site banner

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 17, 2025

This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.

Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.

We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:

  • Shaming.

  • Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.

  • Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.

  • Recruiting for a cause.

  • Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.

In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:

  • Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.

  • Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.

  • Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.

  • Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.

On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.

4
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

It is as bad as it sounds, there is no steelman.

  • -38

I hope so. If I ever try to take over the world, I can’t imagine seeing all these comments steelmanning my endeavor as some bureaucratic trifle.

I am burning the Erdtree, goddammit! I intend to ascend to Elden Lord and reforge the shattered Elden Ring!

Moon atheist waifu supremacy over anti-horn golden crybabies any day.

  • -11

Moon atheist waifu supremacy

Every time you post something like this...

How many layers of 4chan are you on, anyway?

It’s a humorous reference to Elden Ring.

Are they just gonna be allowed to insult me? I thought that was against the rules?

  • -17

What exactly was the insult?

Presumably that she spends too much time on 4chan to the extent that her perception is skewed by a similar degree to being literally intoxicated.

If I was going to mod one of the many, many quips and insults thrown your way, it probably wouldn't be this one.

Frankly, I'm not even sure what Listening was going for.

What? So you're saying that it was an instance of rule breaking...you just won't mod it? Huh??

  • -14

Like, you made a joke that I didn't really get because I'm not online enough and I don't play Elden Ring. @Listening responded with a crack that I sorta got (I mean, I know what 4chan is) and then another that I didn't at all and neither did @netstack ("Crystal Cafe"? Wut? Okay, I know what femcels are, but...)

Am I being too casual here? Am I being too flippant? Should I start rapping my ruler on your desks? Do you want to be free to banter, except then everyone must be very srs bzness when you decide you are offended? We have only a few dials to adjust rules enforcement, and it always boils down to trying to land somewhere between "too much" and "too little." We could smack every single person who makes a post that's just a little bit hostile, a little bit aggressive, or a little bit lazy. Or we could back way off and let people call each other Nazis and shitlibs.

Generally, we try to step in when necessary as a corrective ("No, you can't keep posting like that") or when things are getting too heated. Something that's very clearly breaking the rules will be modded. Calling you names, directly insulting you, etc. Last time you got upset because @Hoffmeister25 said you're "not a serious person" which was, technically a personal insult but less so than the things I've let pass that were said directly to me. He shouldn't have said it, but when you get into the tussle you have to accept a few bruises. (I just got off the mat, some kid landed on my toe and another guy elbowed me in the face. I have owies. That's not supposed to happen and technically you can be penalized for it. It happens all the time and only wusses whine about it.)

Until you started whining (yes, I use that word purposefully, is my comparison too subtle here?) about other people not being modded, I would have rolled my eyes at this entire exchange as an instance of online banter that seems dumb and harmless to me. You are being reported, as usual, for performative offense-taking. Which is not technically against the rules but damn is it annoying. Yes, if someone calls you names they will be modded. If someone makes a crack about you being too online and 4chanified, maybe you should just suck it up because if we have to dial the knobs up, we will dial them up on everyone.

Remember last time, when I told you I would like you stay around? I still think that! Despite all the people insisting you are a performative troll and probably not even a woman. (I still think you are for real, and my trolldar is pretty good, though certainly not 100%.) But, pay attention and take me seriously: toughen up, sweetheart.

More comments

Sorry, that was insensitive. How much Crystal Cafe are you on?

I'm going to have to ask you to explain the joke.

Surely. Which bit, exactly?

More comments

What is going on here???

  • -12

Context, my dear roadhouse, context.

Moon simping and being a pawn of women in general is Reddit.

True based and redpilled anons aren't afraid to inherit the frenzied flame and crash the lands between with no survivors.

The Crazed Caca Consumer and the three fingers > all

Who wants to be ugly forever????

I know this is a troll but again the facts are that a fired president tried to keep people out of the building the acting president wanted in. That is, the only bad thing is that a crazy person illegally tried to seize a government building until the police came.

It's not a troll, it's her honest opinion. It's not well argued (in that it's not argued at all), but she's not being disingenuous to rile people up.