Poll of the Day > Do you enjoy going on GameFAQs/Message-boards/forums?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've found myself reflecting on this recently for some reason, probably because this was my first regular website and I've been on here for almost 15 years now. When I was a kid this place was the shit. But as I became an adult I've gone very back and forth about it. Sometimes I think like wtf am I doing on here. I don't think many people know I post on forums. They may think it's strange, I don't know. I do it about 5% of the time that I used to when I was young so it's not like I'm wasting my life away, but depending on my mood I sometimes feel strange about it.

If I'm in a depressed mood I feel like I'm wasting my life away posting here. If I feel like I'm killin it, then this is just something that enhances my life. I really don't feel like stopping tho.

What do you think? Anonymous online discussion is a strange thing that I don't think the human brain has evolved fast enough to properly adapt to. In a span of 15-20 years, we've gone from only communicating in person or on the phone (which is also something we haven't adapted too but it's more 'normal' than this), to talking to almost anyone on Earth. Very strange. I think it has strange effects on the brain but I can't articulate those thoughts very well. It's like an escape but also not.

In a broader sense I think the internet in general is fucking with everyone's heads. Ol' bumfuck joe used to just grow up in a rural town, go to church, be weary of outsiders, and live his life. He would see the major news events on TV and form an opinion on it. Now people like bumfuck joe and the rest of us are exposed daily to every single minor atrocity across the globe that we wouldn't even know about before. I think the internet has fueled outrage culture cause of this, some people feel extremely affected by things that happen 5000 miles from them. And outrage culture in this sense is not just SJWs but everyone from far-left to far-right. Everyone is mad. All the time. It's the internet's fault.

And I haven't even begun on social media, which adds to the outrage culture but also I think amplifies people's insecurities and I think exacerbates many mental illnesses across the world. We on this board mostly knew a time before social media but I see it with kids in the family that I know who literally were born into it. A kid becomes self-conscious and maybe depressed because everyone's 'lives' seem much cooler than theirs (reality is that obviously a social media profile only contains the coolest part of someone's life), stuff that a kid normally wouldn't see from his classmates pre-internet. The kid probably assumes his own life sucks at points even when he/she is doing very well. And on top of the self-esteem destroying and depression inducing effects of social media, the kid is almost forced to become narcissistic himself/herself because now they NEED to post cool things on social media in order to keep up socially. But they can't really express themselves completely, it has to fall inline with what is 'normal', which has always been the case with kids but I think it alienates some people who may be interested in other things/just plain weird kids.

Now imagine this being introduced to your life in your very important early years where your mind is still a sponge. These kids are gonna grow up fucked up. Their brain that is meant for socializing with vocals and body language is gonna be warped in exchange for a better online presence.

This has been a big incoherent rant but I just finished working and still have some adderall in my system so you'll have to excuse me.
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BTW Reddit is the worst online platform for any of the things I mentioned. Worse than 4chan/GameFAQS/Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/etc. It is the most cancerous and toxic website for the human collective that exists. Yet I still go there lol.
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Tldr, agree with reddit sucking. I'll go there for mtg discussion but god do I hate that place. The amount of circle jerking and karma whoring is disgusting.
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Well, that's a lot of text. I skimmed over it, but I think I got the salient points.

Yes, I enjoy posting on Gamefaqs which is why I keep doing it. Yes, I also recognize that it's broadly a waste of time (because of a lack of permanency, etc) which is why there were plenty of times when I did a lot less of it. Ultimately, when you really stop to consider it, most things have no value in terms of time.

For instance, I've been playing Pokemon Go fairly heavily for a few months now. Eventually the servers will close and the game will vanish, at which point I'll have nothing except the memories. Does that mean I either shouldn't play Pokemon Go or at least invest far less time into it? Perhaps. Or I could try to further optimize the time I play Pokemon Go by also listening to audiobooks. As it is, I do other stuff while posting on Gamefaqs, etc. (Granted, it's worth pointing out that multitasking is supposedly bad for the brain.)

Boobsicle posted...

And I haven't even begun on social media, which adds to the outrage culture but also I think amplifies people's insecurities and I think exacerbates many mental illnesses across the world.

It's also done wonders to misinform and mislead people about politics, social issues, etc.

Boobsicle posted...

Now imagine this being introduced to your life in your very important early years where your mind is still a sponge. These kids are gonna grow up fucked up. Their brain that is meant for socializing with vocals and body language is gonna be warped in exchange for a better online presence.

Not really true since even now people still use their voices and body language. It's rare to see kids texting each other at a table rather than talking to each other.

Boobsicle posted...

BTW Reddit is the worst online platform for any of the things I mentioned. Worse than 4chan/GameFAQS/Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/etc. It is the most cancerous and toxic website for the human collective that exists. Yet I still go there lol.

Yes, it's awful.
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J_Dawg983 posted...

Tldr, agree with reddit sucking. I'll go there for mtg discussion but god do I hate that place. The amount of circle jerking and karma whoring is disgusting.

Yep. I find the worst part is that the upvote/downvote system, for both submissions and comments, puts the 'hivemind' into hyperdrive. You literally don't have to be exposed to thoughts and opinions that go against the grain, and usually what is voted to the top is low-humour drivel that a 10 year old wouldn't even find funny.

At least with 4chan/GameFAQs/Other forums, (even Facebook lol), comments are sorted sequentially. You HAVE to at the very least glance over the dissenting opinions. Just by reading them you are exposing yourself to considering other points of view, even if you are vehemently against their ideas. With Reddit, unless you actually look for the dissenting opinions, you're just gonna have a big circlejerk. And after a while, this pushes away dissenting opinions, leaving literally the definition of an echochamber where people suck eachother's dicks.

Just today a frontpage post was "Guy caught with sidechick at baseball game" where there was a video of a guy noticing he was on camera at a game, and then taking his arm away from a girl beside him. The comments were a witchhunt, shaming him and trying to expose him/doxx him even. It was later confirmed by the very guy that that was his wife and the timing of him moving his arm was coincidential. This guy actually had to create a reddit account and clear his name because he had thousands of people out to get him.

And don't even get me started on how Reddit views Trump and politics in general. The_Donald is not a great place but if we ignore them, Reddit is straight up unabashedly avoiding critical thought about Trump. He is literally not a great President in the traditional sense, but he has also done a few things of merit. But if you just looked at the Reddit front page, you would think he was worse than Hitler. That he would be the downfall of Western civilization.

Even funnier is that the average Redditor thinks they are smarter than him. The guy who took down America's 2 biggest political dynasties without any outside funding is dumb, nevermind that he turned a couple million dollars into a self-centered brand worth Billions. He owns one of the most famous brands on Earth, is a real-estate tycoon, created a TV show that skyrocketed in popularity to the point of other countries making spinoffs, has written at least 3 New York Times bestsellers, and even before 2015 was one of the most famous people on Earth. Nevermind becoming the literal President of the United States.

But if you browsed the top Reddit comments you'd find hundreds of people sitting on their computers going on about how much smarter they are then him LMAO. He may be a bigot, he may be brash, and I definitely wouldn't vote for him. But that is just too much for me to handle lmao.
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Boobsicle posted...

Sometimes I think like wtf am I doing on here. I don't think many people know I post on forums. They may think it's strange, I don't know.

Being as the internet is much more popular these days nobody I've talked to actually finds posting on forums strange.

Boobsicle posted...

I think it has strange effects on the brain but I can't articulate those thoughts very well. It's like an escape but also not.

For me personally it helps talking to folk on the internet as I'm a introvert. Keeping my brain active, talking to folk who share the same interests and whatnot is a good thing for me. Plus gaining knowledge either from the people I talk to or through my own research is great.

Boobsicle posted...

Now imagine this being introduced to your life in your very important early years where your mind is still a sponge. These kids are gonna grow up fucked up. Their brain that is meant for socializing with vocals and body language is gonna be warped in exchange for a better online presence.

Not really. The internet including social media and the like is just another tool. Using them doesn't mean you can't go out and live life too. Now how the parents raise the kids is a completely different matter but how forums or the internet in general is used at any age can be a good thing if used right. It all depends how you use it.
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You put about 200x more thought into this place than I have. I come here when I'm bored and at home. It's something to pass the time, like Reddit, but with few enough people that I can recognize particular posters.

Boobsicle posted...

You literally don't have to be exposed to thoughts and opinions that go against the grain, and usually what is voted to the top is low-humour drivel that a 10 year old wouldn't even find funny.

You don't have to, but all the cool kids sort by controversial after reading the top posts.

This is also the first point in history where there's nothing stopping poor genes from passing on.

I should know, my right testicle wasn't even in the right spot when I was born.

Maybe "not eating yourself to death" will be the next step in human evolution.

Duck-I-Says posted...

You put about 200x more thought into this place than I have. I come here when I'm bored and at home. It's something to pass the time, like Reddit, but with few enough people that I can recognize particular posters.

Yes that is how I use this site and the internet in general. But since I'm up on adderall I thought I'd articulate. I still come and check the boards 2-3 times a day usually while pooping at work so it's relevant. Back when I was 12-16 I was on here all the fucking time tho.
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Boobsicle posted...

Just today a frontpage post was "Guy caught with sidechick at baseball game" where there was a video of a guy noticing he was on camera at a game, and then taking his arm away from a girl beside him. The comments were a witchhunt, shaming him and trying to expose him/doxx him even. It was later confirmed by the very guy that that was his wife and the timing of him moving his arm was coincidential. This guy actually had to create a reddit account and clear his name because he had thousands of people out to get him.

tbh, sounds like a great example of the internet outrage culture in action.

wwinterj25 posted...

For me personally it helps talking to folk on the internet as I'm a introvert. Keeping my brain active, talking to folk who share the same interests and whatnot is a good thing for me. Plus gaining knowledge either from the people I talk to or through my own research is great.

Personally, I enjoy being able to sit down and articulate my thoughts instead of solely making off-the-cuff remarks. It also allows me to fact-check claims, which I wish I was able to do more easily IRL in conversation.

wwinterj25 posted...

Not really. The internet including social media and the like is just another tool. Using them doesn't mean you can't go out and live life too. Now how the parents raise the kids is a completely different matter but how forums or the internet in general is used at any age can be a good thing if used right. It all depends how you use it.

Yes, the same complaint was leveled against tv and then video games.

Yellow posted...

This is also the first point in history where there's nothing stopping poor genes from passing on.

The seedy underside of having generous social safety nets.
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Yellow posted...

This is also the first point in history where there's nothing stopping poor genes from passing on.

And it will only last for 1 or 2 generations barring some sort of global calamity. Large scale genetic engineering is just over the horizon at which point natural selection as it pertains to humans will be redundant.

Boobsicle posted...

But since I'm up on adderall I thought I'd articulate.

How is that stuff anyway? I've heard it's a miracle drug for getting work done.

Duck-I-Says posted...

Boobsicle posted...

But since I'm up on adderall I thought I'd articulate.

How is that stuff anyway? I've heard it's a miracle drug for getting work done.

tbh, when my cousin first got on it, he didn't feel hungry 24 hours later. He also only slept 2 or 3 hours at most that first night. I'm not sure how much more productive he was during that time, though, since he was just working retail.

Granted, keep in mind that the "miracle drug" supposedly also causes liver damage long-term so.... YMMV.
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Zeus posted...

Granted, keep in mind that the "miracle drug" supposedly also causes liver damage long-term so.... YMMV.

So does alcohol which pretty much everyone drinks

Duck-I-Says posted...

Zeus posted...

Granted, keep in mind that the "miracle drug" supposedly also causes liver damage long-term so.... YMMV.

So does alcohol which pretty much everyone drinks

The difference is occasional drinking generally won't put you at risk but the prescription level for adderall puts you at risk. Plus it's not "pretty much everybody," it's only 2/3s of the population (still a big number, but not the implied 95%+ rate) and, even among the 2/3s who do drink, most don't drink nearly heavily enough to pose a significant risk
http://www.gallup.com/poll/156770/majority-drink-alcohol-averaging-four-drinks-week.aspx

Only 12% report drinking at least once per day, which iirc still might not pose as large a risk as adderall.
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Duck-I-Says posted...

Boobsicle posted...

But since I'm up on adderall I thought I'd articulate.

How is that stuff anyway? I've heard it's a miracle drug for getting work done.

Its decent if not abused and used properly. Makes you intensely focus but it doesnt make you focus on what you want to. You can easily accidently spend 4 hours doing something unrelated.

Also supresses appetite so make sure to force some food down your giblet. And take early in the day so you can sleep at a normal time.
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TL;DR

I visit forums daily because I'm bored. If I had money, I'd be able to buy a new game and this wouldn't be an issue.

GameFAQs is like weed for me, it makes my life less-worse / more tolerable.
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Depends on the board. I come to POTD for daily news as some posters are on top of breaking news items. I try to discuss video games on the Xbox one board but the majority if that board is filled with troll alts and for some reason instead of ignoring them the Xbox community keeps feeding them. I would say maybe 1 topic out of 10 on that board is a legit video game discussion.
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holy shit, wall of text. cut that down and try again, ok?
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Yes.
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interesting thoughts. what I find quite odd about the internet is i'll find myself like right this moment for example where there are things i'd rather be doing and could be doing but can't seem to pull myself away.

I also seem to have a penchant for getting dragged into arguments I didn't want to but allowed myself to anyways.

though some of your points while I agree on has had no effect on me personally, i've never gave a shit about things going on 5000 miles away from me and never will, I simply only care about what is going to effect me and those who I care about. also never had the problem with everyone else's lives on social media effect how I feel about my own, but thats just me as long as i'm content with my life I don't give a rats ass if joe blow down the road has a better life than me.

the biggest point you made that agree with though is the outrage culture. people act the world has become so terrible. what they don't realize this world has always been terrible we just are capable of seeing it now
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