I'm Tired of Reddit

I'm not fond of what Reddit has done to the internet. Over the years, forums have become less and less populated in favor of it and Discord. I wouldn't mind this, if not for the fact that both platforms are run for profit. Forums were never perfect and were often filled with nonsense. Reddit is similar, but the problem is exacerbated by it's "karma" system. The Karma System is simple. You have a number attached to your account. That number will rise and fall depending on how your posts are percieved. If your post is bad enough, it'll be hidden from view.

The problem with this system is that it discourages actual discussion. Furthermore, it incentivizes spamming (which I'll discuss later) and prevents people from seeing posts that the collective believes to be wrong. When the collective isn't biased, this is fine. However, there are no subreddits that don't have some kind of bias. r/palm is going to prefer Palm OS over Android. There's no getting around that.

On that note: I want you to think about a subject you are intimately familiar with. Go check out the subreddit on that subject. Try to read a few threads to get a feel for things. You'll notice that misinformation is rampant. The Karma system prevents any kind of meaningful pushback against misinformation. Primarily, it acts as a detering force. Still, if you go against the grain, you will be attacked for it. Not because people will post something to disprove your point, but because they can just downvote, which requires no effort or critical thinking at all.

The karma system leads to a very interesting if annoying culture on Reddit. The posting style is offputting in some places and gives off "millenial hipster" vibes. When they're not posting like that, they'll sometimes post in this sanctimonious, know nothing know-it-all kind of way. "Confidently wrong" is more concise, but that term doesn't fully describe it. You can be confidently wrong without being smug about it. Maybe I'm just cynical but I can't stand it. It seems like people implicitly understand that being smug leads to upvotes. I don't actually know though.

So yeah, I'm tired of reddit. I've banned it from my search engine so I don't have to see it anymore, though, my usage of a VPN blocks me from seeing it anyway. How charming. The following is some observations I've made about specific subreddits.

Where everyone has beaten Ninja Turtles

NES discussion on the internet isn't what it used to be. NintendoAGE doesn't exist anymore. Videogamesage is a great resource, but I don't find myself using it very often. 4chan has it's /vr/ board, but then you have to deal with the fact that you're using 4chan.

Thanks to Google, r/NES is the first place you'll run into if your looking for an NES discussion forum these days. Personally, I think that's a tragedy. First of all, there is no discussion. Second of all, what exists is generally vapid.

Many threads start with the words "I finally beat" and end with the title of a notoriously hard game. I understand the excitment, but without seeing the struggle, post like this come off as masturbatory. Rarely will they elaborate. Opting instead to say something like "On to the next game!" or "I'm glad to have scratched that one off of my list." It's all very formulaic.

I once streamed a full warpless playthrough of Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Famicom Disk System. I used original hardware, so it took me around six hours to finish. The entire time, people encouraged me, gave me tips, and stayed up all night with me until WE beat the game. I feel as though it was a collective effort, and I couldn't have done it without them. When I made it to World 9, everyone erupted with joy. This arduous journey was over, and together, we get to reap the benefits.

Now, suppose instead of that stream, I simply posted the end screen on Reddit. There's no context, no detailed explaination of what I learned or tips to provide. It's just the end screen. There's nothing of value to be gained from a post like that. Yet, r/NES is rife with them. Every day, continously.

Because of this and spam I'm about to get into, there doesn't seem to be any kind of community there. At a glance, there are no cliques, highly regarded members, or other similar things you'd expect in a community.

Endless spam

The spam, which exists to farm karma, keeps a proper community from forming. With a traditional forum, you get to know people. Dedicated "I beat this" and "collection pickup" threads would consolidate what is otherwise spam. Furthermore, the formation of a community gives you a reason to care about those posts to begin with.

r/nes' final issue is it's repair thread. The information found within is suspect and includes ideas like "Use a Game Genie if your 72-pin doesn't work!". For reference, NEVER EVER put a Game Genie into a 72-pin connector you want to keep. Your 72-pin connector is probably fine, you just need to clean it. I also see a lot of people advocating for those aftermarket 72-pin connectors. Those will destroy your games and you should never use them.

The misinformation bugs me more than the spam, I think. Though, that's not entirely the fault of Reddit. Misinformation regarding the 72-pin connector is rampant everywhere. However, until I decide to actively disprove these myths, nobody can do anything but take me at my word. Watch this space for that. In the meantime, stay away from r/nes. It's a terrible place.

reverse /pol/

Political misinformation is rampant all over the internet and r/politics is one of the more blatant examples. Much like Fox News, r/politics is rife with blatant propaganda, conspiracy theories, and insane rambling. Boomers love Fox News because it validates their opinions. The same could be said for users or r/politics.

My main problem with r/politics stems from how they become distracted with "what if" scenarios. These are taking eyes off of actual problems that can and should be discussed. I'm not mad at r/politics because it exists. I'm upset that it's potential is being wasted.

Furthermore, it's incredibly biased toward specific forms of politics. While I agree with the bias, that doesn't make it right; and that's why I compared it to Fox News eariler. r/politics is a left leaning echochamber if I ever saw one. Poster's are just as militant and unreasonable as you'd expect from 4chan's /pol/ board. You know, the board that started Q-Anon? Yeah.

I think it's important to understand the other side, no matter how crazy or evil you think they are. When you're in the head of your opponent, you can better predict their actions. In politics, if you strike first, then everyone else has to react to you. As a politician, that's where you want to be. In fact, that's why our president is the president. He understood exactly what he needed to say in order to stir the pot, and kept the worlds attention at all times.

r/politics almost has it. they may be capable of making some kind of change. It doesn't seem like they're interested in that, though. All they'd need to do is create some kind of movement. Unfortunately, they have no reason to The rhetoric is just that. Rhetorical. It seems to exist to farm karma and nothing more.

ditch everyone you know, the world is scary

r/AmItheAsshole is exactly what it sounds like. People go there primarily for validation and to tell stories. It's all in good fun, but the participants often take things too far.

The concept falls apart once people take it seriously. You wouldn't think that's common, but it is. When you think critically about it all, things becomes hard to wrap your head around.

As a form of self evaluation, r/aitah fails miserably. First of all, you have to trust OP to be objective. Reddit and Objectivity go together like oil and water. You're not going to find that. Sometime's OP will have their head so far up their ass that they'll admit to doing horrible things. Usually, it's because they think they're right. This goes about as well as you'd expect, and isn't that interesting after the first occurance.

what

Sometimes, you'll find stuff like this. I have no idea what this means and niether does anyone else. A lot of these scenarios require context that OP simply cannot give because they think that everyone already knows the context.

There's a dark side to r/aitah though that doesn't get talked about enough. See, narcisistic abusers can use r/aitah to manipulate their spouses into thinking that the narcisist is correct about something. They'll portray themselves in the OP as if the abuse victim is being unreasonable. Once comments pile up validating the abuser, they show the victim and use it as leverage to get them to relent. I know, because this has happened to me. Unfornately, I feel for it. I've seen other posts that seem to me like they serve a similar purpose. Take everything you see there with a shaker of salt. You could end up validating a monster and hurting someone in the process.

My advice to people questioning whether or not they're a dickhead is simple: stop caring. In life, there are boundries that people will try to break. It's up to you to maintain them. Defending your boundries in a constructive manner is a great way to ensure that you're not acting the fool. If someone makes you feel like an asshole because you stood up for yourself, that person is not your friend. And if they're your spouse, ditch them. For your own sake. Don't take my word for any of this and use discretion.

I don't fault people who use reddit. Have your fun. I don't want to be involved, though. I like that I can block it from search results and pretend it doesn't exist. If I have an opportunity to educate the people there on a subject they're misinformed about in a way that is unrefutable AND entertaining, I'm happy to do so. However, I can't stand it there, so don't expect me to reply to any questions. Everything I have to say will be laid bare for all.