03-10-2024, 07:55 PM
(03-10-2024, 06:36 PM)Hap Shaughnessy wrote: https://www.resetera.com/threads/us-poliera-2024-ot-1-doom-eternal.800787/page-158?post=120296385#post-120296385
Human Resources wrote:yet another mostly-lurker who excessively reads US PoliEra:
this thread is extremely valuable to the forum in that everyone's contribution, whether its hard data, studious analysis, or just diverse people's feelings and viewpoints, all aggregate into something that lurkers like me can take in and feel more informed politically on a broad level. i don't agree with every post. hell, i don't agree with many posts a lot of the time, and i certainly don't take everything i read as gospel, but i'm able to engage with the news and political conversation IRL with much more confidence because i've read and considered so many different people's experiences, and especially because of the incredibly valuable scrutiny that outside sources of information get when they're posted in PoliEra.
one of the most frustrating parts about this situation on the board is that 99% of us all want the same things -- like when we close our eyes we all envision a just and equitable society, but i feel like the broader effects of social media on online discussion has made it difficult for us to realize this. we've established a standard of discussion that isn't sustainable, at least not for discussions of any substance. our discourse has become a hyperbole arms race where the hottest take is lauded and trying to discuss and actually work through a complex topic is dismissed as mealy-mouthed centrism or worse, a bad-faith attempt at social engineering towards a desired consensus.
being vulnerable online is dangerous. there are multi-billion dollar enterprises and warehouses full of servers bent specifically towards the purpose of finding and exploiting that vulnerability. and by vulnerable i don't mean just being personal, innocent, naive, ignorant, however we used to think about it -- being vulnerable online these days is often just being willing to describe your thoughts about a subject knowing that your knowledge isn't complete and irrefutable. being vulnerable online is putting your idea out into the world without drawing a line in the sand. i think that moderation should serve to cultivate that vulnerability, or rather, to facilitate an environment in which it can thrive
that's why human moderation is so important. it acts as the immune system of the platform. i don't know if the metaphor is apt, but this feels like an auto-immune disorder. moderation is performing its function, but the broader context of the forum as a complex organism with many parts all working in harmony is being lost. to stop the fire, we're venting sections of the ship into space without looking at what we're tossing out of the airlock.
what makes message boards uniquely valuable in our online world is that, in theory, we can trust that the platform can facilitate a better understanding through the shared experience and ways of thinking amongst the users. and this knowledge is stored and persistent, so as time passes the users can take advantage of this larger and larger context and come to a better understanding of the world, much like the scientific community has done for centuries. this is obviously impossible for open social media platforms -- social media moderates like a dungeon master tweaking enemy stats to make an encounter less one-sided and more exciting -- but it was and is possible here, we've seen it in actual practice.
the fact that we've fallen back to this thread to have this conversation says more about the board than it does about the thread. i'm sorry that this post feels so broad and scatter-shot, but this feels like one of the rare moments on the board where metacommentary is justified and frankly necessary. thank you, i'll go back to shitposting about dragon's dogma 2 now
So many mostly lurkers coming out of the woodwork suddenly...
To all the "guests" lurking here, why don't you consider calling this shit out for what it actually is...mod sock puppet accounts caping for themselves to keep all of you idiots subdued in your cage like the good zoo exhibits you are.
Nepenthe will be along with your daily carrot soon.
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