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A Brief Recollection On The History of Trolling & It's Consequences, a thread in 7 tweets:
In the early days of the internet, a low userbase in community forums created a stagnant environment that generated its own disruption in the form of 'trolls'; members of communities who would sign up under anonymous accounts to stir the pot generate activity. 1/7
As things progressed, and the userbase expanded from a small highly technical group to a larger, still internet savvy generation in the late Dialup and Early Broadband eras. This era saw the generation of internet subcultures; conflict between them expanded trolling culture. 2/7
While inter-community conflict between subcultures was a daily part of internet life, trolling still persisted by far by trolling people who weren't immersed in 'internet culture', who were considered insipidly unaware of themselves, or espoused unexamined opinions. 3/7
These streams of conflict, one between the initiated and another, the larger world outside the internet, had a generational component that people today would see parralels of in their own time, and have had devastating consequences for talking to other humans online. 4/7
Internet discourse has, broadly speaking, evolved from this combat to create an ad-hoc position of semi-ironic detachment, to use the display of sincerity and emotion as a way to keep 'score'; to use humor as a way of telling the truth, and of course, memes. 5/7
This posture, evolved from a small, mostly white western userbase in the 90's and early 00's, is still the general condition today
But things are changing. As Capital's control of the narrative breaks down, & devastating world events sneak past our filters, sincerity beckons 6/7
But things are changing. As Capital's control of the narrative breaks down, & devastating world events sneak past our filters, sincerity beckons 6/7
Sincerity does not mean the death of humor, or irony, or joy; For the people of the internet, it is to engage in one's life without living an unaware servant to the custom of alienating others. We must turn the page, singly and together. 7/7
This thread is dedicated to @posadist_trapgd, and the rising generation of the internet that does not have to repeat the same tawdry mistakes of our past. Go forward and conquer, y'all, it's your internet now.
