Comment · Mon, March 21, 2016 · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
The dark side of internet forums
Original post in this thread
rrtrda · 161 points
While these and other health forums contain a wealth of incredibly helpful information and inspiration, I believe their darker sides are often ignored. As people here generally tend to be keen to debate, I think certain issues should be addressed. Let’s see which ones you’ve encountered yourself:
Prejudice: Many people just don’t come here to find neutral information about a certain nootropic/drug. They want to get their preset opinion confirmed. And if nobody tells them what they want to hear, they google further, or dispute what others are saying. The longer you google, the more likely you will stumble across the correlation you were looking for. But how relevant is it?
Misinformation: Yes, there are some people out here that deserve respect. With their profound knowledge they enrich discussions and create value for the community. But they not only check sample size and Pearson’s r. Those people spot methodological flaws and inaccuracies in studies. And can assess their meaningfulness. But let’s be honest about it: those people are rare and most people don’t have the skill nor the time to do that. I myself would love to be one of those able to truly judge. Unfortunatel…
What they were answering
macwormer · 8 points
IMO it is more a redditish "topic stream" issue rather than low post quality.
It is very annoying when you invest your time researching subject in order to write quality reply, only to realise that this topic is no longer active.
IMO reddit is unsuitable for scientific discussion.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic & Nootropics Depot
All forums have a system where new or highly liked/up-voted posts rise to the top. Reddit at least has a nested comment system, which prevents topics from being derailed like other forums. So side conversations can still happen, while not messing up the parent discussion. We can also sticky posts to keep them at the top if we want to.
So let's think of how we can improve it. Perhaps using the sticky function more often for well-researched posts? I am certainly willing to try to improve things. We just need people to participate in a constructive fashion, and be willing to help make the subreddit better.