constant escape

winter withered, warm
and yeah, there's no fundamental difference between liking someone's post and saying "good point". but i do think that if we had to do the latter, we might more frequently add another thought in--and would be less inclined to interpret the absence of such outright validation as rejection (though maybe that's just me and Corpsey lol), since people would probably say "good point" more selectively, not so much as a common courtesy.

so i don't know exactly what would come of a boycott, but i think after a while it might actually lead a better atmosphere: more fluent and populated conversations, and fewer (or less defined) assumptions of what other people think of what you're saying. i could be wildly projecting tho
Wonderful points, namely about the selectivity of it. I'm willing to try it out, to resist likes and opt for articulated support.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
The problem is that long-term benefits are simply less vivid than short-term ones. I agree that being mindful about long-term benefits can counteract the instinct to reach for what's right in front of you, but (Especially for people like me) it's an uphill struggle.

Especially if you're feeling depressed or whatever — you want some relief/pleasure RIGHT NOW, which means eating a donut or having a wank or whatever, not saving up for the trip of a lifetime in a year's time.
 

luka

Well-known member
The problem is that long-term benefits are simply less vivid than short-term ones. I agree that being mindful about long-term benefits can counteract the instinct to reach for what's right in front of you, but (Especially for people like me) it's an uphill struggle.

Especially if you're feeling depressed or whatever — you want some relief/pleasure RIGHT NOW, which means eating a donut or having a wank or whatever, not saving up for the trip of a lifetime in a year's time.

Guilt and self disgust are useful here though as they serve to complicate that immediate gratification and make it less desirable. That's why I'm pro guilt
 

luka

Well-known member
Guilt and self shame and self disgust are what can save us from that instant gratification treadmill
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
But with wanking the guilt and shame only really floods in after you've already finished — same with McDonalds, actually!

It's interesting how sexual arousal can temporarily blot out your conscience. Obviously there's a difference between blotting out feeling obscurely bad about the possible realities of porn production vs. blotting out feeling bad about hurting somebody. But it's a continuum — a sexy continuum!
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I once had a formidably boring data entry job which I managed to make a lot more tolerable by challenging myself to get through, say, 100 "cases" in an hour. The work was still boring, but making it a speed challenge meant that I wasn't even thinking about how boring it was, I was just pelting through the work as fast as possible. I think that sort of attitude can really help with doing boring things that you have to do.
 

constant escape

winter withered, warm
But in the spirit of resistance being futile: I do think trends take hold for reasons. Whether or not those reasons will endure, or prove to be incidental, is another question. I mean, there is something potent and electric in the like/emoji system as it is, an electricity that is rendered a bit more sober and analytical by the articulation I would be opting for. Highly concentrated satisfaction on one hand, and a more spread-out, enduring one on the other.

The resistance is pragmatic, merely in the interest of understanding what currents go where, how strongly, and how soon they are subsumed by larger currents. Once this analysis is carried through to some extent, then one can, perhaps, fall back in line with them, having audited and evaluated them.

Can we read guilt as a circuit breaker? In the sense that it can function to prevent a quickly solidifying habit of automatic gratification? In line with Luka's point about its ability to inhibit the autopilot/treadmill potential.
 

luka

Well-known member
guilt is a circuit breaker. any kind of doubt or bad feeling is a circuit break. any kind of negative feedback is a circuit breaker.
 

luka

Well-known member
i was saying to Barty it's got a kind of worldbuilding aspect to it. you know how they use that term 'lore'?
 

luka

Well-known member
Trophies awarded to luka



  1. 30
    A moment ago I LOVE IT!
    Content you have posted has attracted 500 positive reactions.


 

constant escape

winter withered, warm
But this certainly gives us a taste.

What if certain posts can be jumpstarted by a few thousand likes, from a pool of bot accounts, in the interest of starting a like-avalanche? I mean, think about the difference between a post having a few likes and the same post having twenty thousand - might that convince the reader to add their approval as well? Status prevailing over content?

Granted, that might not work - I'm not familiar.
 

luka

Well-known member
im sure all those kind of things are in play. this is part of what i wanted to talk about in the thread 'Is Reality Fake?'
 

constant escape

winter withered, warm
I would think so too. Moderational transparency is almost an oxymoron, especially at that level. Almost as if transparency and effectiveness are inversely proportional - but again, there is always room for reconciliation here. It just might take some mighty complexity.

What if there was a massive shadow pool of curated bot accounts? Curated so as to represent actual accounts, represent demographics and whatnot, and these accounts would interact with each other so each to sharpen all of their behaviors. Like a training reserve for bots. This subterranean pool could prove useful in many ways, I would imagine. It could be used to jumpstart positive feedback for posts, or it could be used to gradually add likes to any posts that gain enough likes. Or perhaps not any posts, but posts by... those with checkmarks?

All of this seems algorithmically feasible, but then again I'm a total stranger to any kind of code.

While such a tactic could undoubted be implemented in the interest of monetary profit, fueling controversy and whatnot, I'm sure there are uses for them that not only aid profit, primarily, but secondarily enforce some ideological agenda.
 
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