I saw this discussion brought up on a different thread and I though I’d get some more opinions on the matter.
The Beehaw community guidelines describe a place that’s meant to be safe, friendly and encourages people to discuss their ideas in good faith. For the most part I feel like this community lives up to that; users of this instance are generally thoughtful with their responses. However, I don’t feel like that level of quality extends to the users who post from other instances. Responses from those users are more likely to pendantic, overly argumentative, and unhelpful.
Now I may just be an elitist fuck so I’d like to hear your opinions on this. Does Beehaw benefit from federation? Do the community guidelines even matter if they don’t apply to many of the people who engage with this instance? Am I just looking for a reason to complain?
EDIT: This post isn’t a request for Beehaw to defederate btw. I just wanted to discuss the negatives of federation and what we can do to alleviate them :)
Beehaw is dangerously close to group think that shouts down/deletes other viewpoints. There is a difficult to discern line between a view you don’t agree with and what is labeled here as “close minded”.
I myself experienced that when I posed a opposing viewpoint regarding a search for non right wing podcasts. I can understand wanting a podcast without any mention of politics but to say I don’t want to listen to X group because I don’t agree isn’t a positive way to take disagreement.
I have noticed that beehaw tends to shout down people that disagree which is not beneficial. The more you shout down/ignore a group the louder they become. That is the main reason why I think, at least the US, is in the polarized political environment it is in now. We have lost our thought of empathy, discourse and evaluation of ideas different from our own.
I think the main issue is the tone with which an idea is presented, not always the idea itself. I’m open to many viewpoints; in fact, that’s how I learn and understand best. I don’t only want to listen to people who already think like I do.
Some things can’t be compromised on, though. In my opinion, US conservatives have become blatantly bigoted, sexist, and fascist. In the past, one could give them the benefit of the doubt, but they’re not even trying to hide it anymore. I don’t care how they “present” their ideas. When someone tries to explain why tacitly supporting bigotry is okay, it doesn’t matter how eloquently they make their point. They are actively opposed to tolerance, and therefore don’t deserve it.