Always hoping to keep in touch with such old time friends, however somewhat estranged we are.

I thought node.com worked but it seems not.

I don’t think you can see the old coffee room threads anymore.

Oh. You meant “new coffee room”.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
Oh. You meant “new coffee room”.

Right you are.

out looking for trouble, eh?

Not at all. I've followed the other site on and off, even participated for a while. Less re politics but just to see what they had to say (not even counting the ones who doubled up on both sites.)

The "coffee" communication was an important part of my life early on, also a reminder of our (US) history both how things have evolved and who and how they've changed over decades. Humor, alternate POVs, who got Covid and how they thought about the vaccine, etc.

Then I noticed I couldn't find them (sometimes it seemed to be technical issues). If nothing else, we're all aging at the same time. Life is happening!

I followed the link and regretted it immediately.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:
I followed the link and regretted it immediately.

Why? I think it is good for all of us to know how "the other side" thinks about the things that affect all of us in a world that is seemingly more divided then ever.

Polite discord is required! Of course I know that some can be "less than polite"

I am not "this side or that side" I am a middle of the road type. I no longer argue or even discuss my political views with people on TNCR or WTF. It does nothing but breed contempt and even hatred of people I should love. Yes, I love all the people here and there. Weird, huh? I do admit that some make me scratch my head more than others. lol Years ago, I was heading down a path of hate for some people on both sides and I started to hate myself for doing so.

You know what scares me the most? AI generated photos and videos accompanied by lying "news" media personnel with large audiences. They can convince anyone that anything is happening that is not actually happening.

We have to be so much more vigilant in this modern world than ever before about fake news and the people that generate and propagate it.

I agree with you, markj. One of the questions I ponder is whether the US has become more divided, or if we're now just able to see what has always been there to a greater or lesser extent, just amplified by social media and manipulative algorithms.

I no longer trust ANYTHING I hear on social media, and find I need to do a lot more due diligence when reading news. The notion of a bias doesn't bother me much - it is human nature. I'm a big girl and can discern bias. But outright lies and, as you note, more sophisticated AI generated propaganda is a whole other thing. That is legitimate "fake news."

As far as going to the new coffee room, I did take a look (thanks for posting the link) and don't feel comfortable posting there. For one, I've been away a long time and have scars from the "old" new coffee room that I don't care to reopen. Though, to be fair, the current posters, from what I can gather, weren't the ones that were so spiteful years ago. But it seemed to me that even when a topic is, on the surface, neutral it turns political very quickly. Like you, I'm not that interested in arguing politics. I'm not changing my mind on what I believe, just as others aren't changing theirs. So it's a no-win situation and I personally don't find arguing to be a fun sport.

My 2c!