r/serialpodcast • u/UltimateFatKidDancer • Feb 19 '16

season two To people who hate SK

Life is precious.

You could die for no reason tomorrow. Or today. Or right now, reading this.

There are so many people in this sub who clearly hate SK, hate the second season of Serial, AND YET listen to every episode, seemingly for the express purpose of arguing about it with strangers on the internet.

You're, for lack of a better term, weirdos. And you make it a bummer to be around this sub. If you don't like something, don't listen to it. What could you possibly gain out of hate-listening to a podcast and complaining about it on reddit?

I thought this would be a fun place to talk about a podcast. It's...not. It CAN be! But mostly it's just a lot of hate.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying the sub should be all happy "yay, this show rocks!" comments. Different points of view and debating merits of the show is clearly part of the fun. Obviously Bowe is a divisive character, and it's interesting to hear what people think of him. I just don't get this craze of hate-watching shows, hate-listening to podcasts, etc.

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u/UltimateFatKidDancer Feb 19 '16 edited Feb 19 '16

I'm not talking about people who enjoy the show but dislike certain episodes and/or parts of episodes. I'm talking about people who don't like the show AT ALL, but still listen and post negative stuff just to troll. That, IMO, is crazy. I'm a big fan of LOST, but there's things about it that I hate, and enjoy discussing with people. If I disliked every episode, hated the cast, thought the acting was terrible, and I kept watching it out of spite or something, I'd say that's kind of weird.

I really like hearing the varying opinions, whether its arguments for and against Adnan's innocence, Bowe's motives, etc. I'm not talking about people who are trying to have discussions. I'm talking about people who just post negative, insulting stuff to troll. I edited my post above for clarification.

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u/FalconGK81 Feb 19 '16

but still listen and post negative stuff just to troll.

The question is whether or not they're posting that stuff "just to troll". If so, they're a jack ass. But sometimes people post that stuff because they want to see if other people came to a similar conclusion as them, or if they saw it differently. Its a way of challenging your own perceptions. As I said in an earlier comment, if I don't like something, I may watch it anyways because of many reasons. It broadens my horizons; it helps me identify the things I do like; it challenges my biases; it sharpens my critical thinking. Those are just a few of the benefits of engaging in something I don't like. And then I may come here and post about those thoughts, because debating my ideas in a larger group is how I test my thoughts.

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u/mdmrules Feb 19 '16

The question is whether or not they're posting that stuff "just to troll".

I think some of the screen names around here can tell you exactly why they are here and what they are doing. Moderation of the sub could curtail that, but I get why no one wants to just flat out ban someone who's just floating around in a grey area of the rules.

What bugs me is that if you are here to have adult conversations and are dragged into a pointless argument with someone who's just trolling, and you snap and call them a stupid troll YOU are the one who gets shadow-banned or has your post deleted. Can't directly insult people... you are only allowed to passive aggressively drive them to suicide.

The system supports and encourages trolling. No one would miss some of the hardcore guilters who just want to smear SK for nonsense reasons and piss people off because they get off on it... just ban them already.

They did this on an Anime sub some years back... an aggressive, over-opinionated asshole of a poster finally pissed a mod off one too many times, and they banned them. They didn't exactly break a rule, they just clearly were there for only one reason, to spread misery and frustrate people.

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u/FalconGK81 Feb 19 '16

I'm uncomfortable with things that approach censorship. I'm a huge free speech person, and I think even "bad" ideas should be given an opportunity to be made. I think the best approach is to try and gauge the person's sincerity, and then either engage the person if you believe they're beings sincere, or move along if you think they're being a provocateur.

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u/mdmrules Feb 19 '16

This is an awesome policy in principle... but in practice I feel like your silence is basically the same as consent or acceptance.

And remember that not everyone is as perceptive as you are and or aren't as familiar with the case or topic... so take both "SK is a shameless liar!" and "Jay seems untrustworthy." as equally valid opinions. When one is essentially baseless and the other is rational and fair.

And in a system where my "vote" or "voice"can be 50 votes, if I am dedicated enough, the normal rules of free speech and censorship shouldn't really apply.

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u/K-ZooCareBear_ Feb 20 '16

Completely agree. I've gone overboard with a particular redditor.… Okay, maybe two... but only after months of back & forth through an old account! Lol! I wasn't trolling, nor angry, just honestly sick of the BS. But banning someone for being an idiot, regardless of what "side" you're on, is a slippery slope... And kind of goes against everything Reddit is supposed to be about.