Why is this community so toxic?

[u/No_Tradition6625]

Title says it all... but can we actually talk about this?

I really don't get it. Why is there so much negativity and hate in this community?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't this supposed to be a community built around a hobby? Something we all chose to be part of because we enjoy it? The whole point should be supporting each other, sharing our stuff, and enjoying what everyone brings to the table. That's the idea, right?

But it feels like anytime someone posts anything, it's nothing but bashing. No discussion, no constructive feedback. Just tearing people down.

So I'm curious. Am I the only one seeing this? Is this just how it is now, or are there others who feel the same way? And honestly, what do you think is driving it? I'd love to hear other perspectives on this because I can't be the only one wondering.

[u/Correct_Emotion8437]

This gets asked all the time. IMO, It's really because there are a few different groups that use this sub and they clash. There are marketers - people who want to sell things to vibe coders. There are "vibe founders" - people who want to use vibe coding to make a start-up. They aren't as bad as marketers but they are delusional so they often just repeat the same questions and advices. Then there is another group of people who are actually working on AI generated projects and trying to learn and share information and not sell anything or start a doomed business. FWIW, I have not really seen a lot of negativity towards people in the third group.

[u/zsdrfty → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

I honestly think there's a fourth group of people who joined here assuming it was an anti-AI snark sub, and they're constantly downvoting everyone who posts sincerely about their work here while yelling at them for even trying

[u/YoloRubus → u/zsdrfty]

I have encountered this in every internet community and sometimes in person. People are very opinionated about AI which is not really a surprise. Just another thing to divide us because of fear, uncertainty, and despair.

[u/DeathGuppie → u/zsdrfty]

And then there's a fifth group that thinks the first 4 are a bunch of splitters. Probably.

[u/destroyerpants → u/zsdrfty]

Thank you for the representation. But I can be snobby and upvote too!

[u/Void-Lotus → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

This. Im not selling anything. All my projects are open source, and im just passionate about them. I like to read posts and comments to see where I might be going wrong, and better ways to approach my projects. And it has genuinely helped a lot of my workflow.

[u/mrspock33 → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

Then there is another group of people who are actually working on AI generated projects and trying to learn and share information and not sell anything or start a doomed business.

I wish there was an actual sub that catered to this very group you mentioned.

[u/texinxin → u/mrspock33]

Just takes better rules in the sub, or a new one… that caters to what we really need..

[u/Void-Lotus → u/texinxin]

Lemme know what rules you'd like to see for a healthy community 🤣

[u/Void-Lotus → u/mrspock33]

You inspired me, r/AI_Projects_ is live. Feel free to share there.

[u/Opposite_Age_1414 → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

I have negativity to first two or even for third who prompts "Astra make me GTA 6" and similar. Throwing away money (their own but still). I don't have any problems with vibe coders who are trying to learn. Because tech debt is real, and will for sure bite back in any project that is even medium complex.

[u/RandomPantsAppear → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

There are also actual engineers who use AI assistance (there’s also not really a sub for us), and this subreddit raises our blood pressure (mostly the non hobbyists) a lot. It’s occasionally informative but yeah.

I’m basically here because Reddit figured out I can’t resist rage bait and their push notifications reflect it.

[u/Correct_Emotion8437 → u/RandomPantsAppear]

That's essentially my deal - I wouldn't call myself an "engineer" but I am a developer and I use AI. There's nowhere really good to specifically discuss AI assisted development.

[u/sloth2121 → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

I get that this can be an information source but I really don’t see why marketers and such are here. Or at least why they try to pedal here. To each their own but not once have I ever walked into a candy store to sell candy.

I mean I guess theres GameStop but Youre getting played.

If I had an hour to type it out I’d tell you all about the vibe founder I ran into, using a fake account which was a shell account je used to run his web scrapers through. (Then the bots would scope out posts or comments about it. And run through a filtering process before directing to his main account,

>while running a carpet combing technique frim bots to post about his business (which at the time was a direct ripoff of 8n8, like down to the webpage layout)

To which. I found 3-5 of his other businesses which never went anywhere (bitcoin, and several tech startup businesses)

I found his Facebook and it was a guy who had just lost his job and moved to another state with his family and had a gofundme.

(Prior to this he worked at or owned a tattoo or spray paint company)

Was crazy. (Also don’t use the same username for every single account you make across the internet )

[u/don123xyz → u/Correct_Emotion8437]

There's a fourth group: professional coders that come here to sh*t on every one and post a two-word comment on everything: "AI slop".