Is Reddit a village? I’m part on some of the “smaller” (maybe less large?) communities like the Blood Bowl subreddit, but it’s still mostly just a bunch of strangers talking with each other for a while. It’s frankly similar to this place isn’t it? Chances are you’ll read this post of mine, and then never see another of my posts again.
That’s not really what I’d consider a village, or even a real community. I think a lot of the things a lot of people miss about the “old web” is really just things being smaller. You’d go into an IRC channel and it would be the same people that was there every day. This made it possible to actually create a community, where people knew each other.
Sure it’s fun to be on HN or Reddit or similar and sometimes bump into someone “famous”, but it’s not like it’s really “social” when you’re just talking to a new bunch of people every time you post. That is, if what you post is even read by anyone.
I think this site is somewhere near the boundary, IMO. I don't recognize every commenter, but in most comment sections I'll see posts from someone I recognize. There's also a pretty consistent culture (or, more accurately, two cultures, devs and tech entrepreneurs), though, compared to say a Reddit comment section. It's definitely not an intimate social space like my private Discord servers are, either, though.
Sports reddit is the most village-like, and in my view one of the few topics that actually scale within the reddit framework while maintaining that quality. Each league has its main subreddit, each team has its own sub, and the usual adversarial nature of reddit tribalism is far more subdued and good-natured, as at the end of the day it's all about games.
> Is Reddit a village? [...] it’s still mostly just a bunch of strangers talking with each other for a while
"Online community" and social media are in some way social, to the extent that there is communication, something that defines humanity and that humans enjoy doing.
It just isn't high-value communication in most instances. Much of it is short affirmations and expressions of good will.
Our species survived through social grouping. A real village (or even larger community in meatspace) is an anchor for social trust.
A real village differs significantly from online community in the simple fact that in reality, people are in a group for the survival benefits that the group offers. People will avoid talking nonsense or uttering threats because there are reputational and/or legal consequences that could deprive these people of group benefits. People will nuture their absurd opinions and resentments, but they tend to suppress expressing these because membership in the group is more valuable than their opinions and resentments.
People do unleash their resentments and talk garbage on the Internet. In a real village, talking garbage will have consequences. In most cases, people in a real village understand to be careful in how they express themselves. In the days of the "old Web", people extended their "real village" values in the interactions on the Internet.
In a real village, the way for people to feel confident about their resentments is to try to find a group where they can feel impunity. This is harder to do in a real village than it is on the Internet.
One or two generations later on the Internet, with full penetration by marketing, ranking, and malicious participants (sometimes even at the scale of state-sponsored propaganda), the strong foundation of social trust is gone. All that remains is "enshitification" and Harlow monkeys[1].
Now, in an ironic twist, real communities are shaken by the artifical world of the Internet, and some people aspire to make the Internet be community in a way that it can never be.
The anime subreddit has a couple of million people on it and I still recognize lots of people who are active in the episode discussion threads. Depending on your own engagement, people might start to recognize you too, even if you don't post that much.
But how likely are you to meet up any with those people whom you recognize, if you passed through their town? Do you even know what their town is? For me, the general lack of IRL meetings with other members is one of the clearest things setting Reddit (even its small subreddits) apart from traditional internet forums.
That’s not really what I’d consider a village, or even a real community. I think a lot of the things a lot of people miss about the “old web” is really just things being smaller. You’d go into an IRC channel and it would be the same people that was there every day. This made it possible to actually create a community, where people knew each other.
Sure it’s fun to be on HN or Reddit or similar and sometimes bump into someone “famous”, but it’s not like it’s really “social” when you’re just talking to a new bunch of people every time you post. That is, if what you post is even read by anyone.