Places on the Internet I’m no longer visiting, and why.

Maybe there’s a lesson here about the human tendency to ruin good things with bad behaviour.

Lucy the Oracle
7 min readJan 12, 2025
Photo by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash

These are the places that initially proposed a dynamics I was into, but quickly turned out to be toxic because the users behaved in a way I consider unacceptable, and the moderators don’t seem to care enough about putting a stop to the problem. So basically, it’s not the platforms — it’s how they’re being run and it’s what kind of person feels drawn to them BECAUSE OF how they’re being run. Of course this is my personal opinion, and perhaps some of my deal-breakers with spaces on the Internet won’t be the same for you. Maybe you’re ok with these problems and they don’t bother you. In that case, great, keep visiting them and I hope you enjoy.

(And let’s all agree that sometimes, the “mishaps” I will discuss below aren’t even something a platform staff are ABLE to manage at all. So, it’s down to people being entitled and ruining fun things because of their big egos).

I’ll just cite the platforms/communities/etc below and briefly tell you why I left. The general conclusion focuses on what kinds of thing usually give me “the ick”. If some people find it relatable, I’m glad to help with where not to go.

X

I know, I know… A lot of people left it because they have a deep dislike for Musk (I’m not a fan myself), but I’m actually one of those who left before Twitter changed its name. A long time before. Back when Musk wasn’t even talking about it.

I registered because: I dig the character limit per tweet. If you’ve got something to casually say on the Internet, go straight to the point. I was onboard.

I left because: people started doing the 1/3 thing (or 1/5, I think I saw a thread that started 1/10 once. Mind-blown). It sounds like a technicality, but it isn’t. Too much blabbering on in a public place encourages things like 1) pointless fights with strangers, 2) pseudo-intellectualism and one-upmanship, 3) validation addiction, and 4) unhinged posting. Sure, these problems worsened with the change in directorship, but let’s not pretend they didn’t exist before.

reddit

Here’s one place I only tried out because I was curious, but oh my god now I understand the widespread mockery that exists all over the Internet about this platform.

I registered because: things get niche. Specific discussions aren’t just tagged with the subject matter, they’re also clearly divided in separate spaces called subreddits. This also reminded me of the early 2000s forums we used to have where there isn’t a constant “feed” and topics are searchable with ease. What’s not to love?

I left because: for some spectacularly bizarre reason which I’m still trying to figure out to this day (I mean… it’s not the format! Quora works similar and doesn’t have that problem. Early 2000s forums, anonymous or not, didn’t have that problem), redditors take themselves too seriously. Way too seriously. Extremely seriously. To the point of making actual clowns look unremarkable. Do I blame the general public for laughing of reddit? No. Not one bit. It’s 100% deserved. I’m fed-up to the back teeth with people who pretend to be authorities on reddit (from mods thinking they are some kind of actual leader, to users who think they are actual lawyers, actual doctors, actual spiritual ministers, actual historians and the list goes on) and getting offended when Internet users who have common sense call them out. I mean… What??! If you called someone out, say, on Yahoo Answers in 2007, for not actually knowing what they were talking about, maybe there would be angry back-and-forth for a short while but other users would just ignore it and it would quickly die out. Hell, a lot of people back then would even agree with the calling out, or say nothing because “we’re on the Internet anyway, this is normal”. But on reddit… I’m not sure if everyone in there is chronically online and already forgot they have an IRL life or what. They just do. Not. Relax. One. Bit. Ever. I’m fed-up. I’m done. I’m not going back.

What’s more: I know people IRL who also used reddit for a while and gave up on it for the same exact reason. Reddit is 4chan in disguise, I tell ya, lol. Never been there, just met people who were and shared stuff on other platforms, and at least on 4chan it seems to me that they don’t pretend to be holier-than-thou human beings when in fact they’re clueless degenerates with covert narcissism. They’re honest about being “losers”. Kudos to that.

Facebook groups

I know it’s dying out slowly anyway, but I’d like to emphasise groups since they are a sight to behold.

I participated because: again, like forums, things are searchable in them, even on Facebook where we’re forced to deal with the feed. Facebook groups also balanced very nicely niche conversations with the lack of anonymity inherent to the platform, so let’s just say it kept unhinged behaviour to a minimum.

I left because: MLM “girlbosses” and “crypto bros”, shitposters spreading fake news and extremist dogwhistles, spammers selling shit and a general flood of similar opportunist behaviour started happening. It got to a point where neither the content mods who work for the platform (and I’m sure already have a gruelling job anyway) or mods specific to groups could keep it under control. My best guess as to why is… This probably happens because Facebook attracts a specific generation (the intersection of gen X and boomer; with a few older millennial exceptions), who are prone to certain behaviours. Anyway, I’m not going back to those groups.

LinkedIn

My biggest frustration on the Internet is LinkedIn. I had high hopes! Oh, how naive I was.

I registered because: I’ll be honest, “everybody was doing it”. I’m not usually one to go with the crowd, but where career is concerned, it’s good to network where most people are going. Initially it was okay-ish, already disappointing me a bit. I was hoping for a platform where users would network with businesses, or business to business too, informally discuss work culture before interviews, etc. LinkedIn seemed like the savior everyone needed, the “middle man” who would create informal back-and-forth where previously we wouldn’t normally get any feedback from recruitment. I was expecting perhaps a bit of immature behaviour here and there because of feedback poorly received, but at least I thought there WOULD be productive interaction. And there wasn’t.

I left because: As the above foreshadows, people didn’t understand the assignment. From businesses and freelancers alike posting self-aggrandisng content that was often full of GLARING lies, to mere peasants either applauding them or discussing off-topic shit… LinkedIn lost its appeal to me very fast. I “noped” out of it before even interacting much. Disappointment aside, there is one thing that always makes me laugh: I started betting for fun on most unlikely online places to get a job from… and bingo. I got something from all of them, at least things like interviews or referrals, EXCEPT on LinkedIn. I met one of my employers on Facebook, of all places; another on a Youtube comment section. That’s the kind of randomness we’re talking about. LinkedIn is useless to me.

Conclusion

Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear”, like we say here. Things aren’t usually what they seem. My history of web searching — ever since I started in the 90s — tells me that looking for “the right place for this or that” isn’t the best approach. Internet users have changed collectively in a lot of ways, but one common characteristic remains constant: we have this no-ones-land attitude, don’t we? We do what we want, where we want, and if the rules discourage it, we find a way to dodge them anyway. It’s like the Wild West.

I mean… you can’t really put a label on common Internet problems and decide which places foster which phenomena or not, because in the end of the day you’ll be surprised. You’ll end up realising that what you thought was a trend was actually you staying in “your bubble” whereas all the deviations to your theory were happening outside of it.

Let’s take Instagram for an example. It’s usually stereotyped as “the place where influencers make you feel bad about yourself”. But my question to you is: is it really? Or is it just what you assume it should be because of its mission statement? Don’t you need very specific circumstances for the problem to happen? For instance, don’t you need to willingly and purposefully follow more and more accounts of people who showcase what you don’t have until your feed is littered with them and only them? But that’s not Instagram’s fault. That’s YOUR fault. My own Instagram doesn’t have that problem. I only choose to follow 1) parody musicians who make me laugh, 2) farmers because I like growing stuff and they teach it, 3) landscape photographers, for the aesthetic, 4) spiritual practitioners, and 5) inventors with something cool to share. Do I see gorgeous models I’ll compare myself to and feel bad? Ehh… Once in a while through engagement, if I’m (un)lucky? I guess? But that’s not the bulk of what I see. Because I’m not in that victim mentality, blaming the external for what actually is the result of MY OWN content choices.

The above is also valid for other places on the Internet that disappointed me. Yes, they disappointed me, but where is MY OWN parcel of responsibility in the story? Well, it’s in leaving those spaces, or curating them the best I can to what actually DOES help me get what I want.

I suppose the closing statement here is, simply, “stop being entitled”. The Internet is for free. What else do you want?

See you next time.

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Lucy the Oracle
Lucy the Oracle

Written by Lucy the Oracle

Oracle learner / spirit worker based in Ireland. Buddhist/polytheist. I don't read minds. I don't change minds. I don't sugarcoat. Take my message or leave it.

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