Copied from other thread:
Lol at all these fucking dorks acting like this is some pre-emptive anti brigading measure. These fucking losers don’t know the meaning of being brigaded. We do, not because we do it, but because the brigading has been incessant since this place started.
Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t being federated make brigading MORE difficult, not less? If nothing else it seems like it would have 0 effect either way.
Honestly fuck these clowns anyway. I was and still am open to federation because I love seeing this place grow but by the same token we knew shit like this would happen. Although I’m surprised by how quickly. Hopefully the reasoning is technical and not ideological. But seeing the kind of brain genius politics understanders in that thread makes me feel like we aren’t missing out. The curious and open minded will make their way here or to the other leftists instances on their own.
I lurked on Reddit for literally like a decade. Never once made an account. Just seemed like a waste of time. I remember realizing early on without having the vocabulary for it that; social media, while an amazing tool for connecting people in theory, under capitalism, it ultimately only ever serves to deepen our alienation from each other by creating a means to commodify our social interactions. Again, didn’t understand it in those terms, but I just had this feeling in my gut that I have since been able to put words to thanks to Marxism. Reddit was no exception to that feeling and really worse in a lot of ways because of its utility as an aggregator. It has had this incredibly hegemonic effect on the culture of the internet that has made it very hard to avoid, even for someone like myself who avoids social media as a rule.
And I’m glad I made that rule for myself, because unsurprisingly social media has become almost unavoidable as the rate of profit continues to decline. It represents too much theoretical profit to not try and steer everyone in like a cattle chute. And what I have observed from my passing and vicarious observation of social media as it has developed is that it has only become shittier and more alienating. Reddit being a fantastic example of this. I’m glad I didn’t invest a significant amount of my time and energy effort posting (seems to be my only mode of posting) into the void without even the reward of real human relationships. Real names and faces and human warmth.
The internet is a deeply lonely and alienating place and it has only gotten worse during the time I have been alive to observe it.
I was intrigued when I observed the hushed tones the CTH sub was discussed in and to my surprise I found nothing truly objectionable. it Is objectively cool and good to kill slave owners. Mainly it seemed like people who were painfully aware that things didn’t have to be this way and that it was better to at least have a laugh about how fucked things are. It felt like people who desperately wanted to be hopeful but knew how far this world is from a path worth being hopeful about. But knowing all the while that path was and still may be possible. It all just felt very human. When R/CTH was banned I had a feeling my days of lurking on Reddit would soon come to an end.
Then through a link in a comment section I found this place, and after lurking a little I did something very out of character for me, made an account and joined the discussion.
This has to be one of the last oasis of human warmth and goodness on the internet. Not a place full of people trying to get famous and start a media career. Not boomers driving each other insane with literal fake news. A place for people to spend their precious unalienated time and labor discussing and posting about stuff they love. And one of the big things being how to make human society a better and more equitable place while we’re still alive. There’s something beautiful about that. The early internet was full of stuff like that, less ideological, but still hopeful. Now those days are all but gone. And I must say what keeps me here over lemmy grad is all the other stuff, the daily music posting and just sharing of interests. Charming characters like @Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net Even as I become more ideologically rigid, it is that human silliness that keeps me grounded. This place has a lot of that and it’s why I’m so grateful for the users here and the hard work the mods and admins put it cultivating and maintain this culture. As a cis person I love the culture of enforced tolerance. I’ve gained so much from being exposed to the nuances and challenges of the trans experience thanks to the users here.
I guess all I’m trying to say is that almost every other social media platform I have ever used ultimately leaves me feeling empty, alienated, and one little bit closer to madness. This place is the complete opposite and coming here everyday helps me remember that I’m not alone in thinking that things don’t have to be like this. And that we should fight for a better and more equitable society while we’re still alive. And that I am not alone in that fight, indeed the fight cannot be fought unless we work together.
I’m rambling here but I just get so misty eyed when I get exposed to another instance because it feels so much more alienating to me. And this thread really set me off because of all the smug assholes acting like they can read one post and understand our elaborate brigading and disinformation operation/cult. (Sic of course)
I’m just very grateful for this place and when I see all of these shit libs utterly misinterpreting that post about being well behaved in other instances it just reminds me of how insane some of the other corners of the internet can make you feel and specifically myself during the 2015/2016 election cycle. These people have really just completely lost all connection to reality and so who fucking needs them. If they find a way back on their own, good, we can’t make anyone change their mind. A big o7 to @Awoo@hexbear.net for trying their damndest though.
