Internet Drama!!

Internet drama is one of those things that are generally unhealthy but I can't resist paying attention to anyway. I just wanted to rant about it here to get some words out about the issues with it, mainly in the context of speedrunning drama that happened recently since it's relatively harmless compared to some of the other stuff that gets labelled under drama but it is instructive for some of the principles people would be served to follow in my opinion.

• Don't worship people
• Don't abuse people
• Don't make things up

Let's go through each of these points.

Don't worship people

This isn't just about having idols or people that you look up to or respect. Worhipping is when it crosses over to where you tend to support people regardless of the evidence or believe they can do no wrong. This can lead to all sorts of fanatical or unhealthy behaviour but is disturbingly common. The reverse of this but in some ways even less healthy is to relentlessly hate on someone, which tends to be even worse. If this were a proper proper essay I would probably give an example or two and go into some of the negative behaviours exhibited but I don't really want to go into specifics because it feels like picking a side. This video by Uncle Dane of all people is a useful video on not worshipping youtubers. In terms of speedrunners, remember that being good at playing a video game fast doesn't necessarily make them the arbiter of all things to do with that video game.

Don't abuse people

I feel like this one should be common sense, you're just making the world a worse place by insulting/sending people hate. Further to this is you should consider how common comments are. If someone's already received 1000 messages about something, then sending another one isn't valuable criticism and becomes a pile on. I suppose the key point here is to be empathetic and remember that most people don't mean ill, even if it might appear so. Try to at least understand other peoples' perspective before casting judgement.

Don't make things up

This is really important since a lot of problems result from basic misunderstanding or miscommunication between people or communities. Trying to understand the facts of what has occurred is crucial to actually building a shared reality which is important for resolving issues. If someone is being accused of things they didn't do it makes them automatically defensive and refuse to listen to legitimate criticism. It can also cause a minor incident to be blown way out of proportion when rumours proliferate and make the whole environment more toxic.

In general, I believe 'drama communities' which are groups of people only interested in controversy and conflict tend to be really nasty. They cause an influx of people unfamiliar with events to brigade and impose their views on things which can only increase toxicity.If you are part of these communities please reconsider whether it's good for them or even more importantly whether it's good for you.

I am worried this is vague-posting a bit, but I do see the appeal. Thanks for reading, if you have any thoughts please send them in I guess.