[Syonyk]

It is exceedingly hard to find places on the internet anymore where one can have a conversation between a range of viewpoints without it turning into an absolute shitshow, or the minority viewpoint being downvoted to oblivion.

It's one of many reasons I find myself using the internet less and less. Even the old forums I used to frequent and have the usual sparring conversations that were fun on the internet have fallen to one side or another, and anything outside the orthodoxy of the forum is treated with absolute hostility, "You are evil for evil's sake, I wish you dead" grade responses. There's no spirit of debate anymore, just a spirit of "Dogpile everyone who thinks differently." From any perspective!

It was a good 25 year run of internet, but I'm pretty much over the place. HN was one of the last sane places and it's been interesting seeing what sort of stuff gets flagged/killed. More and more, it's "That which isn't the groupthink." Which is sad. I'd rather read books from people I disagree with strongly than participate in an echo chamber. At least I'll have to either sharpen my ability to defend my views, or consider points of view I'd not considered before. Even if I decide they're junk, it's useful to understand how people get there and the viewpoints in more depth than shallow internet stuff.