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Comment by kodah | Hacker News Reader

> There also seems to be an assumption on HN/Reddit that vocal activity on the internet, in any form — be that videos, blogging, podcasts, etc. — is proportional to activity behind the screen.

Personally, I dislike this attitude. I think the internet is a good signal for what will be in the streets in 2-4 years time unabated. The attitude OP reflects is one that was valid in the 90s and early 2000s, but not today.

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No, I think that's very wrong, now more than ever. What you read "on the internet" is almost always fabricated and published with manipulative intent and asymetric capabilities to promote a product, lang/skill, or whatever. It's the negative comments you should care about.

I think you and I may be talking about different things. I do agree with your point that there's lots of hot garbage on the internet. We might as well be doing Olympic laps in it. My point was more at trends in general. If you see something appear on the internet that has even moderate staying power, it will weave its way into society eventually.

Exactly : troll farms, astroturfing and Sock Puppets are a thing.

Not being skeptic in 2022 of comments or news online is being very naive.

I would say, less "naive", and more "to forget". I remember reading about russian bots like eight years ago, the Facebook scandal, and more on the topic once in a while. But. Maintaining vigilance 24/7 is bloody tiring, as any guard/soldier knows.

I simply forget. Maybe that's how they get you. They wear you down.

I agree with both of you. There are useful contents indicating trends and there is so much shilling and fake news online. We need somebody to sift through it all - like an honest, ethical media ...

I totally disagree. Slacktivism is a thing. It's easy, especially when you're jobless or still at school or without any social life or hobbies to be an activist online. It's less easy when you have to face the material world.

Moreover "the internet", whatever the meaning, is not a faithful representation of the "real world". Go tell the millions of people without toilets or working the whole day the slacktivists spending their days on twitter represent their struggle...

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