We Are A Harsh Viper's Nest

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

just that it may make you want to to separate.

Fixed.

#trollingincanada

 

[Pancake]

It’s sadly true, being called “left slant” when I participate in primarily American based online communities usually makes me chuckle because in other places it’s really just “normal human “.

And in some Canadian venues I’m called a xenophobic, anti science, right wing scum.

 

[Free]

#trollingincanada

I think we call that, posting normally.

 

[Cristiano]

Literally any community will become a little bit of an echo chamber. I honestly don't think SLU/VV is a whole lot worse than others.

This community has a very clear left wing slant, but it's not like more right wing message boards are always just so much more welcoming of other points of view. Nowhere scares me more than /r/the_donald in that respect.

It has a left wing slant by design, but also because the user base covers the entire spectrum of races, sexuality and gender identities. Right leaning sites don't tend to be welcoming of that type of diversity. I'm always interested in other pespectives, but right leaning voices tend to not last long in a crowd that challenges them. Also, in the current political climate, right leaning is inextricably tied to Trump and all the ugliness that entails. I make no apologies for not wanting that shit here.

 

[Isabeau]

That comes back to the issue of there only being a handful of people who tend to start threads versus those who reply to them. If there are political topics of interest to you from your own region, start threads about them. I'd love to know more about political issues outside the US from the perspective of people here.

I've done that in the past but it usually was answered with US examples or comparisons of similar situations, or examples of how Trump/Repugs would have handled it, completely bypassing the actual subject. So I would post to the Nobody Cares thread, but it too was flooded by Trump crap. Even the Trudeau thread, lol.


Honestly, it isn't the forum, and it isn't anyone's doing. It's perfectly normal for the majority to discuss things that touch the most people.


VVO is perfect.

 

[Pamela]

Also, in the current political climate, right leaning is inextricably tied to Trump and all the ugliness that entails. I make no apologies for not wanting that shit here.

Yes. The divide in this country is even beyond right and left. It is left and batshit insane. There is no bridging it, no reason to even consider it.

The more this forum has the stamp of your temperament and personality, Cris, the better. People trust you.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

That comes back to the issue of there only being a handful of people who tend to start threads versus those who reply to them. If there are political topics of interest to you from your own region, start threads about them. I'd love to know more about political issues outside the US from the perspective of people here.

Yeah, it's only natural that responses on a thread about US politics would be US centric. I would LOVE to see more threads on stuff outside of the US.

...Also, in the current political climate, right leaning is inextricably tied to Trump and all the ugliness that entails. I make no apologies for not wanting that shit here.

No kidding. When Obama was in office, I actually enjoyed visiting some center right communities to get different perspectives. But after Donald Trump took over American Conservativism, these communities became intolerable. So now I run in communities that are center left to very left.

...also, there are non American conservatives. I've met them...

 

[Sid]

That comes back to the issue of there only being a handful of people who tend to start threads versus those who reply to them. If there are political topics of interest to you from your own region, start threads about them. I'd love to know more about political issues outside the US from the perspective of people here.

If I want to discuss the Dutch news, I know this isn't the right forum to do so. There ain't many Dutchies around.
I learned a lot about the US culture, mentality and politics over the years though.
Things I would never have learned from Dutch tv or magazines. In fact sometimes I feel better informed on US items than the political commentators at home, when they talk about 45 and his .

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

If I want to discuss the Dutch news, I know this isn't the right forum to do so. There ain't many Dutchies around.
I learned a lot about the US culture, mentality and politics over the years though.
Things I would never have learned from Dutch tv or magazines. In fact sometimes I feel better informed on US items than the political commentators at home, when they talk about 45 and his .

English speaking websites mostly become dominated by Americans by shear numbers unless the site's moderation specifically forces it to be British or what have you. Best way to avoid making a website American centric is to force us to *gasp* learn another language! haha.

But still, If you hear about something interesting near you, I'd love to see a thread on it.

 

[Pancake]

English speaking websites mostly become dominated by Americans by shear numbers unless the site's moderation specifically forces it to be British or what have you. Best way to avoid making a website American centric is to force us to *gasp* learn another language! haha.

But still, If you hear about something interesting near you, I'd love to see a thread on it.

Are Americans, by numbers, the largest group of English speakers. I didn’t know that. I thought there were enough English speaking countries world wide that it would balance out.

Anyway, I don’t think English is why SLU is so highly American. Any place with an American becomes Americanized lol. There can be one American couple on a plane or restaurant in a foreign country and the discussion turns to America

As Isabeau and Sid said though, it’s an observation not a complaint. If I want to hear about or discuss Canadian events or world news there are other places. SLU and VVO is where I learn about American news and politics. The same reason I might not expect a lot of non American content on CNN, but I still watch it, and flip to CBC or BBC for other stories.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Anyway, I don’t think English is why SLU is so highly American. Any place with an American becomes Americanized lol. There can be one American couple on a plane or restaurant in a foreign country and the discussion turns to America

I'm sure it's a bit of both. The USA is the single largest group of English speakers by far, and is bigger than the other English speaking countries combined. To really balance it out, you need to include a lot of people in countries that don't speak it as a common language. I'm not sure I believe the statistics on how many would really feel comfortable having a conversation in English. I think it's a common experience all over the world to study a language in school, then forget it all. I'm sure I could still pass some basic German language tests if I had some time to prepare, but if I wasn't expecting someone to speak German to me, they'd just get a blank stare, lol.

And yes, the other theory is true. Americans are LOUD.

 

[Cristiano]

Are Americans, by numbers, the largest group of English speakers. I didn’t know that. I thought there were enough English speaking countries world wide that it would balance out.

Yeah, it's not even close:

List of countries by English-speaking population - Wikipedia

 

[Jolene Benoir]

We are loud and more than a bit self-centered (Americans, I mean). We do tend to take all of the oxygen out of the room, so I can see where folks are coming from. I've seen some threads that have nothing to do with the US have posts that compare it to this fresh hell. I've probably even done it myself.

On the other hand, sometimes even when in a foreign country, others point out your American-ness and give you hell for it. I've shared my experience in Ecuador with the German tourists who gave me hell for GWB. That is, I think, an aberration and it's far more likely that an American in a foreign country or among majority non-USians tend to always make it about us.

In any event, I would welcome some more non-US threads. I read the Brexit one daily.

 

[Cristiano]

Also, here's a snapshot from the past few days demographics wise:

 

[Cristiano]

Also we are Windows centric too:

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Yeah, it's not even close:

List of countries by English-speaking population - Wikipedia

Thanks. I also want to point out that America's lead gets much bigger if you sort by "as first language."

 

[Pancake]

It’s not criticism guys.
Saying VVO is US centric is just an observation, or fact actually based on the stats Cris posted.
It’s ok to be US centric when majority is American.

Besides, even Canadian and European centric places discuss Trump, because really... who wouldn’t be.

 

[Cristiano]

I don't take it as a criticism at all. It's a reality. I am running a site in the US, and I'm American. There's a difference between being US-centric and ignoring non-US users. This is very much an international site as well. Most tech related sites are US-centric by nature.

 

[Plurabelle Laszlo]

It's not criticism, and it's not a weakness, either. Like Sid, I have learned so much about the US here (and in SL, where I am mostly on english speaking sims, too) and I am still fascinated by all those culture gaps I wasn't even aware of. I actually have learned a lot about Canada, too. And I am morbidly fascinated by US-American politics nowadays, anyway, and SLU/VVO members have given me insight and information I would hardly get anywhere else.
And I enjoy the (not that numerous, but also not -that- rare) occasions a lot when it comes to a truly international debate, where people from all over the world chime in and share their perspectives.