Let me preface by saying, I would love to hear counter points and am fully open to the fact that I could be wrong and totally out of touch. I just want to have some dialogue around something that’s been bothering me in the fediverse.
More and more often I keep hearing people refer to “normies”. I think by referring to other people as “normies”, whether you intend to or not, you inadvertently gatekeep and create an exclusive environment rather than an inclusive one in the fediverse.
If I was not that familiar with the fediverse and decided to check it out and the first thing I read was a comment about “normies”, I would quite honestly be very put off. It totally has a negative connotation and doesn’t even encapsulate any one group. I just read a comment about someone grouping a racist uncle and funny friend into the same category of normie because they aren’t up to date on the fediverse or super tech savvy or whatever.
I don’t want to see any Meta bs in the fediverse. I barely want to see half of the stuff from Reddit in the fediverse. I don’t want to see the same echo chamber I do everywhere else.
I do want to see more users and more perspectives and a larger user base though. I want to see kindness and compassion. I want to talk to people about topics they are interested in. I want to have relevant discussions without it dissolving into some commentary on some unrelated hot topic thing.
I think calling people normies creates a more toxic, exclusive place which I personally came here to avoid.
Just my two cents! I know for most people using the term it isn’t meant to be malicious, but I think it comes off that way.
Love to hear all of your thoughts.
I have seen the word normie used in almost exclusively sarcastic or tongue in cheek contexts.
The internet has a way of taking things that are used sarcastically and removing every bit of irony. The Flat Earth Society, PCMR, and The Donald subreddit all started out as making fun of the people that are now 100% unironically part of very thriving (and toxic to differing levels) communities.
I think that will almost certainly happen to the word normie, if it hasn’t already.
I’ve only really seen it in two contexts. Mainly “don’t scare the normies”, which was largely the advice given to my larp communities to not freak out people in real life with their hobby stuff, and probably also applies to subcultures like furries and such. And secondarily as self-deprecating. I’m a Facebook meme group “Normie Has-Beens” tied to the page “Stale Memes for Normie Has-Beens”, and it’s certainly not people who consider themselves normal.
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This post and many of the comments should make it abundantly clear folks have an entirely different experience with the word. I’m not sure what you’re trying to add to the conversation other than to try and claim everyone else doesn’t have valid concerns.
OP asked for my thoughts, I gave my thoughts. I’m sorry you think my experience invalidates yours.
Thoughts can still be provided in a useful fashion without trying to invalidate everyone else’s opinion.
Edit: I didn’t say your experience invalidated anything. Your choice of words did.
It feels a bit like the contemporary counterpoint to 1337, and more or less equally silly.
I have definitely seen it used outside of that. Again, I think the effects are largely unintentional but from an outsider looking in could be very off putting.