What follows is a bit of a ramble.
Pardon me. I don't feel like being that
disciplined today.
Recently, there was a bit of a dispute
in a thread on the BBS at
circumlunar.space. It was nothing
serious (at least, I don't think it was)
and I don't want to overstate the extent
of the disagreement.
I didn't initially read through the
thread in question because heated
disputes (even mildly heated ones)
really don't interest or fascinate me.
Then, since I wanted to write this phlog
entry, I read through it. As with most
such disputes, it ended up not piquing
my interest.
So the dispute is not the issue here.
The reason for this phlog entry is to
ruminate on some of the proposed
solutions to the dispute, which involved
discussion of downvoting, killfiles,
hiding forum threads, and the like. In
the end, the decision was not to
implement those solutions, but it seems
to me that the BBS lends itself to such
solutions because it exhibits the
problems typical of forums. It also
seems to me that the upvoting/downvoting
solution (which was to be combined with
some sort of automated moderation) is in
itself as much of a problem as the
reactionary style of argumentation
provoked by the instantaneous responses
typical of a forum/bbs environment.
I don't particularly care for
upvoting/downvoting and I also find
myself bothered by some of the
intentionally confrontational and/or
conflict-inciting behaviour that I see
on internet forums. The simultaneous
popularity contest/conflict-ridden
atmosphere those behaviours produce
bothers me enough that at one point, I
even wrote a greasemonkey script to
remove all of the upvote/downvote
information on reddit. Then I just gave
up and deleted my account, because even
when you cannot see the votes, they
impact the discourse. I also wasn't
disciplined enough, and found myself
turning off the greasemonkey script to
figure out what was 'really going on' at
times, which kind of defeated the
purpose. I clearly need to learn more
self control, but I'm getting old, and
it seems like that won't happen. In
addition, there's no way to screen out
intentional provocations with a
greasemonkey script (but seriously, if
you know of a way...).
When I come online, I want to read good
content. I don't want people's views to
be constrained by popularity and
groupthink. Nor do I feel like reading
the lightning attacks that often follow
upon the legitimate expression of a
person's opinion. Sometimes the most
interesting and thoughtful analyses are
far from popular (or socially 'safe' to
express), but might encourage you and I
to rethink our ingrained ideas if we
take time to ponder them. I want to see
those ideas. On the internet and in
person, some of the most enlightening
things that people have said to me
involved them taking a risk, questioning
common knowledge and received wisdom.
These days, it is getting more difficult
to do that, and people risk their
reputations and careers if they depart
from our social norms.
The immediate, rapid responses of the
BBS often serve as a surrogate for the
upvote/downvote -- they replicate the
instantaneous voting response in words.
But, in fact, they can be worse. It's
easy to fire off a response on the spur
of (and in the heat of) the moment. I've
seen it several times. It's not
horrendous. I can handle it -- and I
usually recognize a dispute developing
and simply tune out. But I am not
usually the target, because I'm not that
adventurous. I'm quiet, internalize a
lot, and intentionally avoid conflict. I
suspect it is much worse for the person
who is targeted in that manner -- and I
am sure that it makes a lot of people
just clam up.
I came to the small internet because of
gopher. I once referred to it as the
slow food of the internet. It's good in
part because it takes time (and often
has the best ingredients!). That's
probably not an original thought. But
it's apt. Few people will ever dash off
an irate or oversensitive phlog post.
Most will take their time, consider the
whole question, and respond
thoughtfully.
In fact, a few weeks ago, Solderpunk
wrote a phlog entry on software
licenses. My immediate response was ...
absolutely wrong. I didn't fully
understand the complexities of public
domain vs. copyleft licensing. But since
I was about to write (and 'publish') a
phlog entry on the subject, I looked
into the issue, realized I was wrong,
and didn't write my intended response.
Solderpunk didn't have to endure my
ill-informed phlog, and I didn't have to
embarrass myself (well, except for now).
Win-win.
My point (there is a point ... honest)
is that I think certain forms of
internet interaction foster both
groupthink and conflict. Others moderate
(but, of course, do not entirely
eliminate) those possibilities. It's a
strange facet of my personality that I
thought that in becoming a user of
circumlunar.space, it was incumbent upon
me to participate in all aspects of the
'service.' But on reflection, it is
obvious that there are only some aspects
of the small internet that work for
me.
So I guess I probably won't be
frequenting the BBS in the future,
because it replicates the style of forum
that I find problematic in general. It
is possible for us to do on the small
scale the very things that we fled on
the Large Internet.
I don't mean any offense whatsoever to
anyone who enjoys the BBS (especially
board 5, which is clearly the best one).
We're all different. Most of you are
obviously capable of making good use of
the BBS and enjoy doing so.
By the way, I was thinking that I should
explain the long silences on my phlog.
My work has a seasonal rhythm, and I'm
just going through the busy part of the
cycle. I'll be writing more often in the
near future.
