Has the Internet become toxic ?

[matt.lacey]

Really does sum it up! What hurts my head is that in an age where everybody should easily be able to find the truth about anything, and for the most part can find out anything in next to no time, there's more disinformation than ever, and less civility.

I do find that largely hobby-focused communities do sometimes avoid the worst of it, especially communities where members have been online for a lot longer than some others.

[exxos]

Really does sum it up! What hurts my head is that in an age where everybody should easily be able to find the truth about anything, and for the most part can find out anything in next to no time, there's more disinformation than ever, and less civility.

I do find that largely hobby-focused communities do sometimes avoid the worst of it, especially communities where members have been online for a lot longer than some others.

Yep. Even I fell victim when I did the H5s new audio circuit It was one of those things where I knew something wasn't right when I designed it but.... Google opamp circuits and they all did it how I did it. So thought nope, I must be going mad. Later a problem is found and it took me a while to find a opamp circuit which was actually designed properly. So like 95% of the circuits I found were basically wrong. I should have trusted my gut and kept thinking about it before I got the boards made

[mrbombermillzy]

Really does sum it up! What hurts my head is that in an age where everybody should easily be able to find the truth about anything, and for the most part can find out anything in next to no time, there's more disinformation than ever, and less civility.

If you give a load of bad people some tech, it doesn't make them 'good'. It just enhances their ability to do bad.

Not saying everyone's bad, just that the concern in this case is for the actions of the bad people.

I should have trusted my gut and kept thinking about it before I got the boards made

I'm afraid you are going to have to rely more on that 'gut' feeling as time goes on. I expect even video evidence will become as easily falsified as bad advice posts on forums and social media sites now.

Whenever I think about this sort of thing, I remember the ancient Chinese tale of Laozi... (human morality has been in decline several instances in the past)

So the story goes, he was fed up with the corruption in court and rode out of town on an ox, sat facing the back. This symbolism was to illustrate (IMHO anyway) the point that as things progress (ox going forwards), human morality is actually in decline (going backwards).

Incidentally, he was rumoured to have been the person who wrote the Tao Te Ching, one of the major texts on Taoism.

Whether it's a true story or not is debatable.
However, the sentiment holds well. Just think of how wonderful the latest tech can be, paired to how unreliable/fake it's all got along with how vicious certain people are to eachother sometimes; the internet has just made it easier for them to hide behind a wall of anonymity.

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[exxos]

I'm afraid you are going to have to rely more on that 'gut' feeling as time goes on. I expect even video evidence will become as easily falsified as bad advice posts on forums and social media sites now.
.....
Whether it's a true story or not is debatable.
However, the sentiment holds well. Just think of how wonderful the latest tech can be, paired to how unreliable/fake it's all got along with how vicious certain people are to eachother sometimes; the internet has just made it easier for them to hide behind a wall of anonymity.

Indeed. It's like when someone for example on YouTube tries the "drop fix". If some one does a video that it just happened to fix their machine, it them spreads and people start bashing the hell out of their machines to fix them.

Same if someone did something dumb like up the voltage to 6volta on the PSU to "fix" the machine problems. Rather than fix it properly by recapping the PSU. If one person says upping the voltage works, others will follow. Then we have machines being overvolted . Then a range of hacks to up the voltage on various power supplies, again rather than fix it probably.

Think the problems come as our generation don't really do videos. Younger people will likely flood to YouTube for information by others who don't know what they are doing. Ends up being a odd type of generational gap and split in the community. Like the whole YouTube generation is just starting out where we did 30 years ago. Rather than look for information on websites and forums. It's all a complicated affair really.

Then if that group of people take all that bad information as gospel the I tell them otherwise, I get flamed to the point I just give up bothering. It's always the same.

Like I was into all the free energy groups years ago. Lots of interesting stuff. But it just descended into madness. Like people demoing free energy devices which couldn't possibly do what they claim. It boiled down to who could build the world's worst Tesla coil with as many different colour wires as possible. String some mains lamps around a tree and there is your free energy device.

I could write a book on how stupid a lot of the things were. They all lacked basic fundamentals on how to use a multimeter or understand how motors worked. I got abuse all the time for pointing out simple flaws in people's experiments. Left such groups like 20 years ago now. It really was the birth of the age of the stupid. Unfortunately such people gain a mass of loyal followers. I guess it speaks volumes of how we still haven't got free energy devices powering our homes. Unless you want to invest in government conspiracies.

Same with Tesla coil groups. Had my work and ideas stolen. Had a patent took out on my work. Lots of good people but just way to many idiots and such for me to stand being a part of those groups anymore. Again I could write a book on it all. In fact I think I wrote 40 pages on 10 years of my life with most of the BS I went though with people. The world isn't ready for such a rant.

Always the same really. You just have to "pick a side" kind of thing. Some people respect my work. Some don't. If you don't, then fine, just stay out of my way. If you want to help, then great. Great things get done a whole lot quicker when like-minded people team together. That's the world I want to create and be a part of.

Edit:

There was some guys back then who converted a DeLorean into electric. They had ongoing issues with the wheel bearings. At first it seemed to be some type of free energy car but turned out to just be a "simple" car conversion. Thing is, that company was called Tesla. As to if that was Elon's Tesla company or not, I don't know.

[coonsgm]

You know I find that the internet, or technology don't make people good or bad...or worse per-se. I see them more as an accelerant. Those that were trolls to begin with, just amplify their contribution to trolldom. Those that are good, it helps them to reach more and more people.

Loads of youtube advice is bad, loads of it is good. In these past 10 years or so, I've been able to learn to do a tremendous number of new things from basic home maintenance items to working on Atari computers. Are the methods I've learned the best? probably not. Have I tried some things that didn't end up working, yup.

Net-net though, I've been able to do a tremendous amount more myself than I would have otherwise...I just repaired a vacuum that had a switch go bad couple of weeks ago that I wouldn't have even attempted prior to learning how to and gaining confidence in soldering. Could I afford to buy a new one, sure, but a simple repair kept it out the landfill and saved me a couple hundred $$'s. (thanks given to the internet and the good people out there)

In the end for me, when advice or instruction from a given source works, the source gains credibility. When it doesn't, I don't go back for advice again.

I come to this forum regularly based on the quality of information provided here....thank you Exxos and the rest of the folks here.

[exxos]

I come to this forum regularly based on the quality of information provided here....thank you Exxos and the rest of the folks here.

Indeed there is a lot of good info out there if you can find it.

I had to replace a stop tap in out house a few years ago. Thing is, I put the tap in the way the arrow pointed. I assumed the direction of the arrow was the direction of the water flow. However mother looked up on the internet and found the arrow is supposed to point where the water came from?!

So I ended up turning it around to shut mother up. The the whole cold water system was screwed up then . It just wasn't working . So I had to undo it all and turn it around again. It wasn't simple to do, was using a blowtorch behing the toilet and the room as tiny and hard to even fit in there to get behind the toilet.

It seems USA people have taps which point from where the water comes from. In the UK the arrow direction denotes the water direction. I don't know if any USA people can confirm that. But that is what happens when you watch YouTube videos as well. The video is technically right (for USA I guess), and also wrong

[derkom]

There was some guys back then who converted a DeLorean into electric. They had ongoing issues with the wheel bearings. At first it seemed to be some type of free energy car but turned out to just be a "simple" car conversion. Thing is, that company was called Tesla. As to if that was Elon's Tesla company or not, I don't know.

I followed this story at the time, and this is the first I've ever heard "Tesla" mentioned. The guy who did the (failed) DMC conversion was named Carl Tilley and his company was called The Tilley Foundation. One brief article about their failed attempt is here: https://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagaz ... edway.html

Certainly nothing to do with today's Telsa, Inc.

[exxos]

I followed this story at the time, and this is the first I've ever heard "Tesla" mentioned. The guy who did the (failed) DMC conversion was named Carl Tilley and his company was called The Tilley Foundation. One brief article about their failed attempt is here: https://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagaz ... edway.html

Certainly nothing to do with today's Telsa, Inc.

Wow thanks. You must have a good memory.

[rubber_jonnie]

Well, it isn't just the internet that's become toxic, people overall are much more toxic than ever overall and really quite unpleasant.

Yesterday I was walking the dog, and she did a small wee on a corner of grass in a public area, opposite a house. I'd just witnessed another dog do a wee there, it's a common spot for dogs to go.

The house owners decided to take me to task and tell me not to let my dog wee there. Now, if they had asked me pleasantly "would you mind steering you dog to another spot to wee please, it's getting a bit smelly as all the dogs seem to want to go there?" I might have said ok.

But no, they decided to be unpleasant and rude about it, going to the extent of saying they'd had the gas board out as they thought the smell was a gas leak. I'm afraid if you can't tell the difference between the smell of urine and gas then you need to see a doctor.

They behaved in such a way that it seemed they expected dogs to be taken out by owners to allow them to wee other than on their own property. Our dog goes in our garden all the time, and it does not smell. In fact she goes there more than on a walk.

Also, I was stood right next to the spot and there was no smell at all.

I do understand that not everybody likes dogs, and irresponsible owners who don't clean up after their dogs give the rest of us a bad name, but there are ways of dealing with things that will get you what you want, and there are ways that will get you nothing.

The first word that popped into my head when I walked away was 'Karen'...

[exxos]

The first word that popped into my head when I walked away was 'Karen'...

Ah that sucks. I think some people are just mentally ill with behavioural disorders etc I don't say that with any malice as my girlfriend and her dad have mental illnesses. I think people get obsessed over something and they loose all rational thought.

I've had my fair share of idiots in the past. Like I parked outside of a garage once, just dropped my car off to be fixed as you do normally. Only didn't know it was basically a shared courtyard with some builder place. One guy walked out shouting abuse at me because the lorries wouldn't be able to turn around. So ok I guess. But he kept on shouting abuse at me, I kept on asking which side of the courtyard was theirs. He never answered,just ended in a 15minute argument which caused me late for work. Another lad from work was there as he was picking me up. He couldn't believe it all.

Not to long ago I took my girlfriend to the doctor's. There was like 2 sets of doors close together. One guy on crutches was struggling to get though. I got up and held the door open and he basically had a go at me, WTF? I get people are frustrated but, I just think why bother these days.

It's why I have a near zero tolerance for any sort of idiots these days. There is just no point giving some people the time of day. Get rid and move on is my policy these days. There is a endless supply of toxic people in the world and I don't have endless time to spend on people.

Just to be clear to any other readers, I "get it" if someone has a bad day or week and goes nuts. I know how trying the world and it's people can be. But if it turns into the same constant crap repeatedly like attacking my work or other members, then they get put on my watch list where people will generally get banned. I really have near zero tolerance for any sort of abusive or toxic people these days.

The older generations are my preferred set of people. You just don't get the same BS with them. I often get asked in ASDA by old ladies to reach stuff from the shelves for them. Either they not tall enough or can't bend down. Happy to help where I can. They always polite and thank me. Similar if I'm out on a job, I'll get asked to change a lightbulb or take their netcurtains down for them etc.

Edit: I ask the AI about it also..

The name given to people who become obsessed with one particular event in life to the point they become abusive towards other people over it is "monomania." Monomania is a psychiatric term used to describe an excessive preoccupation or obsession with a single idea, subject, or emotion. When someone's monomania becomes so severe that it leads to abusive behavior towards others, it can be considered a form of mental illness or personality disorder. It's important for individuals who experience monomania or know someone who does to seek help from a mental health professional.