Obviously, the internet has always been a toxic place, (the phrase “flame war” has been around for decades,) but it seems to have gotten so much worse over the last few years. I used to think decentralization of the internet would fix the worst of it, but Lemmy seems to have gotten worse alongside the rest of internet culture, proving me wrong. How do we fix/improve this culture of toxicity?
You have to treat the toxicity in society to treat it on social media. If, for example, you banned all the “negative” toxic accounts, Lemmy would become a bastion of toxic positivity. The people would sense its fraudulence and leave, and it would still be toxic. Eradicating bots would probably be an effective step toward a solution.