I’ve found a few and they seem to be growing as of late:
- questions about Lemmy demographics
- anything discussing negative effects of porn
- benefits of AI
- negative effects of “wokeness”
- critiquing of individuals in trans community
- calling out men as predominant perpetrators of violence towards women
- anything US pro-conservative
One topic that I’ve noticed used to be a nonstarter and is now popular is anti-democrat conversation.
What are other nonstarters you’ve experienced?
EDIT: seemingly asking people what the community doesn’t want to talk about is a nonstarter
EDIT: calling out men as being predominate perps of violence is NOT a nonstarter and accepted within the community. A select few think that’s being a terf but they are wrong.
Countering arguments with ad-hominem puts you right up there with AI bots when it comes to providing value to online discussions.
Not really… AI bots are bad at providing value because they have no values and don’t understand context. You can deliver a scathing reproach that has value as long as it fits the context and reflects your values. But do you consider your response an ad-hominem?
Yes, really. You’re effectively saying “everyone who disagrees with my worldview is a bot,” which is a textbook example of ad hominem - dismissing a position based on who is assumed to hold it rather than engaging with the argument itself. That kind of framing is both delusional and extremely bad faith.
To your question: no, what I said isn’t ad hominem. Criticizing someone for making an ad hominem isn’t the same thing. I’m not using a personal attack to avoid addressing your argument - I’m pointing out that you’re using personal attacks to avoid having one. There’s a difference between attacking someone instead of responding to their point and calling out someone for refusing to make one.
I hardly consider my opinion on AI a “worldview”. It is an observation that generative AI use in decision making and creativity reduces cognitive activity. Yes I asked OP to disprove me in an “ad-hominem” manner though. I guess we violently agree on that?
Nobody has claimed your views on AI count as a worldview, nor are they in any way relevant to this discussion. The discussion is about you blanket dismissing everyone who criticizes “wokeness” as a bot.
Okay then, swap out AI with wokeness, it still doesn’t come to the level of a “worldview”. It is still an observation.
You can swap out “worldview” with any other term you like as that is neither relevant to the discussion. You’re getting hung up on terms and completely ignoring the substance of my argument.
Yes I had an inflammatory response. I honestly don’t perceive OP as making a good faith argument when they say “negative effects of wokeness”. It’s a thought terminating cliche.
You’re doing a lot of dodging here. The original comment you made wasn’t a neutral “observation” about AI’s impact on cognition - it was a blanket dismissal of people who criticize wokeness by claiming they’re bots. That’s textbook ad hominem: attacking the people instead of engaging with what they’re saying.
Since then, you’ve shifted the conversation multiple times - from AI and cognition, to whether “worldview” is the right word, to tone and intent - none of which address my original criticism: that dismissing someone as a bot simply for expressing a particular opinion is intellectually lazy and corrosive to actual discussion.
You can claim it’s just “an observation” all you want, but the reality is that you made a personal attack in place of an argument. I’m not criticizing you for being mean - I’m criticizing you for sidestepping the discussion entirely.
If you think critics of wokeness are wrong, then show why. Don’t just insult them and pretend that counts as insight.