Off Topic Discussion Megathread

[Lauront]

Reddit's problem is the downvoting system. It promotes hive mentality in active subs, since it's so easy to "censor" opinions that aren't part of the majority.
What the voting system was created for doesn't matter. People don't use it for its intended purpose, which was to discourage comments that don't contribute with the topic.
The people who pretend it's not an issue are usually the ones who WANT an echo-chamber, consciously or not. Reddit provides them with the perfect environment not to deal with people disagreeing with them or being reminded they have a very fragile thin skin but refuse to grow up.

Reddit is great for finding information/guides, but awful if you want to have actual discussion. Unless, again, it's a small sub with very few regulars.

The only way to make it work if you have contrarian views is to post rather strategically and amass upvotes on issues that garner easy upvotes, to offset the loss elsewhere. It's a very political way of handling discussions of what you do or don't like in a game, and it has led to it becoming something of an echo chamber, sadly. That kind of atmosphere will not engender open or honest conversation. With that said, the mods on the main sub are also very trigger happy with bans...

I don't bother with Reddit. The majority of users there aren't interested in a civil discussion and will actively abuse the downvote function at every possible turn. Often over matters that are entirely inconsequential such as liking or disliking specific characters in a fictional setting.

From what I've seen as well, Twitter is little better, forming little re-tweet lynch mobs to pursue those who espouse wrong-think, particularly on some "hot button" issues that segments of that site obsess over.