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Tinkeringbell

12:58

It's most definitely not *just* AI. It's just a very convenient example ;) I think the 'deeper' thing is probably always boiling down to "how do you make a bunch of bits and bytes on the internet into something that reflects a 'real-life' community". There has to be something to tie things together, and replaces e.g. the amazing support in practical terms (e.g. the help with groceries, meals, chores and baby-sitting when you're seriously ill) a real-life community can offer.
For me, a few words of sympathy or a good answer have never really replaced that. You're all still internet strangers.

@BryanKrause The other side of this, I think, is that there is also some 'social pressure' (to stay with your words) lacking for e.g. me myself an I to "improve" the works of those users or the genAI, even if it is not that bad: A bit of a 'you're putting in no effort (to improve) so why should I keep at it?' kind of attitude.

I think I saw that in action on IPS once: A user wrote 25 answers in 2 weeks time, with very bad English spelling/grammar. The first few got edits and good comments explaining the misstakes made and fixed, but the same mistakes kept being made. At some point, I (and I think also the community) tired of correcting the same mistakes, even when asked for 'spell-checks', and went to 'just downvote and move on'

Tinkeringbell

13:26

@Tinkeringbell To an extent, perhaps 'social pressure' to be a 'real community' is lacking here too. If some suicidal user posts on a site I mod, I'm supposed to clean up the post (delete it so it won't bother others) and report it. If some poor kid drops a real tear-jerker on IPS, I'm not going to be using what few motherly instincts I may have, I'm reporting them for being underage, and I'll probably close their post as off-topic.

Because those are "the rules", and those create a certain 'social pressure' that's adhered to. I know rules are sometimes there to be broken, and if others want to offer those (empty? well-meant? You'll never know as you can't look someone in the eye while they're writing them) words of sympathy in those situations I won't go around mod-messaging them for excessive use of comments or something...

But to an extent I feel a 'social pressure' on me to not break the rules like that, to be a good example, and that example isn't one that's in line with what a community is and does.

And now it's dark and depressing. Happy Holidays XD