All this talk about outrage farmers. Frankly I'm not seeing it. Maybe I am better at scrolling past? Maybe I have a higher tolerance than a lot of folks?
Probably some people see me as one.
But I've seen *a lot* more complaining and ranting about the outrage farming. To the point that it's making me uncomfortable. It's making me question whether people think I make CoSo worse because I consistently post about politics. And it's turning my personal mood meter red.
It just occurred to me that some of the posts are people grieving after Phase left.
They're angry and upset, and trying to control things.
With that realization, I'm less baffled and just going to ride it out.
To me?
People posting inflammatory takes and memes, with little context or engagement.
And *that* I see very little of here. Like, one or two people in the course of an hour's worth of posts in the Firehose.
But I'm not the person complaining about it, so I don't know how the people complaining would define it.
@tyghebright I think I agree with your take on it. I think "outrage farming" is when people post stuff that is not entirely true, or not known to be true simply to farm likes and stoke anger. I saw a lot of it on the bird, and I don't really see it on CoSo. The whole "raise your hand if this makes you angry" idea is outrage farming to me.
@sirgeefive @tyghebright
There are those, if you are willing to look at their timelines, who post *nothing* but negativity and outrage on a range of subjects, most often political.
They don't engage in conversation or seek solutions.
They are *only* here to spread discord and division.
That is an "outrage farmer".
@tyghebright It is. There's a lot of hurting people. Me included. I hope that as folk grieve and maybe do a little soul searching we'll come out of it as kinder, more considerate people willing to think twice before we post something inflammatory.
It's a journey we're all on and the timing won't be the same for everyone. π
@tyghebright
Good point. I think people don't want to lose any more people who are loved.
@tyghebright I haven't been here long enough to know many of the "old timers". I feel like it's sorta some unintentional gatekeeping. I don't feel they are trying to sound elitist or anything, it's just this was a pretty small and tight knit community for most of it's lifespan and has kind of exploded since the bird app thing. I am sure there are a few "outrage farmers" out there but I also feel we are in an unprecedented time in the US and many of these conversations are important?
It's easy to feel overwhelmed right now, and then the small number of people who are the worst examples seem to be bigger and more present.
For some people, social media is just not a good place to be right now. Even if they curate their feeds. *And that's OK*
It can be sad when folks we care about make that decision, but no social media site is going to be static. They will all change with time.
@tyghebright As an honest question, what does "outrage farmer" mean to you? I am not sure that posting about politics is outrage farming, but I am curious as to what it means to you.