110

What’s your golden rule for the internet? (lemmy.today)

submitted 1 day ago by violet08@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

61 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I don’t argue or “debate” online. Most online back-and-forth feels pointless and often intentionally inflammatory or in bad faith. I read all the replies I receive, but I rarely respond.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Remember that 90% of what is said online is said by complete oddballs because nobody will talk to them in real life and they have all the time in the world to post on the Internet.

And the more extreme the view, the more sock puppets these oddballs will have to try to convince you that their fucked up view of the world is actually normal.

IRL I almost never, ever meet people who are obsessed with politics, or people who are extremists like Nazis or communists. Online, they're all over the place and it is not remotely normal. Same goes for chronic pot heads who are vehemently anti-smoking cigarettes. You don't meet that kind of bizarro-world health nuttery offline. Or people who think that people who have outdoor cats are pure evil and should be put in prison.

Extremism like this in general is not at all normal offline. But online it seems like it is. It is not.

this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026

110 points (98.2% liked)

Ask Lemmy

38062 readers

1392 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.