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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by BeanisBrain@hexbear.net to c/chat@hexbear.net

Don't get me wrong. This site's dunking culture is good and it serves an important purpose. It's an immune system that stops bad-faith trolls and fascists from getting a foot in the door. Just like a biological immune system, though, it can get overactive and start attacking its own body. This is called an autoimmune disease and it can severely damage or even kill its host body.

What's appropriate for a lib or a fascist who refuses to even consider whether they might be wrong about our fundamental ideas isn't appropriate for a comrade who, in good faith, is voicing an opinion you happen to disagree with. This is very similar to something Mao talks about in his essay "On The Correct Handling Of Contradictions Among The People." Mao's essay splits contradictions into two types:

  • Antagonistic contradictions are those between class and political opponents with irreconcilable interests. There's no real debate to be had here. They're enemies. You don't engage in dialog with them. You defeat them.
  • Non-antagonistic contradictions are those that occur within a class or movement. The interests of all involved are fundamentally aligned, but there's disagreement on how to advance those interests. These disagreements are resolved through discussion that improves mutual understanding and allows for arrival at a consensus.

Applying the analogy to posting on Hexbear:

  • Antagonistic contradiction: A chud wanders in to lecture the site about how Stalin killed 50 quintillion people / Hamas is an evil terrorist group / the transes are corrupting the youth. You can't convince these people and it's not worth trying. Post dunks, express hostility, drive them off. That's community hygiene.
  • Non-antagonistic contradiction: A comrade who's been on this site for years voices a concern that you posted something bigoted / disagrees with your interpretation of a work of media / advocates engaging with people politically in a way you don't consider effective. You both want communism, you are both anti-imperialist, you both want Hexbear to be a welcoming space for marginalized people. Good-faith dialogue is a way to share information and enhance mutual understanding. Responding to these people with insults and dunks just pisses them off and discourages them or anyone watching from engaging with the site except to post their own insults and dunks. The site becomes more toxic and hostile.
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[-] Arahnya@hexbear.net 55 points 2 months ago

I think spending your time dunking and bullying says, to me, that you in some way get enjoyment out of doing those things. I think that doing those things on the regular doesn't make you a pleasant person to be around. Its akin to always gossiping or always venting, always having something negative to say.

[-] 10TH_OF_SEPTEMBER_CALL@hexbear.net 40 points 2 months ago

i'm mostly here because you guys dont whine about tankies every other post

[-] JustSo@hexbear.net 26 points 2 months ago

there aren't enough tankies on lemmy I-was-saying

[-] JustSo@hexbear.net 32 points 2 months ago

Good-faith dialogue is a way to share information and enhance mutual understanding. Responding to these people with insults and dunks just pisses them off and discourages them or anyone watching from engaging with the site except to post their own insults and dunks. The site becomes more toxic and hostile.

I agree. There will always be exceptions but you gotta take other hexbears in good faith and, imo, err on the side of humility.

In turn, if a hexbear is having a bad day and they snap back at something you felt was warranted criticism, also try to remind yourself to be patient and humble.

its too easy to be a jerkass.

[-] BattleshipPokemon@hexbear.net 32 points 2 months ago

ngl i think in the end the opponents of federation on here have been vindicated, though most of them have left or been banned by now. I'm not saying its the only cause or even the main, but before federation it felt like the overly dunk hungry people on here were a minority that had just been a bit brainrotted by twitter + still engaging with reddit and everyone else had gradually tamed over time after like 4 years of not being hit with "go back to r/chapotraphouse" everytime they commented anymore. Post-federation though everyone got brainblasted with liberals coming back in here arguing + the fun of going out to argue with liberals on their hometurf + constant posts celebrating people outside crashing out after they got dunked on too much and tricked into looking at a picture of a shit covered pig + an influx of users who see us just as the "communist dunk instance" and now we're mostly isolated again that culture's turned inwards on itself again. I know I've definitely been too snarky on here, and I've had people be unreasonably aggresive at me on here over very minor disagreements.

[-] BattleshipPokemon@hexbear.net 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Also the 'approved enemies that its ok to say anything to' things gone a bit far, when i used to use the hexbear mastodon instance years ago i remember once posting about mark fisher on there and having someone reply that it was a good thing he'd killed himself because he'd been annoying online and anti stalin

[-] spectre@hexbear.net 16 points 2 months ago

I see your point however I think it presupposes that our community was never going to be able to rein itself in with the dunking. Then again, you may be correct about that. I favor federation, but I guess that was in hopes of having the opportunity to actually build community, ideally with done mild discipline/ROE, but obviously that never happened.

There are some chill people, but this site is extremely "you're not wrong, but you are an asshole" which gives a certain level of vindication to the "tankie [ this and that] " complaints from federated users. I have made many posts about how I am concerned that the site is on its last leg if it doesn't change its ways.

One possible solution that I have brought up is a partner instance (call it "square bear" or something) that turns its shoulder away from irony and dunking, and had more of a tolerance for liberals and less educated potential comrades. Make u/cowbee a sitemod on the first day. It will at least offer a chance at a "stepping stone" community.

I have ideas for other instances too, if anyone wants to chat more you can use this Link to add me on deltachat (fdroid) (e2ee and more anonymous than signal).

[-] ajab@hexbear.net 31 points 2 months ago
[-] FALGSConaut@hexbear.net 17 points 2 months ago

Duality of hexbear

[-] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago

Two good posts, one of which is in the wrong comm

[-] moss_icon@hexbear.net 28 points 2 months ago

I can understand why a lot of leftists are prone to losing their patience in the current climate especially but yeah, it’s pretty counterproductive.

I have been working a lot on my anger for this reason.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 26 points 2 months ago

I don't think I'm really in a state to give the full proper argument right now, but while your title is right I don't think your account really helps, for several reasons depending on what one believes the purpose of the site is. Sticking to more popular ones, part of the issue with your framing is that it basically question-begs the knowledge of someone's status as a "chud" versus a "comrade" (and also ignores that most people are neither), when that is something people have different opinions on and the designated status might change from a single comment. Fundamentally, I think that if you are serious about having a less absurd community, the only thing to do is dismiss the notion that "bullying works" or is even particularly relevant in terms of the internal affairs of a forum where admins can simply ban people, and the rules should be oriented around users either engaging with each other in good faith or, if someone cannot do that or is otherwise judged to not be worth the effort, to simply ban them. The idea of "driving off" is almost completely irrelevant in a space where we have admins with basically absolute control, unlike in a real space or even an online space where the admins aren't part of our ranks.

By this I don't mean to say that we should be nice to whichever fascist pops in tomorrow, but that we should regard any participant as either someone we need to treat in good faith or someone who the mods need to ban at their earliest convenience, rather than have people kept around as punching bags or given abusive motivation in order to "do better," because that's just not a good model for improving people's outlooks.

I should mention that I don't think my criticism of the assessment is very particular to you because I see it almost every time that this problem gets mentioned and it has barely helped at all in all the time this site has existed.

[-] quarrk@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The whole “bullying works” ethos was a wrong conclusion from an accidentally correct attitude from the Chapo podcast: that you should not compromise on principle. Compromise is a practical concern that should never apply to the theoretical. Western leftists emerge out of a hostile environment saturated with counterrevolutionary propaganda. Most of them have to unlearn a ton of stuff and start to see the backwardness in their neighbors. In that environment it’s very important to stay principled and not to give up the correct line.

One thing about bullies is they insist upon their stance. We just need to find more effective ways to do this that don’t alienate a ton of people.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

I broadly agree and I appreciate the articulation of this point. Perhaps bullying had some utility with attacking reactionaries while brigading, but I think in internet terms that sort of thing is the only use case.

[-] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 3 points 2 months ago

I think this is an excellent way to look at it.

[-] avoid_the_noid@hexbear.net 25 points 2 months ago

~~Some~~ people on this site ~~get way too caught up in scoring dunks and it can~~ get annoying

[-] MrPiss@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago

eric-andre Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave?

[-] Poophammer@hexbear.net 20 points 2 months ago

Counterpoint: I dont want to share community with anyone who doesnt think that Tsars getting mineshafted was good and cathartic.

[-] Infamousblt@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago

This is the biggest problem with Hexbear and probably always will be

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 15 points 2 months ago

If we are helpless to even change the culture on hexbear, then it would be very difficult to make the case that there is any substance to us being revolutionary socialists.

[-] 9to5@hexbear.net 13 points 2 months ago

The problem with Hexbear is its almost too good isaac-pog

[-] Civility@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago
[-] red_giant@hexbear.net 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Dunking is a viable alternative to purges given the current material conditions.

Antidunkism is juvenile and reactionary.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 13 points 2 months ago

This is projection. The fetishism of "dunking" is juvenile, a bunch of nerds and other outcasts relishing their chance to RP as the powerful party by abusing someone else.

[-] JustSo@hexbear.net 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

you don't know that I'm not a irl guerrilla

[-] BironyPoisoned@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

No. Hexbear users made their bed and now they have to lie in it.

People dunk because it's a way for powerless losers to feel like they made a difference in the world. We can't actually achieve any political goals so we bully the chud who dislikes the WOKE game. Then Hexbear became insular and the fangs turned inwards. So many fucking good users banned or bullied off this site for minor deviations from the party line. If they spoke up about the aggressive response, they were just confirming that they were a secret chud/transphobe/racist all along.

There are no white people misunderstanding elements of black culture, just white supremacists. There are no men with complaints about patriarchal elements perpetuated by some women, just incel woman-haters. There are no humans here, just potential enemies. Hexbear is one long game of Secret Hitler except everyone is a liberal. Our paranoia driving us to ban and harass our allies over the slightest suspicion.

If you stick around long enough and pay attention, you'll see it too. Hexbear's end will be a good thing for everyone.

[-] WideningGyro@hexbear.net 34 points 2 months ago

Why are you here?

[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Hexbear's end will be a good thing for everyone.

Nah

[-] JustSo@hexbear.net 15 points 2 months ago

Imagine trying this hard to get a tagline.

[-] BabyTurtles@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

So many fucking good users banned or bullied off this site for minor deviations from the party line.

"Minor deviation from the party line" like what?

[-] BattleshipPokemon@hexbear.net 6 points 2 months ago

Yeah the building of the vampire castle over here has been pretty depressing, I'm an optimist that hexbear can get better and heal but it feels with the loss of the more interesting power users over time the site is sort of circling the drain a bit.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

I hope you don't mind the double-comment but I thought you and others might appreciate this text, whose author was also inspired by Mao:

https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-3/constructive-criticism.html

[-] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 7 points 2 months ago

So, you got dunked on so hard you made this post? Cool. You deserved it, nerd.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 17 points 2 months ago

If credible objectioncan only be issued by people who haven't been attacked in this manner, then virtually no one can credibly object.

[-] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 8 points 2 months ago

Speak for yourself. I've never been dunked on and never will be.

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 11 points 2 months ago

There is no circumstance in which I can interpret that as not being a bad thing besides one in which dunking is disposed of (or perhaps one where you have left the site, which I am not suggesting), but besides that my point is that it's just not a sensible model for rejecting criticism.

[-] Moidialectica@hexbear.net 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Especially when the site is often where many is a new communist or a person in need of support, dunking couldn't be farther from what is actually needed, even just writing the points where you might disagree with is better to not compromise if you couldn't bother, I can't imagine a single scenario where dunking achieves something actually material when done to your comrades, is shame meant to build a revolution?

[-] purpleworm@hexbear.net 7 points 2 months ago

is shame meant to build a revolution?

People here have unironically argued that it is, but it doesn't make any sense because while some people in some circumstances take it well, it's not generalizable. It would if anything be generous to say the attitude is shaped by survivorship bias, that it's because people who respond well are those that stuck around and it had warped the community's perspective on how people react. While that's surely an element, I think a lot of it is just wishful thinking on the part of users that they can self-righteously vent all of their aggression on whoever they like and that's what agitating is.

[-] Cowbee@hexbear.net 4 points 2 months ago

Agreed! Well-said, comrade. People often try to go for cheap wins, while we need to better adhere to Unity-Struggle-Unity.

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this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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