I think there is a way of sharing your opinion about something without telling everyone who doesn't agree or share your opinion that they're an asshat. I am not sure there is any nuance to it, but I think it comes down to the way you express that your opinion is your own and whether you kind of weaponize that against other people's posts on a topic. I saw this all the time in the birdshit but I'm also seeing it more here as people shift over. The anger and the "expert opinions" on things ...
@thewebrecluse Unfortunately it's going to get much worse before it gets better. Friday is the D day for the bird sale so this weekend may be a good one to lay low.
@Embers I am starting to have to resign myself to the thought that no matter how much I love this place ... eventually it's going to fill up with more of the kind of people who destroy good things than of the opposite kind ...
@Embers It's easy to spot the obvious trolls and splat them and everything ... it's easy to spot the troublemakers ... but there is really nothing to be done for people who just simply bring negativity and toxicity and start slowly spreading that around. It happens slowly, sometimes insidiously, but it does happen.
@thewebrecluse CoSo is pretty good at deflecting negativity. Have to admit I'm probably guilty of it on occasion particularly when it comes to things political. I try to remember to hashtag political posts so people who have filters set to ignore political posts won't see them but sometimes forget. I filter quite a few sports but they still slip through.
It's not a perfect system for ignoring things one isn't interested in or doesn't want to see but it is somewhat helpful. 🙂
@Embers This is good advice. Thanks. I'll probably keep away for a bit. ❤️
Remember that people do what they are rewarded for. It takes a while for people to retrain from the antagonistic behavior that bots and alogrithms encourage. Some folks need more time than others to discover they get more engagement here when they put down the broad brush and pick up a finer one. But they usually either get there in the end or they leave.
@thewebrecluse *nod* A similar post got under my skin yesterday, but you said *why* it bothered me better than I could have.
That person had weaponized their opinion into an attack on others who disagreed. Also in an ad hominem address. So of course I got rattled. 
Thanks for sharing that thread. You helped. 🌹
@Zenstitcher I'm glad I could help in some way. I get accused of "policing" a lot and I really am not trying to do anything like that. I love this community and its been incredibly helpful and healing for me. I'm just of the opinion that there are ways to treat each other better and CoSo is such a great space to relearn some of the horrible habits picked up from other social media ... if people are willing to recognize that they have things to relearn.
@thewebrecluse Some of it may be that the refugees are acting out the damage of that trauma when they get here. They just don't know how else to be.
I still don't want to see that kind of energy here. I just hope some of the newer, angrier folks are open to learning that there's no advantage to attacking anyone here. It doesn't accrue followers, or make a nonexistent algorithm like their toots/posts better.
I trust @th3j35t3r and the core group he's got here, tho. 😊
@Zenstitcher I absolutely understand that ❤️ and I mentioned something similar last night. I absolutely understand there are a lot of people coming from real trauma ... trauma that has shaped them and warped them in a sense and some may not know how to let go of it or even recognize it. If such people are willing to recognize what's been done to them after years of abuse in that Hellmouth then maybe something really transformative can happen once they spend time here.
I just blocked my first person for yelling into the ether about how x people are stupid and y people shouldn't exist or speak online etc type stuff and it's really unfortunate to see that kind of behavior here. Obviously, I know where that behavior comes from, and I know why it's here now I'm just ... bummed about that energy being thrown around this space now ...