If you had a friend in real life who was blatantly sexist or blatantly racist how long would you be willing to tolerate the racism or sexism because you sometimes have really interesting discussions? Would it be after the first time they said something really terrible in public? Or the first time you were embarrassed to be out with them because of your conversation or their attitude. Would it be when you realized that everyone else who knows your friend knows that they are a terrible sexist/racist, and when they see you two pal-ing it up, they think that either you must be ignorant, or also sexist/racist? Do you think it's possible this user deliberately posts interesting content outside of the racist/sexist discussions, in order to a) hide his wolf nature in sheep's clothing, b) convince others he's not a troll, c) be that much more successful in his trolling? LOL do not blame Hubski for this. You can blame waves of users who may or may not have arrived recently, but Hubski has over and again been a place to defend minorities (race, color, gender, etc). I have had many great vehement discussions about it. Some even with this-user-who-must-not-be-named-because-we-care-so-much. Ben will tell you that when I want to I come down like a hammer. But if there are 50 new people on a site having discussions I've already had with people I've already figured out are trash, I am not going to spend the energy. That's not fun, it's not social media, it would be a god-damned job. My theory is that that user is just the trollingest troll playing a long game. Obvious trolls are obvious. A troll who appears otherwise sane and reasonable and even funny or nice to talk to - now that's a troll that will work, and can stick around. If you are repeatedly engaging with this person outside of his areas of trollery, you are making him appear more legitimate to other users. Trash should be taken out to the curb; ignorant people who like to pick fights and act innocent should be muted, filtered, and hushed. You will find that they bother you less. I'm a little disappointed he has so many followers. I thought hubski was different but right now 3/5 top posts in #feminism are mens rights clickbait.
Heh you're kinda assuming some things about me here. I do have sexist friends. Not many, but a couple. I keep them around because ignoring them means they go on being sexist. We have occasional debates about it, but more importantly they see the unfair things I struggle with. Even if we never see eye to eye, we learn from each other. If it gets to the point where knowing them is bad for me I'll happily cut them off, no problem. But for now, my goal is sharing and expanding each others worldview. To me, hubski seemed kinda about that too. I'm not blaming hubski, although I do believe grendel is proof that the site probably has some kinks to work out. It's hard to invite my friends to the site. "Hey check out hubski! It's different from reddit! Women are welcome!"
"Um.. rinx... why is the 3rd post down about whipping feminists" "Oh trolls are a very small minority, you can block them!" "yeah... that's what people said about reddit" For me personally he doesn't bother me. Like I said, I know people like him in person. Once you've met them it's impossible not to feel sorry for them. I would like to see him have less representation in #feminism, so that's why I suggested us consolidating on a tag to filter.
I think the difference is though, that while you and your friends disagree sometimes, you can still have civil conversations and healthy dialogues. My best friend and I for example, we agree on almost nothing, but that doesn't get in the way of our friendship because we have an honest respect for each other's opinions. With trolls, it's a different story. They often choose belligerence for the sake of belligerence and when you discover that they're not there to be reasonable, sooner or later you have to decide how far you really want to go to work with them.
Sure, my point is more, I'll always start with an attempt at real conversation. If it's obvious I'm talking to a troll, or it's something that is unhealthy for me, I end it. Otherwise I try to keep the pipeline open even if I disagree with people. Grendel's an obvious troll, but probably also a really unhappy person. I don't regret at least attempting a reasonable conversation, although I won't keep doing it.
Trash should be taken out to the curb; ignorant people who like to pick fights and act innocent should be muted, filtered, and hushed. You will find that they bother you less. I know myself personally, that I've rubbed a few people on here the wrong way, even though that was never my intention. When you put so and so's behavior exactly like this, I start to wonder if that's how my actions come across as well. I think, especially for those of us who have come from Reddit or other sites with an ingrained culture of confrontation and belligerence, really need to stop and be careful of not only what we say, but how we say it. At the same time, I know this is a frustrating period for a lot of Hubski veterans, and though it's not my place to say it, a bit of patience on their part is definitely appreciated. Unless someone's a complete dick. Though, how many of us really wake up in the morning and say "Today, I intend to be a dick."?My theory is that that user is just the trollingest troll playing a long game. Obvious trolls are obvious. A troll who appears otherwise sane and reasonable and even funny or nice to talk to - now that's a troll that will work, and can stick around. If you are repeatedly engaging with this person outside of his areas of trollery, you are making him appear more legitimate to other users.