Yes! It used to be that most of the people on a given site would know and engage with one another. This created a sense of familiarity. Today's friendship graphs are rarely as interconnected.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
A and B might both engage with C, but they're not friends, so they don't see the same messages. Common ground is highly fragmented. In the aggregate, I think this is a big part of why this format feels worse.
Another aspect is the way moderation is handled. Platforms are committed to neutrality. Most forums were most definitely not! People were banned based on vibes. Moderators were people you knew and regularly talked with. If someone was universally reviled, they'd just get kicked out.
I think the lack of gatekeeping is exactly why faux neutral social media is unpleasant. If you allow anyone into your space as long as they obey the letter of the law, you will quickly discover that bad actors will work within this limit, and do so well.
Well it's not YOUR space, it's everyone's. That's what block and mute features are for. I rather dislike an individual or small group getting to be the arbiters of that interest. Grow thicker skin and deal with the people you disagree with. Your hobby doesn't entitle you to an echo chamber.
Isn't it? To browse a website is to use another person's computer. Another person's property. Do they not get to decide who is allowed to use their property, and how?
Comments