@Grandtheftautism @eisai @11112011 @FreedoingVlad @Senator_Armstrong @animeirl @dicey @icedquinn

> people don't use links here because getting someone to search up and post a whole bunch of links and then replying to that effort laden post with a short dismissal, usually by criticizing the sources rather than discussing the topic at hand, is a form of trolling.

Nah, people don't do that here because they just downloaded the screenshot from Twitter: it's because of how Twitter works that the stupid "screenshot a headline" thing took off anyway. So because they got the screenshot themselves, they don't have the source link. They wouldn't read it if they did have it, so they have no idea if what they are saying is total bullshit or not, just "Here is a screenshot that I hope is real because it allows me to talk about how $ingroup good or $outgroup bad". It's not like this is unique to fedi or to the internet, people just don't pay attention to anything and they do not think carefully; even a conscientious person will spend most of their time phoning it in because they are paying less attention to people talking about the news than they spend on. The other motivation is someone capitalizing on that tendency.

So if I am talking to someone, I go look things up, even stuff I know, the research is the fun part anyway. @eisai and @FreedoingVlad look things up, apropos and laurel aren't in this thread but also do. It makes their posts enjoyable to read. I fucking hate Twitter, this is one of the few places where people actually do research or they've got broad knowledge and they have insight.

> If you find yourself providing long links and getting short answers though, don't play into it.

I'm not responsible for someone else's terrible posts, only my own terrible posts. I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to really piece something together and then posting your results. If you're trying to win an argument, sure, don't expend more energy than the other guy if he is doing that, but internet arguments are a waste of time anyway.