#81 ·
Matthew Grant9 said:I’ve been sitting here wondering for the last two days if I should actually post anything at all... and well, it turns out I really wanted to.
The real issue with LJES, if you ask me, is that way too many threads immediately devolve into just mocking the person who started them. After those first few posts where everyone competes to see who can tear down the OP the most effectively, the whole thing just falls apart; the actual question being asked rarely gets answered because everything turns into trolling and mindless chatter.
Of course, you see this kind of thing on all the online forums out there, but it feels like on LJES, it’s almost the primary goal for the users. Forgive my bluntness—maybe I’m being a bit too harsh—but to me, it feels like a mob mentality where people are just itching to lynch someone. It seems like most folks find it much easier and more entertaining to attack the poster rather than putting in the effort to offer even a tiny bit of helpful advice.
Things have gone a bit too far, and I imagine it’s tough for the moderators to start enforcing strict rules now, especially since this kind of behavior has been tolerated for such a long time. I totally get that LJES is naturally more laid-back than a lot of other American message boards, but what’s happening there isn't just being casual anymore; it’s becoming blatant, inconsiderate insults. There has to be some sense of moderation.
To give you a specific example of what caught my eye recently, there was that thread about "Women who are unhappy housewives." It was basically a seven-page brawl of pure vitriol—done in the ugliest way possible—interrupted only by the occasional decent comment. Everyone was wound up to a hundred percent, the insults were flying thick and fast, and a few people even got banned... but nobody seemed to care that the original topic had absolutely nothing to do with the spirit of LJES. Honestly, you’d think the mods would care about that.
It feels like LJES is slowly transforming into a little corner for anyone who just wants to vent their frustrations on whoever happens to cross their path.
Exactly. It feels more like a designated zone for venting at the "head of state"—meaning the forum users—often in ways that are increasingly harsh or nasty. There used to be actual interesting stuff to read here. Now, it’s just a circus, especially with the chat cluttering up almost every thread. Sure, it's a more laid-back subforum, but I think the lines were crossed a long time ago. There's this loud minority on LJES that dictates whether a thread stays on topic or devolves into a mass pile-on, and the mods aren't doing much to steer them back. I get that the mods can't be online 24/7, but they have to know something has been off on LJES for a while now.
