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I *really* have come to despise the toxic "users" that get uppity about someone
using or liking something that they don't like. Especially uppity Windows/FOSS
users using lines like "just toss it out" when someone asks for help. One
example[1] was brought up by my spouse, who ran into it on their Twitter
timeline. Someone asked for help turing off Autocorrect on MacOS, and the first
response was "Throw it out a window?", followed by "That's a good idea. Chuck
it out the window and then go buy a non-Apple product."

That sort of crap is what pisses me off royally. I've been tossed aside like
that numerous times, including while looking for help with *nix problems, and
people somehow see this as acceptable behavior instead of "if you're not going
to help, just stay quiet and let someone else handle it."

I mean, this type of elitism dates back to the early days of home micros, like
the Apple II vs TRS vs Commodore 64 fights found among BBS goers[2]. But it
doesn't mean it's /right/, and it never really has been. It's just been
/accepted/ as the norm by many people.

Hell, dgold recently wrote about their feelings with the Fediverse[3], and how
those fleeing the toxicity of Twitter ended up finding more from the very
people trying to get away from it. I left Twitter because of that very reason,
and that's pretty much been my feelings as well, but:

1) I don't look at the Fediverse tab.
2) A majority of my posts are "unlisted".
3) I'm very particular about who I follow, choosing people who stay civil and
   stay willing to talk, rather than just flinging mud and calling it a day.
   
And the sad part? I still see a lot of those people. One instance that brands
itself as a "safe space" has an admin that's shown rather strong hostility in
their messages, and looks the other way to the same when it meshes with their
own values. Another, as dgold mentioned, is run by someone who pretends not to
be racist, and yet spouts very racist rhetoric (they were my first instant
block on the fediverse).

And I see the same hostility from people as my original point. People who would
rather pick a fight over something as stupid as what computer a person is
using, rather than actually help that person or leave them be. People who would
rather take a pot shot instead of being nice. And honestly, it's sad to see
that sort of behavior given a free pass.

I miss the days of real moderation. Where people actually worked to create
civil communities, instead of...whatever it is we have now with social media.

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[1]: https://twitter.com/Porpoise_at_law/status/1128669356634836993
[2]: Go watch ``BBS: The Documentary''. It's up on YouTube. Facinating look
     into how people were during the time.
[3]: gopher://ascraeus.org/0/phlog/010.txt