[throwaway74829]

I dislike the spirit of "/r/AmITheAsshole." I don't think I can put it into apt words, but it may go something like: "does this really matter?" and "must this really be exhibited for all to see?" and "who cares who the asshole is?"

[Sohcahtoa82]

I'm the opposite. I like the spirit of what /r/AmITheAsshole was supposed to be: A place where someone can get a bunch of neutral 3rd parties to judge them on a situation and ask if they're being unreasonable so that they can personally grow from it.

That said, the reality of what the sub ends up being is completely different. Lots of people posting fake stories for karma. People posting situations where they're OBVIOUSLY not the asshole. People that are definitely assholes and refuse to accept judgement. Most of the (likely) real stories conveniently leave out key facts that only get discovered in the comments.

But every now and then, there's a REALLY good thread where nobody agrees who the asshole is.

[superb-owl]

It is a little like reality TV...there's a voyeuristic angle to it. But I think the fact that the community is mediating real-world disagreements makes it much more wholesome that reality TV.