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Just read Sadgrl's Internet Manifesto.
I really enjoyed it. Great bit of writing. I love this group, the concept of reclaiming the internet, and spacehey in general. There's something I'd like to add to the discussion which I felt was missing from the Manifesto, and that is a bit of an analysis of how the format/design of social media contributes to the toxicity there. I think it's important to understand this because there's a reason the internet suddenly turned ugly when forums gave way to feeds.
Prior to feeds, the internet was mainly discussion forums like this one. And IMO one very important difference here is that forums are essentially permanent, while feeds tend to evaporate with the dawn. When you get into a disagreement with someone on a forum, it makes sense to take your time, think things through, choose your words carefully. That makes sense when your words are going to be around for years to come. On the other hand, because they are essentially temporary, feeds by their very design encourage shorter, less thoughtful discourse. Why put a ton of thought and effort into a statement that will effectively disappear in a matter of hours or days, buried under an avalanche of new content? And don't even get me started on character limits. How's anybody supposed to be nuanced with a 200-character limit on expression?
I think with discussion groups, there's also a sense of common ground. We're all part of a community here, not just a bunch of random individuals interacting through mutual "friends" who are often nothing more than acquaintances, or family members we have nothing in common with. Usually the groups have a theme, like everybody is there because we share a passion for songwriting or pottery or whatever.
Anybody else have ideas about how specifically the format of the old internet feels better and leads to better interactions?
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