I went back to Reddit this morning. Yeah I know, but I just wanted to check the place out after all the blackouts. As I was scrolling through my typical stuff I was down voting dumb things as is pure habit and it struck me… after being here only 2 days and not having any down vote button, what was just a pure habit suddenly felt a little dirty.
Those people I just down voted didn’t do anything wrong I just didn’t agree with them. But by down voting them I’m basically doing one little part in actually silencing them. It felt bad. In fact all of Reddit felt bad… like, it was just such a habit and I was ready to go back, but once I did it wasn’t as good as I remembered it.
All it took was 2 days away using a different platform that gives me essentially the same stuff I want to read and this no down vote thing somehow has resonated with me more than I would have thought. I actually went back and removed the down votes. Those people have the right to feel how they do whether I agree or not. I don’t need to silence and invalidate people over things that are so incredibly minor.
I’ve decided I will use Reddit only via Google search if it has the content I’m looking for, just like any other webpage, but I think Lemmy, and Beehaw specifically, are my new home. It no longer feels like “the alternative.” It feels like a place I actually chose to be. I wrote in my application that I wanted less toxicity in my life and I think that’s already happening. I’m really grateful to have discovered this place.
I think its a good example of how one platform with its ecosystem/culture can shapes our habits.
in my opinion, i think the feature of up voting and down voting in reddit are created to bring something relevant to the surface, while “hiding” something that deem not important to the discussions.
While over the years, this trend and culture changes just to silences someone that doesn’t share the way we see the world. Or on the other hand, we upvote someone that shares our ideology.
I do not like disabling the downvote button because of this, but i think it is better to disable it, if we tend to abuse it
Also haven’t been back on Reddit and don’t plan on going back. It’s hard, I’m used to being on Reddit multiple times a day and have to fight the muscle memory to click on the app. But I’m realizing I’m really not missing out on anything by not being there. I’d rather stick with this community as we continue to grow. I don’t even use third party apps—it’s just the principle. Just doesn’t feel right to go back, feels scummy to support the site knowing that it’s owner doesn’t give af about its users.
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[they] didn’t do anything wrong I just didn’t agree with them
And that’s why it’s disabled! That’s not what it’s meant to be for, it’s meant to be for things that don’t add to the conversation. If it’s factually wrong then fine - downvote, but don’t do it to suppress others’ opinions.
Yes, I completely agree with you. Reddit could become such a nasty place, and I fully admit that I was part of the problem. It didn’t feel like a problem because it was so socially accepted, even encouraged, within Reddit’s own culture, but I was definitely part of the problem down voting people into oblivion for “being dumb”. I never thought twice about it until the last two days. Now it feels dirty. Now I recognize I don’t want to be a part of that culture any longer.
I popped into one of the few subreddits I participate in and the consensus was mostly, “Who cares about the API/third-party apps, I just want my Reddit back.” Whatever, they can have it.
I’ve been working to curate my RSS feed in the last couple of days so I never need to visit Reddit at all (outside of being directed there by a Google search result).
So many don’t understand that the mods need those tools, and don’t care about people who need the accessibility (although I suspect that argument is popular more for having the moral high ground).
Same as the title for me but different than your thing. Just feels stale over there and I go into comments and it’s the same ol drivel over and over again lol. This community feels fresh and I’m really enjoying exploring the various communities and chatting casually about whatever…
Feels just very corporate place over there and I dunno. Just not feeling right anymore. I’m thinking maybe it’s been wrong all along I just didn’t realize. Hopefully lemmy’s growth continues but at a reasonable pace so that we don’t devolve in the same sorta rhetoric over and over again.
I definitely feel better over here now and while there are way less comments it really seems like the engagements are far better.
Maybe that’s what it is. By the time I look at a post over on reddit there are 1000s of comments and half of them just saying the same thing lol.
At least here you can contribute
