My experience with the Fediverse has only been through Mastodon, through which I struggled to find a community I really gelled with. Either it was supper overwhelming with meme posts or NSFW, or it was too chill to the point of nothing. Or, it was hyperfocused like FOSS/Linux and became uninteresting after awhile. May try again, but I think I will explore the other fedisites like Plemora or Calckey to see if I like it better.
I love the pace of a forum. I grew up primarily with GameFAQS and some lucid dreaming forum, and honestly it was very formative in teaching me how to write and use critical thinking skills, as well as how to respond to a variety of temperaments. I stopped participating in online forums awhile ago, and while I loved Reddit as a resource, I never felt inspired to participate. In the same way, there are an incredible number of forums dedicated to a certain topic, and are extremely valuable, it would be annoying to make an account for all the things I am interested in.
I like what lemmy is becoming. Glad to find system that makes interacting with people enjoyable.
I agree that political discourse can be exhausting. That exhaustion will frequently lead to frustration. It’s frustrating to repeatedly engage in an activity without seeing regular progress towards your goal.
I firmly disagree that political discourse “does nothing to improve the world.” Without discussions, which will often involve disagreement, there are fewer opportunities for personal engagement in the political process. As with formal schooling, a personal engagement in the subject matter can help develop a person’s comfort and confidence with the subject, refine their understanding through overcoming obstacles, expose their ignorance of specific areas, and promote continued social engagement in a community focused on learning.
Greek forums, French salons, and taverns all around the world served as physical communities for political discussions for contemporary and future political leaders. They were part of the birth, rebirth, and refinement of democratic ideas that became ideals. Some of which became laws.
Online political discourse is now possible. It is cheaper and easier on an individual level to engage in an online discussion than an in-person community. It’s a mixed bag. There are many examples of bad online behavior, but anyone who reads this post is probably looking for something that is for some reason difficult to find offline. My personal politics are influenced by a combination of offline and online experiences, and I’m glad for both kinds of experience.