Is Religious Forums Keeping You Sane?

[Heyo]

The (left-wing) media is telling me about people in the US who went over the edge into crazy town. (Exhibit A: the video. No need to watch it if you already had the same experience.)

They also make social media (facebook etc.) responsible for it. RF is a social media site and even our most ardent Trump supporters are not that far gone.
I think it is due to the fact that RF has no option to filter new posts. We are all hit with the same headlines even if we don't read the articles or participate in the discussion.
But it could also be that our team of fine moderators don't allow too crazy posts here or any other cause.
Why do you think that RF members are more sane than the general public?
Or aren't we? Is this all a media hype?

 

[Rival]

My friends on RF help keep me sane, even though I may not have quite the same effect on them.

 

[Sunstone]

RF has an intellectual culture that values some behaviors that are arguably dysfunctional in terms of realism,etc. Whether that amounts to a form of insanity is above my pay grade.

 

[dybmh]

Why do you think that RF members are more sane than the general public?

People here value reasoned opinions.

 

[PureX]

I think some people come here 'crazy'. And perhaps this environment allows that crazy to become more noticeable. But I don't think it actually ever made anyone crazy.

 

[VoidCat]

I think I might be crazy...but not from RF.

 

[JustGeorge]

Nope. @PureX is right. I came here crazy...

And after moving the couch so I could grab my breakfast(yes, true story), I did some reflecting that I can't yet claim sanity. But no, that's no RF's fault.

 

[Nakosis]

IMO, there is less insanity on RF than there is on Facebook and Twitter.

The craziness here tends to standout. Whereas on other platforms it's the norm.

 

[Martin]

 

[Martin]

IMO, there is less insanity on RF than there is on Facebook and Twitter.

The craziness here tends to standout. Whereas on other platforms it's the norm.

They're all bonkers on Facebook.

 

[ChristineM]

What is normal? A real psychological question.

Everyone has their quirks... Yes, even you dear reader.

But as far as i know even the most ardent trump supporters here didn't join in the insurrection. Perhaps because they didn't have the bus fare or some other reason which could include the calming influence of RF

 

[Samael_Khan]

The (left-wing) media is telling me about people in the US who went over the edge into crazy town. (Exhibit A: the video. No need to watch it if you already had the same experience.)

They also make social media (facebook etc.) responsible for it. RF is a social media site and even our most ardent Trump supporters are not that far gone.
I think it is due to the fact that RF has no option to filter new posts. We are all hit with the same headlines even if we don't read the articles or participate in the discussion.
But it could also be that our team of fine moderators don't allow too crazy posts here or any other cause.
Why do you think that RF members are more sane than the general public?
Or aren't we? Is this all a media hype?

I prefer to phrase the question:

Why do you think that RF members less insane than the general public?

But I also think that it is media hype. The media portrays the world like reality TV shows do. They bring attention to the nutters for ratings. The general public is probably way below the sanity threshold.

 

[Revoltingest]

RF keeps me occupied.
Close enuf to sanity for me.

 

[SomeRandom]

Sanity? What’s that?

 

[Laika]

Or aren't we? Is this all a media hype?

Sadly, yes there is a really serious problem. You are welcome to visit QanonCasualties on reddit and read some of the stories people are sharing about how the Qanon Conspiracy is ripping apart people's families and friendships. I don't know statistically what the scale of the problem is, but it does seem that people's "sanity" is becoming more debatable.

But it could also be that our team of fine moderators don't allow too crazy posts here or any other cause.

I believe the forum has a policy against Coronavirus mis-information and this may well exclude members who, by denying the risks posed by Coronavirus, are more inclined to discuss "crazier" ideas.

I think it is due to the fact that RF has no option to filter new posts. We are all hit with the same headlines even if we don't read the articles or participate in the discussion.

If you look up past U.S. elections, you'll find polls on RF that show a majority of members support Democrats. Religious Forums has effectively always been a "Blue State" in election time, even if it has its share of non-liberal opinions. Recently, the imbalance has grown to ridiculous proportions (look at the poll here) with the site becoming almost exclusively inhabited by Liberals, which nearly no Conservatives active day-to-day. By a combination of factors, RF is therefore spontaneously filtering out Conservative members and therefore their opinions, media sources, etc. This appears to be more a question of a "self-selecting" community, rather than by conscious design.

 

[Trailblazer]

My friends on RF help keep me sane, even though I may not have quite the same effect on them.

I do not like the word sane because that implies that some people are insane...
I like the people on RF as they are the only people in my life right now, and talking and listening to people and learning new things keeps me from getting depressed. I have a lot to be depressed about if I think about it so I try not to think about it and just do what I have to do each day.

 

[Sunstone]

People here value reasoned opinions.

Just curious in what way do people value reasoned opinions? Maybe I'm not seeing things as they are, but I haven't noticed more than scant evidence that well reasoned and empirically evidenced arguments have much influence on people's views and opinions.

Of course, people can value reasoned opinions in any of several ways, such as they value their own reasoned opinions, but not other people's reasoned opinions. So, I'm curious what you meant by 'value' in this context.

 

[JustGeorge]

Just curious in what way do people value reasoned opinions? Maybe I'm not seeing things as they are, but I haven't noticed more than scant evidence that well reasoned and empirically evidenced arguments have much influence on people's views and opinions.

Of course, people can value reasoned opinions in any of several ways, such as they value their own reasoned opinions, but not other people's reasoned opinions. So, I'm curious what you meant by 'value' in this context.

While this can be true, I often find that others do value a reasoned opinion, as long as it is framed in a way they can understand.

I think there's an easy assumption that comes from many that the person they are speaking to possesses an equal amount of reasoning skills, or has a similar amount of emotion about a topic that they do. This is often not true, and if the person that wants to make a point can remember their audience, they are much more likely to get their point across. Whether the person in question agrees or not is another story, but they are more likely to appreciate another opinion if they can understand it.

 

[Thief]

But it could also be that our team of fine moderators don't allow too crazy posts here or any other cause.

I would retort.....but that would be crazy

 

[Sunstone]

While this can be true, I often find that others do value a reasoned opinion, as long as it is framed in a way they can understand.

I think there's an easy assumption that comes from many that the person they are speaking to possesses an equal amount of reasoning skills, or has a similar amount of emotion about a topic that they do. This is often not true, and if the person that wants to make a point can remember their audience, they are much more likely to get their point across. Whether the person in question agrees or not is another story, but they are more likely to appreciate another opinion if they can understand it.

I've been here 16 years. I've seen reasoned opinions framed in all sorts of ways by all sorts of people on all sorts of subjects.

Still haven't seen more than scant empirical evidence they influence anyone's views or opinions. Theories aside, there is just no evidence for it, so far as I've found.

RF debates seem to help some people hone how they defend their views. Maybe that's the most anyone gets out of them that comes close to involving 'reasoning'.