And we shouldn't allow this concept to go unchallenged here on Lemmy.
Commenting on an active post is not brigading
Posting a link to something is not brigading
Commenting on something you were linked to is not brigading
The only thing that might be brigading, but isn't because it isn't a real thing, is someone explicitly going, "Hey everyone, go here and harass this person"
It's all fine and good that we have some new rules to keep the peace with other instances but we must fight against 
Their culture is so snarky and anti-collaboration, they get pissy with each other nearly as much as they do with us, and they don't engage any differently in either case. I really do feel bad for these people who are trapped in the atomized, all against all social paradigm of the new internet.
I'm still new to Hexbear and this has been the biggest striking difference for me coming from liberal spaces. I've seen multiple arguments on hexbear, and honestly, I had a hard time at first seeing that they were civil disagreements and not just jokes.
Edit: I think maybe because in the liberal spaces, to open up like that in good faith is just an invitation to get shit on for going outside the norm. Whereas here you'll get engaged with in good faith and it's just a much more positive experience that actually allows for civil disagreement.
Goofy emojis help, as does the anti-debatelord
culture
I really like not having a downvote button. Keeps the cowards from downvoting and feeling like that did something. Debate your opinion nerds, don't hide.
we do have the downvote emoji
but it's a comment instead of an actual downvote, meaning you're making your disagreement publicly instead of anonymously and opening the floor to further discussion.
Long ago in the Second Age when I was posting with Elf kings and Dwarf lords and all that shit from 20+ years ago I always preferred to actually post rather than do something like block a person. I never used chat filter, never blocked a person (unless they were spamming in a video game). I liked it that way. I really appreciated that we got rid of the downvotes here. I tend to like upvotes because it feels like a nice way of saying "heard and acknowledged" to a post but I also like to actually reply with a "nice post!" or "that's funny!" because it feels so much more sincere and engaged.
What I'm trying to say is I genuinely appreciate the 'culture' we have fostered here. It's a nice place. If anybody calls us a bunch of meanies I'd say just look at the mutual aid comm or the way the mods politely remind people to tone it down if things start to get genuinely heated or how we are anti-sectarian.
I kind of wish there was like a "Thumbs up" button only for comments replying to your comment so you could agree to someone in way that showed you didn't have anything further to say. I mostly just use
For that, which I guess works well.
like different from just hitting upbear?
Yeah! That extra upbear could have come from anyone. I want the person I'm replying to to know it came from me! (I'm speaking for Frank here, hopefully correctly. I think I understand what he's getting at.)
This piece is like the opposite of that CIA (OSS?) manual on wrecking
Great point, a controversial decision at the time but in hindsight 100% correct
I was initially indifferent-to-unconvinced about it but now I think it's one of the all-time great additions alongside pronouns. You still kinda have it because you can just upvote the person in the debate whose opinion you prefer if it gets to the point of debate which is a kind of relative downvote, but people actually having to come out and propose and then defend an objection is much healthier for everybody rather than nurturing silent resentments between users, and you can't just make a bunch of alts to downvote somebody you disagree with, especially for days, weeks, or months after an argument has happened. If you really dislike a person then the block button is there and if they're being bigoted then so is the report button.
Here you can generally assume people will engage with intellectual honesty and intellectual curiosity, not just to "win" an argument but to have a real exchange of ideas that results in potentially both people benefiting. Everything isn't a debate and every conversation does not have a winner and a loser, the goal everyone has here is generally for everyone to be better off.
🥰
So much of the 'brigading' is just comrades pointing out and challenging racism or bigotry and agreeing that a reactionary is racist or bigoted. I think its this kind of collaboration that comes off as so offensive to them sometimes; it's not something that any of us have to argue about, so it might always come off as co-ordinated to those who are used to saying whatever tf they like without consequence. Must be strange to be challenged when it's acceptable to be a a conservative or a 'progressive' and a POS throughout most of the western world.
they speak of our hostility and their superiority, and become exactly what they hate when one person challenges them
What would it be like living in a world where anyone who dared to voice bigotry or misogyny or transphobia was immediately dogpiled by everyone around them? Like someone makes a bigoted comment in the grocery store and everyone around starts yelling at them and calling over the rest of the grocery to yell at them? Sure, witchhunts, whatever but god it would be nice living a world where if you encountered a bigot or a fascist or a cop everyone would pile in to help you without having to be asked or having to think about it.
i just want to be able to call the gender stasi when some transphobe starts shit 😔
Seeing their rude commenting styles and nastiness really turned me off from federation at first, but then they started commenting here and it was very cathartic to shit on them!