Fascinating stuff (and rather pertinent to a paper I intend to write about the evolution of a particular pejorative) and yes, I think it's solid.
Have you heard of something called "operant conditioning"? It creates psychological harm, but can also be used by a psychologist and a willing client to heal a broken client. Basically it's all about rewards for behavior (WebMD source: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what...nditioning)
So... what's going on is operant conditioning, and the poor moderators (if any) have to try and balance out between a very boring board and something worthwhile with good information and a lively engagement or the Pits of Sheol.
So let's say I start a subreddit about ... Nash Equilibriums in mathematical game theory (to pick a weird topic -- I'm sure the entire world will flock to it to hear us discuss zero sum games and the like) I mention in passing that Trump's behavior in Kaplan's courtroom (the E. Jean Carrol trial, for those of you reading this post many years in the future) is a losing strategy and point to the Prisoner's Dilemma game (no, I'm not going to discuss this point. It's an example, folks. Be nice or I bring out the Math.)
All the liberals hop on and say "yes! Delightful!" and praise me by making meme photos that say something like "Can't deviate from strategy, obvious loser!" and "Orange Toast" (or something else.) I feel very empowered by this and go on to talk about Trump in terms of other game theory ideas, and since everyone laughs and starts giving him scathing nicknames, I feel even bolder. And perhaps for my next post (or the one after that or after that) I am emboldened to repeat these playground taunts (for a man who'll never read them... how lame is that?) The moderators don't stop me, and the few rational conservatives on the board who say "you're using some extreme examples and you've forgotten a few factors" get laughed at with the old "ooooh! Tears of the conservatives for their deity!" sort of thing.
Now every angry statement about "liberal misunderstanding of conservative views" gets laughed at, ignored, or simply ends up with people posting a bunch of meme pictures (basically implying that the one protesting has no understanding of reality and is probably a complete fool). So this tiny example suddenly turns into a whole lot of "pat on the back" sort of stuff for me.
Everyone's giving me (and my cronies) attention. It's great stuff! I feel validated. I write more, and people come to see the fights... not to discuss game theory. Word spreads.
Who comes to the fights? The less empowered people who want to "get back" at the ones that they feel are causing them misery. They're glad to even fabricate and deliberately misunderstand situations and events in order to get pats for cutting down Trump and his supporters. Moderators don't step in (moderation is VERY loose on Reddit)
Rational mathematicians say "there's better places" and leave. Casual readers who came for discussion of Dominant Strategies are out-shouted by the ones who are getting a rush of excitement or pleasure in joining the fight.
Now the board has turned toxic.
What the participants may not notice is that their views are getting more extreme because they're accepting the created misinformation of others since that misinformation helps them do battle with the Other Side. And they'll end up believing this misinformation and never bother to check.
Misinformation never goes toward a middle ground.
Now, here's an even uglier thing as mentioned in the paper: "Causal analysis through interrupted time series leads us to conclude that becoming active in a hate community leads to a measurable spillover in hate speech to other non-hate communities, meaning that a user’s hate is not self-contained within the subreddit that they join."
Let's take a trip to another discipline to show you how poisonous this is -- have you heard of something called "method acting"? In a nutshell, you "program" your mind to become like the character so you can portray them convincingly. After playing a certain character for some time, some actors often unconsciously adopts some of the attitudes and behaviors of this character. It can become a REAL problem with relationships (families, spouses, friends.)
If someone gets a rush from "getting a zinger in on someone" by a cruel comment or nasty remark and people praise them, over time they will (operant conditioning) repeat this behavior more often and it will spill over into their lives. And that's exactly what they're reporting on.
...and that, friends and neighbors, is why your friendly local Byrd never engages in rude behaviors. You become the self that you practice most. I don't want to become THAT self.
Have you heard of something called "operant conditioning"? It creates psychological harm, but can also be used by a psychologist and a willing client to heal a broken client. Basically it's all about rewards for behavior (WebMD source: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what...nditioning)
So... what's going on is operant conditioning, and the poor moderators (if any) have to try and balance out between a very boring board and something worthwhile with good information and a lively engagement or the Pits of Sheol.
So let's say I start a subreddit about ... Nash Equilibriums in mathematical game theory (to pick a weird topic -- I'm sure the entire world will flock to it to hear us discuss zero sum games and the like) I mention in passing that Trump's behavior in Kaplan's courtroom (the E. Jean Carrol trial, for those of you reading this post many years in the future) is a losing strategy and point to the Prisoner's Dilemma game (no, I'm not going to discuss this point. It's an example, folks. Be nice or I bring out the Math.)
All the liberals hop on and say "yes! Delightful!" and praise me by making meme photos that say something like "Can't deviate from strategy, obvious loser!" and "Orange Toast" (or something else.) I feel very empowered by this and go on to talk about Trump in terms of other game theory ideas, and since everyone laughs and starts giving him scathing nicknames, I feel even bolder. And perhaps for my next post (or the one after that or after that) I am emboldened to repeat these playground taunts (for a man who'll never read them... how lame is that?) The moderators don't stop me, and the few rational conservatives on the board who say "you're using some extreme examples and you've forgotten a few factors" get laughed at with the old "ooooh! Tears of the conservatives for their deity!" sort of thing.
Now every angry statement about "liberal misunderstanding of conservative views" gets laughed at, ignored, or simply ends up with people posting a bunch of meme pictures (basically implying that the one protesting has no understanding of reality and is probably a complete fool). So this tiny example suddenly turns into a whole lot of "pat on the back" sort of stuff for me.
Everyone's giving me (and my cronies) attention. It's great stuff! I feel validated. I write more, and people come to see the fights... not to discuss game theory. Word spreads.
Who comes to the fights? The less empowered people who want to "get back" at the ones that they feel are causing them misery. They're glad to even fabricate and deliberately misunderstand situations and events in order to get pats for cutting down Trump and his supporters. Moderators don't step in (moderation is VERY loose on Reddit)
Rational mathematicians say "there's better places" and leave. Casual readers who came for discussion of Dominant Strategies are out-shouted by the ones who are getting a rush of excitement or pleasure in joining the fight.
Now the board has turned toxic.
What the participants may not notice is that their views are getting more extreme because they're accepting the created misinformation of others since that misinformation helps them do battle with the Other Side. And they'll end up believing this misinformation and never bother to check.
Misinformation never goes toward a middle ground.
Now, here's an even uglier thing as mentioned in the paper: "Causal analysis through interrupted time series leads us to conclude that becoming active in a hate community leads to a measurable spillover in hate speech to other non-hate communities, meaning that a user’s hate is not self-contained within the subreddit that they join."
Let's take a trip to another discipline to show you how poisonous this is -- have you heard of something called "method acting"? In a nutshell, you "program" your mind to become like the character so you can portray them convincingly. After playing a certain character for some time, some actors often unconsciously adopts some of the attitudes and behaviors of this character. It can become a REAL problem with relationships (families, spouses, friends.)
If someone gets a rush from "getting a zinger in on someone" by a cruel comment or nasty remark and people praise them, over time they will (operant conditioning) repeat this behavior more often and it will spill over into their lives. And that's exactly what they're reporting on.
...and that, friends and neighbors, is why your friendly local Byrd never engages in rude behaviors. You become the self that you practice most. I don't want to become THAT self.
