@inquiline for sure. I’ve definitely observed those disappointingly defensive responses to both the more and the less rude versions of calling it out (probably sometimes by you). My explanation at best accounts for a small part of the problem compared to the culture and types of guys who congregate here. And maybe it’s wrong of me still to look for a reason to give any of them the benefit of the doubt when it’s such a problem. I definitely sympathize when people opt for the rude callout. It seems really frustrating to have a big account here receiving a lot of mansplain-y replies.

@emilymbender this isn’t to contradict or downplay anything you’re saying because it is obviously a real problem with the general culture here and type of person so overrepresented on the network. But I also wonder if that experience could partly be a structural consequence of the platform not having the ability to quote other users’ posts for such a long time. So a lot of people still seem to use replies to say what they want to add to something rather than quoting the original post (which might be more appropriate for the way they want to interact with it) and as a result their statements are way more directed at the person they’re replying to than they might intend or realize.

Anyway, that is speculation, doesn’t excuse it, and I’m very sorry you have such an unpleasant time here. You do great work and I appreciate that I can follow it here since I’m not on the other platforms.