maple's.fortunes
there is no central destination
Digg Problems
I actually wrote most of this last night, but I didn’t publish it. I now see that Lahni wrote a very similar post, which is strictly a coincidence.
If you know me well, you know that I love Digg. I am constantly checking Digg throughout the day. I would bet that I spend hours on Digg everyday. I find everything on Digg, from hot news items to hilarious videos/pictures to cool science stuff. Lately, however, Digg and I have been having some problems. Really, it boils down to one thing: the other Diggers. I am so sick of the hypocrisy that runs rampant in the comments. I have found most diggers to be left leaning atheists, which is fine. The problem, however, is that many of these fine souls do not practice what they preach. They love to think that they are open-minded and respectful of others. They aren’t though. Any story that mentions religion is immediately filled with comments that basically say that if you believe in God you are a complete idiot who deserves no respect. They lump anyone who has any believes in God into the same category as the religious zealots. They have become very much like the religious zealots whom they despise so much. They are closed-minded individuals who can’t see past their own beliefs. They are egotistical in their belief of the non-existence of God. They label anyone who does believe an idiot, a sheeple, a nut etc. It really bothers me. I agree that there are some people out there who are religious zealots that are rather extreme, but to lump all religious people together, as the comments on digg frequently do, is unfair and wrong. And if you try to explain that to them, they will quickly point out that they are not trying to convert people and digg you down. However, a lot of the comments are about how people have been fed lies by organized religion and telling them they’re wrong. I’d say that that is the same thing.
On a related note, I really dislike how one-sided digg can be and how quickly allegiances can change. Take for instances the American election. First it was Ron Paul. It seemed like every story was about Ron Paul and everyone loved him. A story that brought up some bad points about Ron Paul was immediately buried. Then, when Ron Paul was no longer in the race, Digg switched to Obama. No story could bash Obama. Anything that bashed Hilary or any Republican (except Ron Paul as I pointed out earlier) during the primaries was dugg straight to the top. No pro-Hilary or pro-McCain/Romney/Huckabee article could do that. After the primaries were over it was the same thing, except it was all against McCain and Palin.
The other thing that bothers me is that, no matter what the story is about, someone will turn it into a political or religious discussion. Not only that, but it will end just as I described above. I mean you could have a picture of a cute puppy and someone would say “Palin will probably shoot it from a helicopter” or “The religious right want to ban puppies too! Watch out!” You get the point.
I think the last verse of the song Angry Mob by the Kaiser Chiefs describes digg very well.
We are the angry mob
We read the papers everyday day
We like who like
We hate who we hate
But we’re also easily swayed
November 7th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Maybe you should post this on digg. Good post.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Actually, it was reading the comments on digg that caused me to write my post too!
November 7th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Oh this is so true – it’s why I stopped reading Digg and other Digg-like sites a long time ago. It’s the same old story – whoever yells the loudest gets heard, even if it’s only one person. As for the huge media/internet (Digg) bias towards Obama – that’s politics baby. And politics are dirty. There is a reason politics and religion are topics people tend to stay away from. In my old age, I’ve learned it is not worth it to fight – it’s not worth it (unless you are extremely passionate about a certain issue) to try and be the person yelling loudest. Someone will always yell louder than you. I think we can change the world by quieter means – no one on Digg is doing anything about anything by writing snotty little “pseudo-intelligent” (AH HA! I got to use the word!) comments. Screw ‘em. Read your stories, digg what you like, bury what you don’t and stay away from the comments. Those bastards don’t deserve your time, or your anger.
On a side note (because my comment isn’t quite long enough yet), a person can argue that Obama won because of the media bias, but I say he won because the MAJORITY of the people wanted him to be the president – therefore, the MAJORITY of the people on a place like Digg are going to digg Barak stories and bury Palin/McCain stories. Isn’t this just a reflection of what the election confirmed? (So didn’t mean to rhyme there…)
That said, I love your quote – so very, very true. Thought provoking, ain’t it?