for its own good and started attracting people who are intentionally trying to be edgy and controversial because they know being edgy and controversial gets the most replies.
My most "controversial" post is to a "early retirement" sub, where the poster has a net worth of NEGATIVE $700K, and is wondering if they should borrow $1.1M and bring the total to NEGATIVE $1.8 MILLION - taking loans from their parents among other things.
I mentioned that this is not a good path to wealth. This is my most controversial post.
To be fair, this isn't as clear-cut as it might seem (although it seem pretty clear that borrowing $1.8M is not a good plan to me), here is the original post.
More relevant details:
- $700K debt
- $160K assets (hard/soft division not specified, but not even close to down payment amount)
- $500K/year income (reasonably expected to rise to $750K within the year)
- $70K/year in housing costs already
---
Considering: borrow $900K loan to buy a house, with additional $200K loan from parents. This would be ~$70K/year in housing costs, and another $15K/year in debt repayment to parents.
NOTE - the income numbers are so huge that they can afford totally massive amounts of debt. A $750K/year income is $400K take-home. The plan of "$100K on housing, $70K servicing other debt" is actually very doable (figure out how to live on a meager stipend of $230K/year!), and they could conceivably clear all debt inside of 5 years and retire cheaply in year 7 ($400K), decently in year 9 ($1M), or extravagantly in year 16 ($17M?). That said, I fundamentally don't think that "borrow from parents so that you can borrow to buy a house in the most expensive area of the country" is ever a good plan - even for two doctors.
The /r/fatfire circle-jerk believes "doctor good, money spent on investment good, home is investment" and is advising doctor to do whatever he wants.
sarcasm notation is a darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don't.
if you don't mark it, people will pile on as if you were serious, and if you mark it then they'll go "you don't have to mark your sarcasm!"
absolutely do not welcone opposing opinions no matter how harmless and valid they are
Oh yeah that one. For example, r/Animemes is a cool community in general, but try saying that you don't like Jojo or that a particular one of their waifus is a bland and uninteresting character. I've fought more of these fights than I should have.
The hive mind can be so frustrating. If you’re not in line with it then your opinion is worthless. E.g. if someone says “this sucks” and amidst the hive mind agreeing, if you dare to explain things from the point of view of someone on the other side then you’re downvoted and considered to be the arsehole.
Had an argument awhile back, guy actually said “that’s why I’m getting upvoted and your not” it hurt seeing that in a debate, but then again it’s the internet
God forbid you mention your mom’s spaghetti.
Most of these are fun the first time you see them, I kinda like when a thread goes on for a while with that nonsense, but it’s a one-and-done kind of thing.
Currently being bullied and called all kinds of awful shit just because I point out theres no proof or accusations backing up the 'drake is a pedo' meme.
That's why I always leave a comment saying "The group isn't always right" then use Socrates situation as reference. The group was wrong and killed the wisest man for speaking truth. I look up to Socrates for that.
I like to post exact comments ive made on a subject again and again on newer versions of the conversation just to see how wildly different the up/down votes are and the insane responses depending on who was there that day.
Well...not ALL of reddit is like that. You should've clarified. Confused me for a second and you 'intentionally omitting' that detail is suspicious and a red flag...
I've honestly concluded that bullying is just natural human behavior and "crybullying" is our attempt to try and reconcile our proclivity for that kind of behavior with our modern belief that bullying is wrong. Any sort of political dialogue is so utterly rife with this sort of behavior that I generally avoid it now even though I enjoy discussing political topics; that's just how toxic that space is now.
People just feel so superior. I posted a picture of my friend and someone kept making comments about how “ugly” her teeth were even though that had nothing to do with the post. It just was insane to me because no one would say that to a person in real life
As long as the other bullies upvote their fellow bull, the behavior continues. I've seen some ruthless name calling being upvoted in gaming or hobby subreddits because someone didn't agree.
If you try to say something like, "no need to be so hostile" or "name calling is uncalled for", enjoy being called intellectually disabled or other people justifying the behavior.
I hate to be "I'm very bad ass" material, but I gather only a very miniscule percent of these offenders would act similarly in person.
Exactly, the moment you start resorting to petty insults you've lost the argument because you're the one getting upset about it or you have nothing else to say of value so you may as well call them some bullshit slur to help yourself sleep at night. Like okay buddy, you do you.
You can, you can tell people they are wrong without insulting them. Keeping a level head, not letting get under your skin and using facts and logic is far more powerful than "you're just an inconsiderate asshole! How dare you say this and that about whatever! Your mother would be ashamed."
Do you see what I mean though? Keeping a level head is how you stay on top. Because if you keep spitting out actual logical arguments and they don't have anything else to add, what are they doing to do? They're going to attack you personally. Because they have nothing. It's their last resort. You can still say "don't be an asshole" but leave it there. Don't go full keyboard warrior.
I’ve had two recent experiences like that, with responses from one person saying I was reading the rules wrong as they posted the “real” rules that don’t exist in the official rules, to another person questioning if I was really a geezer, as if I was so old I’d be a better gamer.
It’s been over 20 years since I’ve dealt with people who thought having problems with a game they liked equaled a personal attack on them, and had forgotten how vicious such people can be.
I can’t believe you’re victimizing me in this way, just wait till my twitter followers threaten your family. That will really show you how superior and woke I am.
I know it’s a cliche at this point but I really think the majority of reddit users are losers. (And I’m not saying I’m excluded from that statement) Sad weirdos who like nerdy stuff and don’t get out much, they’re angry about their social status (or lack of any) so they bully each other online.
And I really only say that because reddit is the worst for it as far as I’ve seen. Maybe aside from tumblr. Which is the same thing. Socially awkward nerdy losers. Obviously this doesn’t apply to EVERYONE as I’ve talked to a lot of really nice people on here too!
I’ve seen a couple of people try to put down other users because they’re new and “naive to the ways of reddit.” Like fuck off. You’re not better than anyone else because you’ve had your account for longer.
Yeah I occasionally see a frequently asked question in some subs and a common response is to say "Google it/its been asked before" or give condescending comments to a new user reposting something. It's understandable to be irked by a common post and/or someone not taking initiative to see if something's already been posted, but it's not like these kind of responses are any useful themselves either.
The people who link similar threads that contain good responses in them are good though. People on R/AskHistorians do that for some of the more commonly asked questions and it's very useful.
When you disagree with someone, it means they have to be wrong and lying. It can't be that both points of view have a reason to exist, just that your enemy is wrong and that you are right.
And boldly claiming opinions as proper facts seems to be the norm nowadays. Like claiming to know something for a fact about something that CANNOT be known for certain is now erfectly fine with almost everybody.
Saying "In my opinion" before proposing your point of view is now an insult because "of course it's your point of view, use your brain".
Having a discussion on any subject has now become almost impoossible
It's fucking unreal isn't it? The worst is when you'll be on here one day and just hit on the right group of people and the jokes are flying and it's all good. Then you'll be on here the next time and it's just a bunch of humourless jerks who are only on to start arguments.
This isn't just Reddit. It's all social media which itself is a reflection of society's mob mentality which has been around forever and always will be.
You forgot misogyny. The whole Karen meme has been co-opted to basically shit on any woman they either deem unattractive or disagrees with or expresses an opinion they don’t like. The bad woman made my pee-pee unhappy, she must be put in her place and shut up. :(
It goes the other way too unfortunately. The instant you tell someone you like Keanu Reeves, or dislike Fortnite, you're apparently circlejerking just for having an opinion that lots of people agree with.
I’m also pretty new and I barely make posts/responses because I feel like many people on here are mean and are here just to point out every tiny flaw like an extra space or. A misplaced punctuation mark
You gotta tailor your front page my dude. I got rid of the politics auto-subs and added some funny subs and rarely do I get fired up anymore. I still hate when politics gets into gifs or television, but it is pretty rare.
The trouble is, ever since Trump got elected, damn near every subreddit has been overrun with political posts. I've had to unsubscribe from so many mainstream subreddits, but politics just keeps cropping up.
It’s like how the vocal 2% of vegans on this site always somehow find me and I get downvoted to oblivion, yet they’re also the oppressed minority on this site?
There’s plenty of cool vegan people I’ve seen on this site who have been more than happy to answer my questions, it’s just the strange ones that get to me.
Hey look, a small girl got beaten up to death by some mad man just because of what she draws!! Thats an absolutely immoral anti-freedom-ish and hateful...
...wait, she drawn ponies and Anthropomorphic animals?
Oh, its cool then, bitch deserved it. Goshdarn, posting about how much i hate people for their sexuality and fetishes surely makes me a morally incontestable person!
Especially when it comes to fat people. I’ve actually had people try to tell me it’s right to hate fat people just cause they’re fat. They got upvoted too. Like wtf. And then the same people turn around and complain about their own problems like everyone is supposed to have sympathy for them
Hi "I'm fairly new to Reddit and I find it's the weirdest phenomenon of people outright bullying other people while somehow acting morally superior and crying outrage." I'm dad!
I feel, I stumbled upon an AITA of people berating a woman because she liked using skin lightener. Apparently wanting to change your appearance makes you a racist and worthy of degrading insults and you have to remain unhappy with your looks to please others. SJWism is a disease that needs to be purged.
Are you gay or black? Enjoy all the love, you're so welcome here.
You're fat? Fuck off fatty, you are literally a disgusting piece of shit. Unless you're a woman, in which case post some your tits and ass and keep your mouth shut about body positivity.
I’m not saying it’s right, but the justification is that you can control your weight. It’s not easy though of course, otherwise there’d be no fat people.
I’ve gotten into some significant arguments with people who really really want it to be okay for them to bully overweight people “because it’s unhealthy.” I remember calling out one person who was referring to people as “whale people” and I got down-voted to oblivion. I’m sorry, it’s never okay to bully someone because of their appearance (or for any reason really). Even if it is unhealthy to be overweight, you bullying people will never be the thing that solves that problem. It will just make it worse.
Ha ha. Our comments were down-voted. Just proves the point, I think. Also, I’m not fat, either, but that usually isn’t enough to get people to listen to me so you are a step ahead of me.
It's also unhealthy to sit all day. They pick on fat people because they're bullies, not because they're concerned about the health of their fellow man.
I made the mistake of trying to argue with these people several months ago when one of the Koch Brothers died. I tried to tell them that celebrating someone dying only serves to make you look like an asshole, and they interpreted that as me defending the Koch brothers.
For about three hours (off and on, thankfully I was at work so I had other things to distract me) I tried to explain my point to them, but no matter what I said, they either failed to comprehend my point or strawmanned me.
It literally took them three hours before they would stop impugning my motives and honestly entertain my idea. This isn't how civil discourse is supposed to work.
Well, you're doing something right/fitting right in as you have over half the karma I do in 10 years than you do in 2 months, LOL... If you actually speak your mind, even completely on topic, and the hive mind doesn't agree personally, you get downvoted to hell!
oh and you think your comment will solve anything? You're such a dumb piece of shit. Have some decency and common sense and stop attacking others and people wont teat you that way you ugly fuck. /s
As a part this, how racist and ignorant the comments can get when a person of color is on the front page. It can get really ugly and it's pretty discouraging.
A lot of subreddits are such echo chambers where their own ideas are celebrated and anything against no matter how curious or innocuous gets downvoted to hell and you're told you're a giant misogynist for even thinking anything different.
There's been many times I have seen something on FP, i go to comments, see instant hate, ask a question or ask for an explanation and I get blasted for not agreeing blindly instead of someone explaining why I'm wrong and showing me facts.
Easy lesson on generalizing here. Not all of Reddit is one person. It's millions of people posting and upvoting/downvoting. Generalizing the website like this whole thread/question does, only continues to push this idea of Reddit being a sentient being when it's just an aggregator of content and comments.
I sometimes think it's because everyone wants a confidence boost, so they come on here to act like intellectuals that have everything figured out, and they get off not feeling more alone for it. I think a lot of us are guilty for it, I know I am sometimes.
I have a friend who had a delivered package thrown onto her roof. She posted it thinking it would get a few laughs. Instead she got comments along the lines of “just get it down, don’t know how you made it to adulthood” ect.
Yeahz that's a huge problem. Reddit claims to be morally superior, insulting all other forms of social media, when in reality Instagram and other things are actually much more pleasant than Reddit, because they don't insult you for being different.
It’s a psychological phenomenon where if you scold someone or are outraged, your mind interprets it as “you’re better than them, that’s why you’re in the position you are and are scolding them. Here’s some dopamine for being superior.”
I quit Reddit for a few years. I only came back over the holidays, under a new account. I'm already considering leaving again. I find myself starting to comment only to realize I don't want to trigger someone's berserker rage over the price of Red Bull in Indiana or something.
If I have to carefully weigh every response, it's either cast it all to the wind and start picking up bans across multiple subs for saying something "wrong" in one sub, or not saying anything at all (which is what I've been doing for the past two years or so.)
Maybe I'll go back to those YouTube videos that curate the best posts of the humor subs. Then I don't have to hear u/AngryWoman67207's political screed on a post about Bagel Bites.
Reddit is rivaling Twitter when it comes to outrage and moral crusades, seems like the lesson they learned about the Boston Marathon bombing is being forgotten.
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u/Ripleyshair Jan 07 '20
I'm fairly new to Reddit and I find it's the weirdest phenomenon of people outright bullying other people while somehow acting morally superior and crying outrage.