Real talk time: "Just asking questions" is a weapon....

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Real talk time:

"Just asking questions" is a weapon. We know full-well that some people exploit it to feign innocence when deliberately throwing noise into discussions. And it works in large part because it encourages otherwise earnest discussions which then contribute to the noise.

So be careful.

Like 2 April at 16:31 | Open on mas.to

3 comments

Lars Marowsky-Brée 😷

@TechConnectify "Sealioning". It is so well abused, it's been given a name.

2 April at 16:40 | Open on mastodon.online

Technology Connections

@larsmb I am not talking about sealioning. That person knows what they're doing and doesn't need anyone to tell them to be careful.

I'm talking about people engaging in conversations about things which are technically true but don't actually matter. We need to get better at recognizing when things are irrelevant and let them drop out of the conversation, because earnest people who don't do this unwittingly bring fodder to the disinformers of the world.

Let me give you an example:

2 April at 16:58 | Open on mas.to

Not Just Bikes 🇳🇱

@TechConnectify there's a term in Dutch that's used to describe this: mierenneuken.

It literally means "ant fucking" but it's basically this; focusing on little nitpicking details that derail productive conversation. I appreciate how quickly Dutch people point this out when it happens, and that usually puts a stop to it.

We need less ant fuckery in online discussions.

2 April at 17:42 | Open on social.notjustbikes.com