Internet cancer -

[melty]

So the term internet cancer gets thrown around a lot, usually to refer to websites or memes someone doesn't like. But there are some things online that are legitimately making the internet a worse place. A good example of this are SJWs who have infected and destroyed many online communities and pushed their ideology IRL and I'm sure I don't have to describe all the consequences to you all.
I'd really like to have a discussion about other things that you believe are ruining the internet in some way and why and how they are doing that. It can be anything:
Movements and ideas: SJWs, Neo-Nazis, trigger warnings
Websites: Reddit, Tumblr
Fandoms: Bronies
Memes: Advice Dog
People: Anita Sarkeesian, Mark Zuckerberg
Companies: Comcast
Web functions: Pop-up ads
Actions: Doxxing, swatting
Other: ??
These are just common examples, I don't necessarily believe they all qualify as internet cancer and I think there are a lot of creative/lesser known ones, like maybe whoever invented pop up ads, or some shitty site code everybody uses or something. The main thing is naming things that have consequences instead of just things you dislike. The consequences can range from making people believe really stupid shit, actually harming people in some way, making the internet harder to use, or generally contributing to a lower level of public discourse.
What do you think?

 

[Shadow Fox]

Why Advice Dog, specifically?

 

[melty]

I don't know, like I said I don't believe all those things are bad. They're just common examples and I've just seen a bunch of people accusing it and the advice animals of being cancer, probably just because they don't like them. I personally don't think it is. You could probably make the argument that memes like it give people a shortcut to expressing their thoughts and thus limits thought or something but I don't think that's the case.

 

[SU 390]

So the term internet cancer gets thrown around a lot, usually to refer to websites or memes someone doesn't like. But there are some things online that are legitimately making the internet a worse place. A good example of this are SJWs who have infected and destroyed many online communities and pushed their ideology IRL and I'm sure I don't have to describe all the consequences to you all.
I'd really like to have a discussion about other things that you believe are ruining the internet in some way and why and how they are doing that. It can be anything:
Movements and ideas: SJWs, Neo-Nazis, trigger warnings
Websites: Reddit, Tumblr
Fandoms: Bronies
Memes: Advice Dog
People: Anita Sarkeesian, Mark Zuckerberg
Companies: Comcast
Web functions: Pop-up ads
Actions: Doxxing, swatting
Other: ??
These are just common examples, I don't necessarily believe they all qualify as internet cancer and I think there are a lot of creative/lesser known ones, like maybe whoever invented pop up ads, or some shitty site code everybody uses or something. The main thing is naming things that have consequences instead of just things you dislike. The consequences can range from making people believe really stupid shit, actually harming people in some way, making the internet harder to use, or generally contributing to a lower level of public discourse.
What do you think?

Movements: Yes
Websites: Debatable. For all intents and purposes, Reddit and Tumblr have useful and informative information. There are some interesting people on Tumblr. But like all things in life, there are good and the bad.
Fandoms: Yes, especially Bronies.
Memes: Again, like all things in life, there is the good and the bad. Some memes are extremely overused,
People: Anita Sarkessian is the worst type of person.
Companies: Heard bad things about Comcast, never had an experience with them(thankfully).
Web functions: Who doesn't hate pop-up ads? They are internet cancer.
Actions: Doxxing is awful. I don't know what swatting is.
Other: Leaking nudes and posting private conversations, are ultra internet cancer.

 

[Payday]

I don't know what swatting is.
.

the act of getting a SWAT team to break down the door of someone you don't like

 

[SU 390]

the act of getting a SWAT team to break down the door of someone you don't like

Got it. Thanks. That is really fucked up. Especially with what happened to Kootra.

 

[Shadow Fox]

I don't know, like I said I don't believe all those things are bad. They're just common examples and I've just seen a bunch of people accusing it and the advice animals of being cancer, probably just because they don't like them. I personally don't think it is. You could probably make the argument that memes like it give people a shortcut to expressing their thoughts and thus limits thought or something but I don't think that's the case.

I've heard a lot of complaints like this about image macros/reaction gifs in general, yeah, as well as social media sites like tumblr and Twitter, neither of which are designed for in-depth discussion and are therefore berated for contributing to the death of intelligent discourse on the internet (snerk). I think there's some truth to this - years ago I used to have nice long chats about topics with people on messageboards, Yahoo groups or blogging sites like Livejournal - and that's definitely not something you're going to see on Twitter or tumblr.

But people also just like to bitch about whatever new thing has arrived and shaken up the way they usually do things. I found a record of a post someone made on a newsgroup back around 2001 about how Livejournal was RUINING THE INTERNET FOREVER!!! because people were moving their discussions there and the newsgroups were drying up. And there have been some interesting reports on how sites like Twitter and Facebook have been used to organize and bring attention to political movements (the Arab Spring, for example) and other events.

 

[AnimuGinger]

Can we add this thread to the list?

 

[melty]

I've heard a lot of complaints like this about image macros/reaction gifs in general, yeah, as well as social media sites like tumblr and Twitter, neither of which are designed for in-depth discussion and are therefore berated for contributing to the death of intelligent discourse on the internet (snerk). I think there's some truth to this - years ago I used to have nice long chats about topics with people on messageboards, Yahoo groups or blogging sites like Livejournal - and that's definitely not something you're going to see on Twitter or tumblr.

But people also just like to bitch about whatever new thing has arrived and shaken up the way they usually do things. I found a record of a post someone made on a newsgroup back around 2001 about how Livejournal was RUINING THE INTERNET FOREVER!!! because people were moving their discussions there and the newsgroups were drying up. And there have been some interesting reports on how sites like Twitter and Facebook have been used to organize and bring attention to political movements (the Arab Spring, for example) and other events.

Yeah, I feel you on Livejournal. I made some good friends there and found it easier to make emotional connections on that site than any other site. Some communities I was in moved to Tumblr where it's practically impossible to have a normal conversation so discussion more or less died and became almost entirely about sharing pictures and short thoughts. Which probably increased creativity in some ways since people had to produce more content to be part of the community, not just make a bunch of comments.
This reminds me of that apocryphal article that was going around a few months ago, about how there was supposedly a study showing that fast paced information shared on Facebook and Twitter was making it harder for teenagers to feel empathy. The actual study didn't say that at all but if it were true then you could make an argument about how they were actually harmful to society.

 

[Megahertz]

I am a frequent user of both Reddit and Tumblr, and I can say that like with most websites it follows Sturgeon's Law. There are a few very small, self-contained subreddits that are awesome and I love the people in them. I have a close group of friends whom I met on Tumblr who are level-headed and etc. But since 99% of everything is crap, the gigantic userbase who are complete idiots ruin the websites anyway and paint it in a bad light (which is understandable).

I don't really care about overused le xD 9gag-esque meme communities, because I don't interact with that part of the internet at all. I don't see its influence anymore now that I've stopped going on 4chan.

I dunno, nobody is really "ruining" the internet. You just have to find communities that aren't shit. Which is arguably getting harder. Maybe that's what's changing.

 

[bradsternum]

The internet is just another excellent tool mankind created that has been perverted by the worst elements of society (which turns out to be a vast majority of people.)

Basically, It was US! We were the cancer all along. *Cue Rod Serling monologue*

 

[melty]

@Megahertz it's too bad you edited your post, it was a good example, I thought.
Surely, there's no one thing "killing the internet" (except maybe the infrastructure thing discussed in the news forum) but lots of little things lower the quality and content of what's being posted and discussed. I mentioned SJWs because I think it's one of the biggest examples of this kind of thing, and widely discussed here. Without even going into the effects the philosophy has on people's mental health, it's made discussing certain topics in certain parts of the internet increasingly difficult. A topic about a movie, or video game gets derailed into discussion about how offensive it is. Argument is impossible because they tell you to check your privilege or somesuch, so the quality level of the discussion goes down. They edit wikipedia, what should be an objective and factual source (okay so it was never totally factual) to fit their agenda. So the quality of information on the internet goes down because of that. There are a ton of examples of stuff like that they do so that's what I mean when I say they're cancer.

You just have to find communities that aren't shit. Which is arguably getting harder. Maybe that's what's changing.

Haha yeah sounds about right.

 

[Megahertz]

Ahh yeah sorry I tend to get kinda wordy so I try to trim posts regularly.

I mostly agree with you, my definition of an SJW is somebody who isn't afraid to step on other people to further their extreme left agenda, not just anybody who is a feminist or anti-racist, for example. Now I'm actually rather far left myself, and I wouldn't be lying if I said that the way a lot of people talk about minorities and women on the inter tubes (which includes some certain threads in here) makes me uncomfortable, but that's the thing. Even if people have harmful opinions, they aren't directly hurting me or stalking others so I let be.

SJWs can't do that. They internalize this single dissenting viewpoint into hatred and actively seek out to harm that person.

The instant people on Tumblr started doxxing teenagers and trying to get them fired from their jobs or expelled from Highschool for making stupid racist comments? I checked out. Call me radical no longer. This is no different from when /b/ got a girl fired from her job by sending her boss stolen nudes because she refused the "tits or gtfo" rule. All of it is gross.

 

[Bronchitis that Lingers]

Like others, I can agree that SJWs are a cancer that has metastasized to every major website over the past few years and have contributed to the diminishment of intelligent discussion on the internet. Like how grammar nazis were the cancer of the mid/late 2000's, SJWs exist only to derail a well constructed argument because the OP used "lame" to describe the end of a movie or something else that wasn't directly related to the inability to use one's legs. I don't believe the majority of SJWs have an actual agenda- they simply want to rebel against something , and because the only thing to rebel against in this decade are meany pants doo-doo heads that aren't "considerate" of calling others "xir/xirs/xim" in their analyzation of the actress in the newest blockbuster hit, everyone is jumping on board. This is similar to 8-10 years ago, only if you typed "I'm not sure if you're analyzation of X was appropriate, because Y proves your theory incorrect", your post would be instantly bombarded with "GO BACK TO SCHOOL RETARD IT'S YOUR NOT YOU'RE OMG ARE YOU A MONKEY -insert JPEG detailing the uses of your and you're in bold font accompanied by obscenities-" instead of "YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER YOU DIDN'T ASSUME AN ACTRESS COULD BE GENDERFLUID/TRANS/A WOLF IN THE ASTRAL PLANE." It's a common trend, and in the next ten years there will be a new thing for these like minded people to follow.
I'm not talking about people who have a genuine care in a cause- these people usually are able to construct an argument well and rely on facts and logic rather than pointing out their opponents "un-PC" choice of words. These people still exist and it's unfortunate that they can get lumped in with the extremists. It's great to be passionate about a cause- as long as you respect other people in the process.

tl;dr being offended over something on the internet is a trend, people (usually) without direction/clear motives in life follow it, it will always be there but in different forms, and it's always terminal cancer. You should enjoy your time while you still have it, here's a pamphlet on coping, I hear Europe is lovely this time of year.

 

[AnOminous]

Those social media buttons all over every fucking website in existence so just loading their page starts up a million little bullshit scripts. That shit is cancer. And yes, I block it when possible (antisocial filter list works fairly well).

 

[Overcast]

I am a frequent user of both Reddit and Tumblr, and I can say that like with most websites it follows Sturgeon's Law. There are a few very small, self-contained subreddits that are awesome and I love the people in them. I have a close group of friends whom I met on Tumblr who are level-headed and etc. But since 99% of everything is crap, the gigantic userbase who are complete idiots ruin the websites anyway and paint it in a bad light (which is understandable).

I don't really care about overused le xD 9gag-esque meme communities, because I don't interact with that part of the internet at all. I don't see its influence anymore now that I've stopped going on 4chan.

I dunno, nobody is really "ruining" the internet. You just have to find communities that aren't shit. Which is arguably getting harder. Maybe that's what's changing.

Agree on Reddit. The subreddits I go to (both revolve around specific games) are pretty friendly and have a nice atmosphere going on. Although I'd imagine the larger and more general subreddits aren't quite as friendly.

 

[Megahertz]

Agree on Reddit. The subreddits I go to (both revolve around specific games) are pretty friendly and have a nice atmosphere going on. Although I'd imagine the larger and more general subreddits aren't quite as friendly.

All default subreddits are pretty much Youtube comments but with better grammar.

 

[XYZpdq]

I encounter far more people bitching about SJWs than I actually encounter SJWs.

 

[*Asterisk*]

I encounter far more people bitching about SJWs than I actually encounter SJWs.

That's entirely based on the site you frequent. Head over to a site like Cracked or Pajiba or Something Awful or anywhere that says you can't use the word "retard" because it's an ableist slur even though that applies to every word and statement made about people's intelligence meant as an insult and you'll be singing a different tune.

 

[XYZpdq]

Head over to a site like Cracked or Pajiba or Something Awful

lol why the fuck would I want to do that