It used to be the case that you could talk and discuss with people corteously and sincerely, just like in real life, but now no matter where you go it's just trolls, shills, bots, attention whores...Look at this screenshot for example. This is when /l/ - Lolicon still existed. And yet it's less unhinged than anything posted in the internet in 2025.
>>83280082What do you mean, that shit is full of tripfag retards
200x - eternal summer 201x - shills and astroturf202x - bots and raidersprobably got years wrongcivility < courtesy < sincerity < trust < kinship < separation of kin and non-kintl;dr- low testosterone, no one knows what a healthy relationship is like, technology invents drive-by antisocial behavior making environmental social multipliers dropthat_mspaint_comic_of_one_sincerityfag_asking_a_bunch_of_retards_trolls_shitposters_ironyfags_baitposters_why_cant_we_all_just_talk_normally.jpg/spent too much time not finding it
i had a good chat here yesterday but it's one in a thousand and we still had some retard raging at us both. in real life, people are kept from sperging out, but they just don't talk, instead.
>>83280082It just got more populated, and therefore more competitive.>nicepost where you engage honestly and make a light joke with one anon>1 (you), from them. reply chain ends>baitpost where you act hostile and supremely confident while also merely pretending to be retarded>15 (you)s, many of which spawn their own response chainsAs the amount of people online increases, the competition for engagement goes up. 4chan is relatively insulated from this due to no algorithm, no persistent personas, etc. but obviously not immune. The people who post "old style" either fade into the background, overrun by the bait posters and bait takers, or just stop posting entirely.
>>83281479it's true. i often intentionally phrase things in more provocative ways in the hopes of getting engagement. but, then, if i do, there are no hopes of having a good discussion through it. too bad. also i'm not sure "old style" means good interactions, either. i admit i'm a '14 newfag so i might just lack perspective, but it was always rare to have that.
>>83281512The cold reality is that /b/ was never good. Don't let them trick you. I started posting here probably in like 06 or 07 and "underage b&" was more of a joke than anything else because the majority of the userbase was (like me) basically high school kids. The site was a SHIT HOLE because of this, where everybody just spammed literal "skibidi toilet" tier idiot memes like shoop da whoop, desu, nigga stole my bike and whatever else. This very board was created in response to the fact that many boards were fucking over run with exact reposts like that. Anybody who thinks it used to be better either wasn't here, is retarded, or just has nostalgia goggles on and wishes they were 15 again.
>>83280082Well, it's a little more complicated than you might think. By which i mean there is like 3 or 4 seperate ways the internet is being fucked over and anything you see is a result of one of them.
>>83280082I remember having gone to a website that archived old 4chan threads, and 2000s /v/ resembled other gaming forums back then. Kinda surreal.
>>83281558yeah. i think it actually is getting worse though. it was shit before, too, but it was still better. anons have become so quick to turn to idpol flaming and braindead memes and strawmanning people as some stereotype they hate. and most of our userbase isn't even weird, just miserable.
>>83280082Same reason why Hollywood stars don't have a god following base anymore: >Internet algorithms made everyone a NPD who only think about themselves
>>83280082Since people don't read these sorts of things i'll just give you the tldr: modern social media hyper specializes everyones recommendations -> people have manufactured personal echo chambers -> people can no longer or can only incredibly rarely connect over interests (major reason why socialisation is fucked) -> people without an anchor to reality lose touch with it entirely -> they develop mental illnesses and/or delusions and slowly stop expressing themselves due to lack of connectionsThis is a gradual process and is unlikely to be reversed because profits but will likely cause something history has never seen.
>>83280082Times change. Ironic meme culture is the main way of communicating now.
>>83281879that's the issue. it doesn't communicate.
It is simply because of one thing. Being funny masks your inner shitty. It's why funny comedic people are never hated in a group because who would hate a fucking clown? People who easily laugh or make "funny tirades" or the general ability to "disarm" anything with a mask of "being funny or edgy" are hiding their true feelings and so they are liars and will always wear that mask anywhere because it effectively avoids them being targeted. It's why I don't like comedic strangers or that "funny relative" - they hide their "inner shitty" they are afraid of being vulnerable and that also applies to people online who appear to be edgy or/abd comedic (a.k.a. The Joker). You can never pierce through that facade because the facade exists to shield themselves of any form of criticism or anything negative in general. These people also happen to be the worst kind (sometimes they still have good sides like you can have terrible personality but manage/work on something important or mildly useful) of personality and lack any semblance of accountability. many people today confuse being "courteous/kind" as being weak and being edgy and/or funny as being strong. After all laughter is one of the strongest weapon a person can use - laughing at your own problems is half the battle but use it too much and it becomes obnoxious, and along with the edginess you get yourself the joker. that funny unc or aunt or whatever. The only time I can accept someone being funny is when they are "Jolly" but that is rare, most devolve into the edgy and funny joker which is the personality of a insecure unaccountable fella unable to face their own self
