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Why are some people on the internet rude and hostile and pretentious and speak without using proper English ?

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Seriously what causes people to say some of the most hurtful things on the internet ? I don't get it.

False bravado, perhaps an attempt to manipulate or intimidate others.

Also, in recent years, I've heard quite a bit of talk about troll farms and internet shills, so I wouldn't discount the possibility of someone being paid to be a jerk.
 
Why are some people on the internet (…) pretentious and speak without using proper English ?

Ah, don’t assume that English is most people’s first, second or third language. It’s pretentious to do so.

A lot of today’s internet communication, however, can still be traced back to good old Usenet days where it is rather common to save some characters, even today with byte flatrates.
 

Brickjectivity

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Seriously what causes people to say some of the most hurtful things on the internet ? I don't get it.
In addition to what Salixcendium says I think its also that many people feel psychologically lost. I mean they lack a sense of reality or perhaps hope. Many people have to live without a sense that everything is real, and they live this way year after year endlessly. Its no all bad, because living that way has its advantages. There is an advantage to going with the flow of the next moment. It is bad though to feel like nothing is real or that there is no meaning or hope. Questioning reality is normal and healthy, but feeling lost all the time is not. One way to establish contact is to annoy people. If nothing else it provide a bit of euphoria or adrenaline, which can feel real. Its like when dogs bark at each other.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Seriously what causes people to say some of the most hurtful things on the internet ? I don't get it.
It's a window on how human nature really and actually is.

But conversely, human nature also has a gentle kind side as well.
 

libre

In flight
Staff member
Premium Member
Seriously what causes people to say some of the most hurtful things on the internet ? I don't get it.
I think the early internet had a lot of hazing culture that we haven't really grown out of yet.

It's true that the keyboard allows one to eschew accountability but I think there's more to it than that. I think defensiveness is the root of most flame and snark. Any words one puts into the world are in a way part of us, and we can take it quite personally when they are attacked.
It can be easier to burn things down than build them up, especially if there are other arsonists in your midst.
 

Rival

Diex Aie
Staff member
Premium Member
Is good manners "false" Character?
There's the idea that personality is who you are with others, character is what you do when no-one's looking and is more ingrained, whereas personality changes over time due to experience etc.

Character traits like loyalty and honour etc. don't tend to change. If someone's a cheater he tends to cheat no matter.
 

Niatero

*banned*
Seriously what causes people to say some of the most hurtful things on the internet ? I don't get it.

I don't think that it will stop getting worse any time in the near future, but I have some ideas about how to help reduce the damage from it.
 
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