2013-04-07
Explanation
This comic, titled "How Internet Fighting Works," is an infographic-style explanation of why online arguments between groups tend to devolve so badly. It uses colored shapes (a green square group and a pink/purple circle group) to illustrate the dynamics. The comic establishes that each group is mostly reasonable people, with only a small percentage of "crazy assholes" (shown as angry little characters -- a yellow square and a red triangle).
The key insight is about disproportionate representation: by percent of all talking, the loud, aggressive minority dominates the conversation for each side. So when you try to engage with the other side, you think you're talking to the moderate majority, but there's a good chance you're actually talking to their loudest jerks. And when the other side tries to understand your views, they're most likely hearing from your loudest jerks. The result is that a discussion that should be a calm exchange of ideas (shown as two shapes with question marks) turns into a profanity-laced shouting match, when everyone would be better off if the moderate majorities were the ones communicating.
This is an early and incisive articulation of what would later be widely discussed as "toxoplasma of rage" or the dynamics of outrage culture on social media. The comic neatly explains how selection bias in online discourse causes each side to see the worst of the other, creating a vicious cycle of mutual hostility. The votey adds a sharp caveat: "Also, some groups are just 100% assholes," acknowledging that the charitable framework doesn't always apply.