Now I find this interesting. You've just followed me, though I know I have re-shared Grendels posts before (in fact looking at your shared posts, so have you!). I didn't know Grendel was trolling, and to be honest still am unsure if he is or he just has strong opinions, so I shared some of his content that I found interesting and for a while I followed him. When I found out just how vehemently people are disagreeing with him I unfollowed so that I wasn't being lumped into a group with him, just like you have just done. I've gone back and forth on the idea of muting and blocking, personally I think it can be dangerous to block out opinions that are contrary to your own (even if they are made maliciously) and so the most I am likely to do now is to hush someone. Like I said, it's interesting. I am glad you followed me, even though we disagree on some things.
I agree with this. I do not agree with this. There is no place for bad actors in my community. I choose not to spend the mental energy combatting trolls. Trolls such as Grendel are intelligent, and they choose their words carefully. They are masters of psychological abuse. It is harmful to the health of our community, and to the mental health of each of us as individuals, to have anything at all to do with Grendel. People who don't understand how truly dangerous it is to allow sociopaths like Grendel to have any voice at all, are the unwitting pawns of the cycle of abuse. I am considering creating a hubski bot which will re-post Grendel's posts, so as to not allow him to have any inkling of hegemony over discussions pertaining to interesting science topics.I think it can be dangerous to block out opinions that are contrary to your own
(even if they are made maliciously)
I don't want to take away Grendel's voice, but I also don't want it to go unchecked. If you post on the feminist tag with anti feminist bs, I don't want someone new to hubski to think that's what represents the site (I did at first). It's much better if you click comments on that stuff and see a rational voice with several others drowning out the hatespeech. So i comment and disagree. And now he's muted me and he can continue to mess up global unchecked. I'm pretty sure the only reason he posts all the other things is so he won't get muted when he's trolling. His comments reflect that - they are mostly on troll posts, with much less of them being on science.
Yes, I agree. He knows exactly what he's doing. It's important that we as a community raise our consciousness of this sort of behavior and stamp it out. I do. He's abusing the maxims of good faith that underpin a prosocial community. He's a bad actor. He doesn't want to have fruitful discussions, he only wants to rile people to anger and mislead new users. I mean, it's in his fucking name: Grendel, the troll from Beowulf.I'm pretty sure the only reason he posts all the other things is so he won't get muted when he's trolling. His comments reflect that - they are mostly on troll posts, with much less of them being on science.
I don't want to take away Grendel's voice,
This this this this omfg this. Whenever "free speech" gets wheeled out by people I get frustrated because defending violent rhetoric as free speech makes speech so much less free for other people. Whenever I post something to hubski, I have no choice but to remember that there is someone on here who literally wants me hurt. I can't forget that he has followers. I can't know which of these are subscribing to his hate. I have to hope that none of them will turn on me. I have to hope this because to protect my sanity, I have to commit a crime that people here consider worse than hate speech or intimidation. "Censorship."People who don't understand how truly dangerous it is to allow sociopaths like Grendel to have any voice at all, are the unwitting pawns of the cycle of abuse.