• monko@lemmy.zip
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    8 months ago

    I would love to see some examples of these minority topics being down voted or suppressed since it seems to be deeply affecting international users’ experience.

    To me, it seems like you and the OP resent US users for simply existing in an online space without putting forth any solutions to the issue. Are you sure you’re not trying to find ways to justify anti-US bias?

    If you want the space to have more equal representation, why not produce high-quality content that appeals to your fellows rather than moaning about people who by your own admission mean no harm?

    • Turun@feddit.de
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      8 months ago

      As @[email protected] already pointed out (thanks girl!), I never said they would get downvoted. It’s just that if US news are upvoted and international news are not, then sorting by upvotes (which any reasonable algorithm will do), will inevitably lead to a reduced visibility of said international news.

      Thanks to federation the frontpage itself is mostly non specific memes and tech/Linux content. But if you want a concrete example: here is a screenshot of [email protected]. the name of the community would suggest well, world news. The reality is … Quite different:

      The nine posts in the screenshot are about:

      • Elon musk (50/50)
      • Jk Rowling & a new Scottish law (international)
      • US traffic blockades (US)
      • Donald Trump (US)
      • Israel war (international)
      • US jails (US)
      • US housing (US)
      • Donald Trump (US)
      • Donald Trump (US)

      If you want the space to have more equal representation, why not produce high-quality content that appeals to your fellows rather than moaning about people who by your own admission mean no harm?

      As i have just explained in my first paragraph this will not be enough. (And that’s aside from the extra effort required to keep up said high quality work. Even if it would lead to equal representation, it’s an uphill battle.)

      Are you sure you’re not trying to find ways to justify anti-US bias?

      Yes, I am sure. I am merely stating a fact. This dynamic develops in any online space with a clear majority group. For example, take the /r/de subreddit. It is the default subreddit for German speaking users on reddit. Austrian and Swiss users are explicitly invited. And yet, by sheer number of citizens the news about German politics dominate the submissions. I do no more resent Germans for up voting content that interest them on /r/de (for example myself) than I resent Americans upvoting content that interests them.

      Similarly you can take any other instance that is specific to a group, be it defined via country (e.g. lemmy.ca) or shared interest/experience (e.g. lemmy.blahaj.zone) and you will find that minorities that are not part of that definition will inevitably be suppressed. But these country or interest specific instances do not claim to cover the world. In fact, OP was probably writing this post not due to the presence of US citizens on Lemmy, but due to the overwhelming presence of US citizens on an instance that claims to represent the world. Renaming [email protected] to [email protected] would go a long way.

      • monko@lemmy.zip
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        8 months ago

        Sure, petition to rename it. I don’t think anyone would care, except the folks feeling suppressed by American exceptionalism.

        Or, idk, start your own world news instance with super strict rules, zero US stuff. No one is stopping you. Isn’t that the point of this platform?

    • Norah - She/They@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      8 months ago

      The comment you replied to very clearly said “less likely to upvote” not that topics are downvoted. But this kind of American exceptionalism is like 90% of the problem I have with spaces being dominated by y’all. Frankly it’s insufferable how far up your own arses you’ve stuffed your heads.

      • monko@lemmy.zip
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        8 months ago

        Do you think “supress” simply means “not up voting non-US content?” Okay, maybe I got that one wrong.

        But you really don’t get how hostile you guys come off toward US folks who are just existing?

        I mean, your comment is the very embodiment 9f the anti-US sentiment I see from so many. What are people supposed to do to appease you?

        • Norah - She/They@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          8 months ago

          You barged in here and mischaracterised what someone said so you could be outraged…SMH and you still think we all are the problem.

          The one thing that you could do, that any American could do, is be capable of introspection on this stuff. But this thread kinda proves how impossible that is. Other people and places exist. English is the lingua franca of the Internet. Would y’all please stop being so self-centred?

          • monko@lemmy.zip
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            8 months ago

            I “barged in” to a thread on Lemmy, a public forum where all are supposedly welcome? Are you seriously trying to exclude me based on my identity or background?

            • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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              8 months ago

              This is exactly why I’m so tired of this discussion. For non-regional communities, there is literally no solution to the problem. Unless you could somehow succeed in actively silencing a demographic majority, the only options for an individual are to 1) abandon non-regional communities and focus on local communities and limited diversity of content, or to 2) keep participating in non-regional communities with their built-in, albeit skewed, diversity.

              cw: examples of verbal attacks, open the spoiler to continue

              And then plenty of people (like your interlocutor here) choose option 2, only to get riled up by the natural repercussions of that choice to the point of being verbally abusive? Throwing around “seppo” “American exceptionalism” “lazy child murderers” just for the crime of existing as yourself on the internet?

              It’s painful as shit.

    • Ignacio@kbin.socialOP
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      8 months ago

      To me, it seems like you and the OP resent US users for simply existing in an online space without putting forth any solutions to the issue. Are you sure you’re not trying to find ways to justify anti-US bias?

      If you want the space to have more equal representation, why not produce high-quality content that appeals to your fellows rather than moaning about people who by your own admission mean no harm?

      EDIT:

    • lad@programming.dev
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      8 months ago

      I would love to see some examples of these minority topics being down voted or suppressed since it seems to be deeply affecting international users’ experience

      Could you please provide some examples? I am at a loss about what that could be except some hate topics that I expect to naturally get downvoted