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[Eruonen]

Before I start, I'd like to make a couple of things clear. English is not my native language, so I might make mistakes or phrase my sentences oddly; please bear with me. Second, I'm making this thread not just to complain, but also to see how other people feel about the subject.

So, here I go.

The topic title is misleading, I am not at all sick and tired of the internet, but I am sick and tired of the growing presence of group of users on the internet, usually aged between 12 and 22. I'm talking about the 4chan crowd (especially /b/), the kids at Gaia Online, the morons at Youtube and so on. The ones that spout out their old and unfunny "memes" everywhere, even when inappropriate. The people that tainted the words "epic", "win" and "fail". I'm having trouble using those words legitimately now, because they remind me of the unfunny disease that is spreading all over the internet. Don't get me wrong - there are plenty of decent people on every community site, even 4chan (though they tend to stay away from /b/). This forum, although slightly "infected", is still a nice place, and I visit it often, even though I don't post a lot.

The worst part is, that a couple of years ago, I did the same. I can't really blame the kids for following these new (for them, anyway) and exciting fads they recently found on the internet.
I just wish they did it out of sight. :l

Every time I see a post saying "that's epic!", "epic for the win xD" or "epic fail" I cringe, not to mention when somebody says it out loud. The poster loses all credibility in my eyes. I realize this is pretty fucking stupid of me, because regardless of the language, the person might still have a valid point. I can't help it, though.

Sadly, I don't have a satisfying conclusion to this post, because I don't know what to make of this myself. These people annoy me to no end, but it seems unfair to go onto a personal crusade against them.

How do you feel about this? I know there are people here who match my description, and I would also like to hear their input. I promise to take your input seriously, regardless of how you write (unless you write in leet-speak or something else incomprehensible like alternating caps, but that is simply because I will not read those posts). Also, I realize this thread could attract some trolls, but I'll take that risk.

[3]

You're a little late to the party.

[Eruonen]

I expected there might already be a thread about this, but (admittedly quick) searching did not yield any results.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

The minecraft forums are a bit like this. Everyone is an over-sensitive kiddy who can't spell and babbles away using the recycled utterances of /b/tards.

[3]

I expected there might already be a thread about this, but (admittedly quick) searching did not yield any results.

That's not quite what I meant.

The situation stands that the topical idiocy existed two years ago, as you are very well aware. It existed five years ago. It existed ten years ago.

What has changed, however, is that - with the constant expansion of the internet and its means of use - there are an increasing number of social groups that, for whatever reason, people are attracted to. Naturally, this applies to the subject at hand - you make two examples in your post.

What I feel that's happened is that you have now realised that people who act in whatever means you don't appreciate actually exist, rather than taking them as they are. You notice them.

As such, there is no "disease". The "disease" has existed for over 15 years now, and it's had the internet in its grip for almost the same amount of time. Your perceptions have changed. Nothing else. If you no longer feel that the internet as a whole is mature enough for your mentality, then you have your choices - which are, to be blunt, effectively "migrate" or "cease existance".

[Eruonen]

I realize this and I never claimed, or at least intended to claim otherwise. I do believe that the presence of this group of people is growing, though.

This thread wasn't made to find a solution to the problem (if you can even really call it that. It's just a source of annoyance), but more to give myself some perspective.

I shouldn't have used the disease analogy. It is silly and unfair.

If you no longer feel that the internet as a whole is mature enough for your mentality

No, I don't feel that way. Especially not the internet as a whole.

What I feel that's happened is that you have now realised that people who act in whatever means you don't appreciate actually exist, rather than taking them as they are. You notice them.

Though I hate to admit it, you may be right here.

[3]

I used to be irritated by people being stupid on the internet, until I realised - and only then - that the internet is, in its current state, quite silly itself, and as such is a poor choice of things to take seriously. It can be a platform for discussion, but I'm definitely not going to take it as anything of worth until it starts playing a bigger part.

With that former idea in mind, it's interesting to think about how people's perceptions seem to have changed. In a crowd I pay attention to the people I see worthy of the most attention, and blank the ones that don't. In the case that someone says something interesting, I respond to certain keywords by starting to pay attention.
Conversely, on a forum I notice everyone's opinion equally. There is no picking people out of crowds. I no longer dwell on points if I am participating. I begin to notice people being incorrect. I feel the need to correct them with my own opinion, expressed in the entirely neutral means of text.

[ChairmanPoo]

Getting angry over the internet is better than coffee.

[Eruonen]

With that former idea in mind, it's interesting to think about how people's perceptions seem to have changed. In a crowd I pay attention to the people I see worthy of the most attention, and blank the ones that don't. In the case that someone says something interesting, I respond to certain keywords by starting to pay attention.
Conversely, on a forum I notice everyone's opinion equally. There is no picking people out of crowds. I no longer dwell on points if I am participating. I begin to notice people being incorrect. I feel the need to correct them with my own opinion, expressed in the entirely neutral means of text.

Which is a good way of looking at things, for sure. I guess you are right, but it's not that easy to switch from being annoyed at people and expressions to regarding everyone as equal. I suppose I should work on it.

[Mindmaker]

I think you overestimate the role of 4chan on the internet.

Of course I agree that /b/ spreads a bit of a bad attitude, but many of the things you mentioned may root from there, but grew into a plague elsewhere.

I still sometimes visit some of the more decent boards there.

[KaelGotDwarves]

Dude1: I am sick and tired of the attitude of alcoholics!
Dude2: so why don't you stop hanging around bars?

Dude1: I am sick and tired of hanging around potheads!
Dude2: so why don't you stop hanging around hippies?

Dude1: I am sick and tired of hanging around nerds!
Dude2: so why don't you get off you computer and gtfo-side?

That's all I've got to say about it.

[Footkerchief]

^^^ That analogy is really bad and ignores the fact that it's possible to participate in all of those things in dramatically different ways.  For instance, starting fights at a bar versus just getting mildly drunk and having a good time.  I can't believe I even have to explain this.

[LegoLord]

Not quite the same thing Kael.

I also get annoyed when people don't type out what they're saying.  Okay, sure, it might be easy for someone who speaks english as a first language to figure out what gtfo means, but what about people who speak english as a second language?  Might not be so easy.  Typing like that just isolates people.

[ChairmanPoo]

^^^ That analogy is really bad and ignores the fact that it's possible to participate in all of those things in dramatically different ways.  For instance, starting fights at a bar versus just getting mildly drunk and having a good time.  I can't believe I even have to explain this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdO6xLqc-Yo

[Tack]

What you don't seem to understand is that there is a massive difference between a "meme", and an overused descriptive word. All may feel free to utterly destroy my argument if I'm wrong - but I see nothing wrong in what the "12 to 22" crowd do. Ok, I'm pretty new to General Discussion, and I've only been on /b/ a few times to satiate curiosity, but Honestly, I find that epic is now a descriptive word, fail is a descriptive word, and win is a descriptive word. Simply put, the English language changes under the pressure of other people butchering it. Enormity now no longer means "of great evil", because people using the word screwed up too many times. And for a person with a loud and spontaneous personality, and the vocabulary of a fish, it isn't hard to see why they use such short, but expressive words. Because they don't want to say "good" or "bad" or "big". Not expressive enough, and the meaning of those words show that they are simply the maximum of that area.

And I'm not saying it's only stupid people who use those words. It's just that the words win, epic, and fail are good expressive words, if loosely fitting. I find words like "lol" and "desu" annoying, but only because they've completely failed their meaning. Well... Lol has... Desu never really had one.
But anyway. So far, the above three haven't yet.

As much as that is a rambling bullshit paragraph, I suck at putting feelings into text. So I apologise for the really bad reasoning.