Is there anything to gain?

[MisterSpock]

Is there anything to gain, anymore, from online discussion, discourse or any sort of political/social interaction?

I guess I shouldn't single out the online space, it's a fair question to ask with regard to real life interactions.

I remember the early days of internet discussion(BBS) and forums(AOL, ETC). Maybe it's just getting old, but nothing seems like it was back in it's infancy, when it was "pure" or atleast was able to project the facade of being more genuine than literally any corner of the internet feels like today.

I'm really ready to just give up on it, like everything else, even those that think they are on the "fringe" and are somehow "outside" of the influences that plague major social media networks are nothing more than just a different form of the same, but perhaps themselves brainwashed into thinking they are not.

[MykeNukem]

Is there anything to gain, anymore, from online discussion, discourse or any sort of political/social interaction?

I guess I shouldn't single out the online space, it's a fair question to ask with regard to real life interactions.

I remember the early days of internet discussion(BBS) and forums(AOL, ETC). Maybe it's just getting old, but nothing seems like it was back in it's infancy, when it was "pure" or atleast was able to project the facade of being more genuine than literally any corner of the internet feels like today.

I'm really ready to just give up on it, like everything else, even those that think they are on the "fringe" and are somehow "outside" of the influences that plague major social media networks are nothing more than just a different form of the same, but perhaps themselves brainwashed into thinking they are not.

I think there's something to be gained, even on the 'mainstream' outlets, mind you not much at this juncture in time. It's mostly disinformation that needs to be weeded through for nuggets of truth.

The early days are gone and the internet has moved on to corporate conglomerate's vying to control the flow of information.

A famous Canadian (Marshall McLuhan) once said: The Medium is the Message, Mass Age, Mess Age, Massage .. It's an interesting theory that you'd probably be interested in.

Edward Bernay's spoke and wrote a lot about the 'medium' and the 'message' and propaganda techniques utilized  therein.

There are still people interested in the 'truth', and now more than ever those people are being ostracized for even asking a question on mainstream websites, even small websites at this point. The status quo is strong and the pressure is real. People's lives are getting turned upside down due to new laws (UK) and cancel culture waging a war against reality.

In my opinion, now more than ever we need these small, personable, community run websites with fairly like-minded individuals to act as small bulwarks against the State and Corporations.

Don't give up bro, Dig in your Heels!

They win if you give up.

[MisterSpock]

I guess you are right, but I"m right too.

Me: There is little to be gained, that's true.

You: It's the last place, the small forum, the fringe outfit, It's the Alamo.

I guess this is freedoms/knowledge's last stand. At least in the digital sphere.

[FCD]

Double.

[FCD]

I think there are things to be gained, but I also think it depends on a balance of forum size.

Too big - And you have reddit and failbook, chaos and kiddie land.
Too small - And you have no activity to engage people.
Just right, but all like minded - And you have an echo chamber.
Just right, and varied - Good balanced discussion.

I think it's good to have a place where you can throw out thoughts and ideas and get feedback on those thoughts and ideas, both good and bad.
I think it's good to have a place where you can say things that you might not be able to say in a work or family setting (political correctness and all).
Those are my thoughts.