Real question… is DCUM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crowd-sourcing from internet message boards peaked in about 2010.

And yet it seems like, despite the power of search engines now and AI (!!) more than ever, DCUM has become a redundant cycle of questions people are too lazy too look up.

How much pizza do I need for this party?

I have teens and it's an epidemic. They ask me all kinds of stupid shit and I tell them to google, which apparently is even too much for them. Not enough folks who knew how to actually research things in an encyclopedia or an atlas. And that translates to absolute laziness of new threads.

I think some of this is a substitute for social interaction. Like asking your mom or spouse or friend what their opinion is even if you have an idea yourself of what to do. People want to connect and they do that by asking questions / thinking aloud.
And btw I don't think this is related to pandemic WFH: you don't ask your coworker about pizza, I hope. I think it's related to how busy we are and how hard it's become to get together with friends and family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crowd-sourcing from internet message boards peaked in about 2010.

And yet it seems like, despite the power of search engines now and AI (!!) more than ever, DCUM has become a redundant cycle of questions people are too lazy too look up.

How much pizza do I need for this party?

I have teens and it's an epidemic. They ask me all kinds of stupid shit and I tell them to google, which apparently is even too much for them. Not enough folks who knew how to actually research things in an encyclopedia or an atlas. And that translates to absolute laziness of new threads.

I think some of this is a substitute for social interaction. Like asking your mom or spouse or friend what their opinion is even if you have an idea yourself of what to do. People want to connect and they do that by asking questions / thinking aloud.
And btw I don't think this is related to pandemic WFH: you don't ask your coworker about pizza, I hope. I think it's related to how busy we are and how hard it's become to get together with friends and family.

Ok, but the pandemic - combined with social media - has certainly made America stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I subscribed to DCUM back in the listserve days. It was smaller and more of a community then. When things get bigger, the thoughtfulness goes away. Even though it's been anonymous for a while now, the increasing size and accessibility make it seem even more anonymous = less thoughtful and more mean

At the same time, I have long thought that this would be a GREAT site for Russian bots or other intelligence services to target -- lots of high powered zip codes represented here, and an ability to plant discord, stir culture wars, etc. seems like it may be pretty unmatched given this is a plain old parenting site.

I don't live in the area any more and can 100% say that the idea of returning to DC is less and less appealing given what I read here. Even the non-nasty posts validate all my stereotypes about the DC (where I grew up!) as power hungry, status obsessed, rat racy and overly Type A.

I grew up in DC too and the idea of ever returning makes my stomach turn. Aggressively competitive, conventional, humorless hall monitors dominate the scene.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crowd-sourcing from internet message boards peaked in about 2010.

And yet it seems like, despite the power of search engines now and AI (!!) more than ever, DCUM has become a redundant cycle of questions people are too lazy too look up.

How much pizza do I need for this party?

I have teens and it's an epidemic. They ask me all kinds of stupid shit and I tell them to google, which apparently is even too much for them. Not enough folks who knew how to actually research things in an encyclopedia or an atlas. And that translates to absolute laziness of new threads.

I think some of this is a substitute for social interaction. Like asking your mom or spouse or friend what their opinion is even if you have an idea yourself of what to do. People want to connect and they do that by asking questions / thinking aloud.
And btw I don't think this is related to pandemic WFH: you don't ask your coworker about pizza, I hope. I think it's related to how busy we are and how hard it's become to get together with friends and family.

Agree with this 100%. Which is why I tend to respond to be helpful or to socialize as well. It doesn't help much to say "this question again?" or Google it Dummy! People who do that don't need to be on discussion boards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's also a lot less funny than it used to be.

Funny? I'm going on my 16th year on DCUM, it has never been a "funny" place.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

So many more "Kardashian" types. Vapid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's also a lot less funny than it used to be.

Funny? I'm going on my 16th year on DCUM, it has never been a "funny" place.

Disagree. Some wonderful sarcasm. Intelligent humor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because this thread is full of deep insight, carefully researched posts, and clever comments.

and the snark leaves much to be desired.

I do my very best!

One nice addition is Jeff's posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's also a lot less funny than it used to be.

Funny? I'm going on my 16th year on DCUM, it has never been a "funny" place.

It's funny, but not the "ha ha" kind of funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I subscribed to DCUM back in the listserve days. It was smaller and more of a community then. When things get bigger, the thoughtfulness goes away. Even though it's been anonymous for a while now, the increasing size and accessibility make it seem even more anonymous = less thoughtful and more mean

At the same time, I have long thought that this would be a GREAT site for Russian bots or other intelligence services to target -- lots of high powered zip codes represented here, and an ability to plant discord, stir culture wars, etc. seems like it may be pretty unmatched given this is a plain old parenting site.

I don't live in the area any more and can 100% say that the idea of returning to DC is less and less appealing given what I read here. Even the non-nasty posts validate all my stereotypes about the DC (where I grew up!) as power hungry, status obsessed, rat racy and overly Type A.

I grew up in DC too and the idea of ever returning makes my stomach turn. Aggressively competitive, conventional, humorless hall monitors dominate the scene.

I hope you remember to use the new cover sheet on your TPS report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because this thread is full of deep insight, carefully researched posts, and clever comments.

and the snark leaves much to be desired.

I do my very best!

One nice addition is Jeff's posts.

Jeff's dry humor in the summaries makes me snicker many times. No lie. I love that he kinda makes fun of the posters but adores them at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Agree. Too many trolls

+1

More RWNJs now that Fairfax Underground is defunct. And astroturfing is a core GOP campaign tactic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting dumber? I’m being serious. I’ve been on DCUM for about 7 years now, and the lack of basic intelligence evidenced by some posters these days is alarming.

I think society as a whole is.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because this thread is full of deep insight, carefully researched posts, and clever comments.

and the snark leaves much to be desired.

I do my very best!

One nice addition is Jeff's posts.

Jeff's dry humor in the summaries makes me snicker many times. No lie. I love that he kinda makes fun of the posters but adores them at the same time.

I enjoy his political commentary, even when I disagree with him. Honestly I'd read DCUM just for the blog posts, like gomiblog

[Anonymous]

I miss the posts that start off innocuously and then spiral into pure comedic joy. Those posts showcased how clever some of us are.