I have a bird in my hand.....wanna see it? . Christ I will never make it to 70.
Haha! You'll be 70 before you know it, because you blinked a few too many times. I'm not 50-70 either, and I already feel like the years are going too fast.
Maybe my watch is broken, need to slow it down.
It's an interesting contrast. It appears the median age on that site is quite low. People love reciting slogans, but there's absolutely no depth to their views. Much of it is difficult to parse because of the t3xt sp34k and such, and the community-moderation model means snarky jabs take precedence over actual knowledge.
I think there is something about the format of the website / app that shows the priorities of Reddit. And either that attracts people who are looking for those things or it shapes them to adopt it. The places where the text goes looks visually cleaner if responses are kept very short. The default view when opening a thread is for things to be organized by what's "hot" as in gets the most "likes" (I believe) rather than chronological order. Any comment can be "liked" or "unliked" and your cumulative score shows as "karma", so if lots of people like the things you say, you are rewarded. So, if you don't say what will be popular, you are punished. I think that's how it works anyways.
I am told by people involved in running these things that the online forum format has been on the decline for several years. I regret that. This format strikes me as a transparent analog for written correspondence and conversation. I can easily quote the text to which I am responding, so we get direct, uncluttered communication.
Yes, I think the limitations of hardware (mobile phone) and the habits that go with them are making themselves obvious. Compared to face to face interaction, an online forum is a step down in terms of effectiveness. But texting on a mobile phone, the way which it's used on social media, is way down the totem pole. I've tried giving complete answers to folks that have asked the same questions we see here: Is _ a good gun, am I shooting well enough, what should I look for in a home defense firearm, and my answers seemed really out of place compared to the one liners that didn't provide any context or future guidance.
ANYONE taking advice from STRANGERS is on a fools erand.
After I'd been on the forums a couple years, I started to notice that there are some regulars and some who come and go, and I began to appreciate the mature well balanced responses. More balanced than my natural tendencies are, anyways. The post count generally helps ID experience levels, but not always. So I guess that poses the question: Are we all still strangers here? Probably not all. I also like how forum members call out false info if it's going to be dangerous or the answer is pretty clear. Moderators that participate make a huge difference.
If my tastes in this are merely generational, that's not good for this format.
I'm sure some of it is habit, but I really think the hardware has shaped things in this case. Video communication is a step towards more complete communication but until they find a way to protect privacy and make video files take just a fraction of the space, typing words looks like it's staying. How much further can writing be abbreviated? I hope not much more. Can't "emoji" your way through explaining trigger control.
I checked the fridge in the break room, and nobody's getting a pink slip any time soon.
I haven't been here as long as some others, but I look back and see that this place has consistently been my go-to for solid well thought opinions and expertise. Or just light hearted banter. I hope it's here until I'm too shaky to type. Then watch out for jumbled voice dictations!
And botched autocorrect.