# Where is the biggest concentration of idiots on the internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982 "2007-08-01T15:18:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/61 "2007-08-02T18:38:50Z")
YouTube and IMDb have always been my own personal gold standards, but recently, as much as I love [Yelp](http://www.yelp.com), their Talk boards are just so asinine and immature, I can’t stand it any more. It’s a different kind of dumb than say, Youtube… the users are all literate and generally intelligent, but the threads are a weird mix of trolling and general attention whoring and lame jokes. It’s disturbing because on the face, it looks like a pretty good site with smart people but eventually you notice that it feels more like kids playing grown-up. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/62 "2007-08-02T18:49:06Z")
[QUOTE=Shamozzle] I’ll concur re: MMORPG forums. The official WoW forums are a vast wasteland of _crycry_ and “WTF I PWND U BIACH” If you’re looking for some semblance of reason there, you might want to pack a lunch. [/QUOTE] My very first thought when I saw the title of this thread was “Goldshire.” But then, I guess that’s a of a loose interpretation of “on the Internet.” It definitely applies, though! ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/63 "2007-08-02T19:11:02Z")
No love for 'Fundies say the darndest things"? Check out their top 100, [top](http://www.fstdt.com/fundies/top100.aspx) - some of that stuff really does defy belief. eg, “There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don’t know that much about it does not bother me in the least.” AV1611VET, Christian Forums [Comments (78)] 2006-Sep-12 or this rant, "Interestingly, and sadly, all we see on the internet and in society today is talk about domestic violence; but NEVER do we hear anything about statistics on wives who refuse to obey their husbands. It is evil. It is just as sinful for a wife to frustrate her husband through insubordination and disobedience as it is for a man to commit domestic violence. I am not lessening the sin of domestic violence, I am emphasizing the sin of wives who rebel against their husbands by not being obedient. I realize this is ancient mentality to feminists today; but it is 100% Biblical doctrine. A wife is expected by God to obey her husband. Feminists are eagerly willing to crucify abusive husbands; BUT they won’t even address the issue of wives who disobey, mistreat, and frustrate their husbands. It takes two to tango. Please understand that I believe a wife who is being physically abused should leave if she feels threatened; but not divorce. Such a wife needs to sincerely ask herself “why” her husband is being abusive–there’s ALWAYS a reason. …" David J. Stewart, [Jesus-is-savior.com](http://Jesus-is-savior.com) [Comments (106)] 2007-Feb-17 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/64 "2007-08-02T19:34:36Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] (though I gather that some of you may prefer to see them in [this context](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0012.html)). [/QUOTE] OMGWTFBBQ! 😛 I know I shouldn’t laugh, but ROFL!!!11,111,111.11111111 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/65 "2007-08-03T03:37:58Z")
I love Erfworld. Even to a non-gamer, it’s a good story well-drawn with plenty of gags. Remember that the Internet doesn’t mean just the Web. It means anything connected via the Internet Protocol, which means Second Life and online World Of Warcraft gaming and email and, yes, Usenet all count. I would like to nominate a Usenet newsgroup, in fact: alt.usenet.kooks. Try to imagine a discussion group entirely composed of trolls. Not really good trolls, the kinds of trolls that think the best way to get a rise out of someone is to come in screaming obscenities and yelling about how the homoniggers and the kikes are ruining America for good Nazis. Then imagine the whole point of their existence is to try and start board wars. Add in more spam and random spew from bots than you have ever seen in your life, and you will have a good idea of just how bad alt.usenet.kooks really is. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/66 "2007-08-03T04:42:26Z")
I gotta go with 4 chan too. Never been there but I’ve had a few of them show up on my boards which was enough to convince me I don’t want to visit there. In second place would be forums dedicated to TV shows, attached to the networks, and having no moderation. I once went to the ABC site and read the Dancing With The Stars comments, yes I know I was bored and was looking for some information I had missed during the show. The comments there hurt my brain and there was a troll running rampant and being fed by everyone else. There were no moderators and no way to report the posts. Out of curiosity I checked the forums for a couple other shows and they were just as bad. However, fan sites for TV shows that are not on the network’s site are often well maintained and moderated. Followed closely by AOL news forums. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/67 "2007-08-03T05:54:27Z")
Another vote for IMDb. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/68 "2007-08-03T13:11:31Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] I love Erfworld. Even to a non-gamer, it’s a good story well-drawn with plenty of gags. [/QUOTE] Seconded! > [@](#): > > I would like to nominate a Usenet newsgroup, in fact: alt.usenet.kooks. Try to imagine a discussion group entirely composed of trolls. Not really good trolls, the kinds of trolls that think the best way to get a rise out of someone is to come in screaming obscenities and yelling about how the homoniggers and the kikes are ruining America for good Nazis. Then imagine the whole point of their existence is to try and start board wars. Add in more spam and random spew from bots than you have ever seen in your life, and you will have a good idea of just how bad alt.usenet.kooks really is. There are some other Usenet groups that are concentrations of pure distilled stupidity (alt.conspiracy comes to mind), but alt.usenet.kooks is as good an example as any. [QUOTE=Wile E] In second place would be forums dedicated to TV shows, attached to the networks, and having no moderation. I once went to the ABC site and read the Dancing With The Stars comments, yes I know I was bored and was looking for some information I had missed during the show. The comments there hurt my brain and there was a troll running rampant and being fed by everyone else. There were no moderators and no way to report the posts. Out of curiosity I checked the forums for a couple other shows and they were just as bad. However, fan sites for TV shows that are not on the network’s site are often well maintained and moderated. [/QUOTE] Yeesh. I’d expect that on poorly run fan sites, but ones that are **officially affiliated with the networks**?? All I can say is OMGWTF (and, I suppose, BBQ to represent the flaming). ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/69 "2007-08-03T13:32:28Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] Yeesh. I’d expect that on poorly run fan sites, but ones that are **officially affiliated with the networks**?? All I can say is OMGWTF (and, I suppose, BBQ to represent the flaming). [/QUOTE] Seems perfectly reasonable to me if you think of it as a form of adverse selection. The first place people think to look when they want to talk about a TV show is the official network site. People who are intelligent are quickly disgusted with the idiocy and find somewhere else to post. So what you end up with the is the dregs of the internet society. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/70 "2007-08-03T14:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=Shalmanese] Seems perfectly reasonable to me if you think of it as a form of adverse selection. The first place people think to look when they want to talk about a TV show is the official network site. People who are intelligent are quickly disgusted with the idiocy and find somewhere else to post. So what you end up with the is the dregs of the internet society. [/QUOTE] Well, yes, that explains why this happens on a high-traffic board with no traffic cops. However, you’d think that the networks would do some cleanup on sites that are officially affiliated with them, to maintain their value as advertising/PR resources. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/977dab/32.png) [@I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_No_Saint)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/71 "2007-08-03T14:11:00Z")
I was going to say GameFaqs but every once in a while, you’ll see actual helpful threads. Not so with YouTube…that place makes my head hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/72 "2007-08-03T14:13:33Z")
Years ago I stumbled on a usenet site called something like alt.flame-niggers. I think that I saw the name and wondered “is that really what it says it is?”. It was. Not just idiots, but _Evil_ idiots. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/73 "2007-08-03T17:30:58Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] … Yeesh. I’d expect that on poorly run fan sites, but ones that are **officially affiliated with the networks**?? All I can say is OMGWTF (and, I suppose, BBQ to represent the flaming). [/QUOTE] It probably depends on the show, too. There’s a Lost fansite that is well-moderated, visited by the cast and crew and is really more of the approved fansite of the shows creators. The official ABC one isn’t too bad but definitely not as good. Like I said, the Dancing With The Stars one was terrible and I guess it was the type of show to attract people who are only capable of posting stuff like “OMG mario iz sooo hott!!!1111”. I can’t remember the other show boards I looked at but they were similar. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/74 "2007-08-03T17:44:11Z")
StormFront? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/75 "2007-08-03T17:47:30Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] StormFront? [/QUOTE] They’re _concentrated_, no doubt about that, but are they big? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/76 "2007-08-03T17:53:44Z")
When you’re done with 4chan and YouTube, take a peek at the message boards at Gaia Online sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/77 "2007-08-04T07:36:49Z")
[QUOTE=Team of Scientists] What’s that one white supremacist board? I’ve seen it mentioned on here before. Anyway, that’s my nomination. [/QUOTE] I thought of this also, but then decided you can be hateful and wrong without being stupid. The YouTube clowns are clear indications of wasted public education money. I’ve tried to think of a thicker group and have come up with nadda. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/78 "2007-08-04T08:00:10Z")
Remember dudes, we don’t want to start any “board wars”. The worst I know of is one that exists solely to make cheap anon comments about this board. But dinky. The second worst is a TV snark board, where the reviewers 😛_pretend_ they hate the “vast wasteland” but in reality are couch potato fan-boys, and the posters are 90% dittoheads. :rolleyes: Medium sized. Then there’s the boards over at the largest on-line auction site. You get some good advice, but most of the regular posters are burnt-out disgrunted ex-sellers who pretend they are all Powersellers with 100% positive. But in reality they give extremely bad advice, basicly suggesting the naif sellers who are asking for advice all treat their customers as badly as possible, and with grave suspicion, too. Never give a refund, charge anything you want for S&H, demand super fast payment but ship when _you_ want to, and withold FB so you can NEG the bastard buyers. Very large. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/79 "2007-08-04T09:50:38Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] _discreet cough, looks up to top of the page_ (I’m kidding, I’m kidding, my answer’s 4chan, please don’t hurt me…) [/QUOTE] Hey, we might be a bunch of miscreants, but we’re not stupid. Usually. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982/80 "2007-08-04T10:32:57Z")
A surprising source of idiots is sci.logic and sci.math on Usenet. sci.logic, in particular, is filled with diatribes against Einstein (?), Cantor, Goedel and Turing. It’s also really hard to deduce which of the posters there are actually knowledgeable about the field, and which are idiots talking shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-biggest-concentration-of-idiots-on-the-internet/413982.md?page=5)