Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Internet?

Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by rubidium on Friday September 02, 2016 @09:22AM (#12412817)

Let me answer a different question: where do you go for civil, insightful commentary?

I recommend gathering a group of "morning cup of coffee" people with an intellectual bent. This works particularly well among more academic neighborhoods, but can be done elsewhere.

Get 3-10 people you know (or get to know these people) that are generally aware of the world, from different walks of life/professions, and start meeting a few days a week at a local coffee shop. Ensure the shop has a copy of better publications across the political spectrum. Talk shop. Talk the world. Talk whatever.

The internet is good at information. It limps quite a bit when asked to do conversation.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by DeathArrow on Friday September 02, 2016 @09:38AM (#12412936)

You mean he should get out of his house? Isn't it dangerous?

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by lj3 on Friday September 02, 2016 @01:45PM (#12414784)

Not necessarily. There's a growing trend of finding "mastermind" groups to have group skype chats with once or twice a week. They're great because you're not limited by geography. They're terrible because even the most antisocial introvert needs some human contact. :)

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by tonyedgecombe on Saturday September 03, 2016 @11:25AM (#12419532)

Very funny.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by cookiecaper on Friday September 02, 2016 @04:35PM (#12416076)

I agree. A great deal of social communicative data that is crucial to make meaningful connections is lost online. Even people who are good at reading and writing, and that's not very many, are deprived of a lot of real-time information that is automatically communicated in person, like tone, eye contact, facial positioning, and other signals. Humans are heavily dependent on those cues for successful interaction.

Further, the Greater Internet Fuckwad theory [0] applies -- taking away the complex risk calculations involved in face-to-face conversations causes people to discard social inhibitors like civility rather quickly.

[0] http://i.imgur.com/RkSu1kn.jpg

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by veddox on Friday September 02, 2016 @03:55PM (#12415806)

Can confirm this. I get my best, deepest and most respectful conversations on a huge range of topics simply by talking to my best friends at university. (As we have some very different views, those discussions can be quite lively, but as we all respect each other personally, they remain civil.)

Moral of the story: Choose your friends wisely.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by cableshaft on Friday September 02, 2016 @11:46AM (#12413814)

You gave me an idea for a new type of meetup for my meetup group, thanks :)

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by jrumbut on Friday September 02, 2016 @03:23PM (#12415560)

The great thing that happens sometines on the internet, but rarely (yet wonderfully) in real life is that when you have a good conversation about something it often brings in people directly involved.

That's the reason I still bother to scan comments, for those moments.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by carpathiani on Friday September 02, 2016 @09:44AM (#12412978)

meetup.com is great for finding this

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by civilian on Friday September 02, 2016 @03:14PM (#12415486)

Is it? A lot of the people are pretty solid on meetup.com, but my autism radar has gotten _so_ much better since going to meetup events. Unfortunately, it only takes a couple of bad conversationalists to make a good conversation difficult.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by truth_sentinell on Friday September 02, 2016 @04:46PM (#12416149)

Do you happen to have one of your own? I'd be interested in joining.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by yodsanklai on Friday September 02, 2016 @02:58PM (#12415349)

I don't think you can get the same collective intelligence in a small group (even composed of very bright people) as you can find here on HN.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by rubidium on Friday September 02, 2016 @04:01PM (#12415851)

If intelligence = information, then I agree.

If intelligence = analysis, then I must disagree.

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Re:Ask HN: Where do you go for civil discussion on the Inter... by truth_sentinell on Friday September 02, 2016 @04:49PM (#12416165)

I think intelligence it's both. Therefore : intelligence = information || analysis Since the first is true, there is intelligence.

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