This is a guess but I feel like it was around the time that most coding was done for things that weren't explicitly "programs", like web design CSS/Java and smartphone "apps".
There's an easy solution to that: I'm pretty sure on Lemmy (not sure about Piefed) admins can see who downvoted. So it's just a matter of mods/admins having and enforcing rules that facilitate conversation.
I understand their reasoning. There is a (good) argument to be made that orgs like this should stay on Twitter if only to remind people to delete Twitter (I believe Cory Doctorow does this with his account). It seems like they thought this through.
I'm not talking about engineering a problem away. I'm saying it can't be engineered away and requires human adults in the room (moderators in this case) to handle bad behavior.
Accepting the presence of toxicity as a fact of life does nothing more than attract more toxicity.
I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but it sure seems like you're saying that toxicity can inevitably be found in every little gesture in our daily life, including internet platforms, which is a narrative I disagree with.
People can have a fight on the street, or in a pub, in a shop, at work, or wherever
Pretty much all pubs and shops I know quickly expel and ban people who fight there. If those places allowed fighting (as many internet platforms do) users looking for a fight would eventually gravitate there, and people looking to discuss peacefully will go elsewhere.
Do you really think tech is the issue?
No, I'm saying people are the issue. Toxicity is not something that can be found everywhere, it only pops up where it's allowed to flourish.
My belief is that toxicity online is like building a six lane highway through a residential neighborhood. If you build the infrastructure to support more cars, and the law allows speeding you're going to get more cars (and more car accidents).
If you build platforms that don't allow cars/limit their behavior where people are trying to have a polite conversation, you'll see quiet more thoughtful modes of transportation and fewer innocent bystanders get hurt.
We really need to grow beyond the idea that blocking is "censorship". That only (arguably) applies to large centralized platforms. The fediverse allows all voices to speak but it doesn't force everyone else to listen.
The fediverse gives us huge individual and collective power and we can use it to grow beyond the constraints of the old platforms.
This is a guess but I feel like it was around the time that most coding was done for things that weren't explicitly "programs", like web design CSS/Java and smartphone "apps".