Why are technical message boards overwhelmingly liberal?

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: loki8481
afaik, the demographics on AT tend to skew relatively young and coastal.

also, being conservative on P&N requires a pretty thick skin to survive the onslaught from a dozen people after posting anything that goes against the norm.

Let's not forget the history of this board where conservative members found them self being banned for stupid stuff left and right.

I don't want to get in trouble, but look at the seniors MODs and their political leanings and think about it.

I will say that things have gotten much better since Derik took over.

Guess what ProJo, the stuff that got you banned before Derek was on board, like Mod Call Outs and wishing a member dead, would get you banned now. Anymore discussion of alleged Moderator Bias in this forum will earn you another timeout.

 

[brxndxn]

When a 5-poster comes on these boards and asks a loaded question, why doesn't anyone question the question?

In his question, he just stated that message boards are overwhelmingly liberal. I would like to argue that. In my experience on these boards (which is much greater than his), I would say that these forums seem to skew a little more conservative (even libertarian) than the rest of society.

If someone were to come on these boards and ask, "Why are technical message boards overwhelmingly anti-Christian?" ,, you would think some of the Christians that post on these forums would say otherwise... same for anti-gay.. same for any other hasty generalization.

My answer to the question is the question itself if flawed. Here's why:

Hasty Generalization

Someone who makes generalizations on the basis of insufficient evidence is making a hasty generalization. "The first six people who voted all said they had voted Democratic. It looks like a big victory for Democrats this election." This fallacy can also be called stereotyping, a generalization that results from an oversimplification or a bias. For example, "Blonds are dumb" or "Chinese are clever." Still another name for this fallacy might be the inadequate data fallacy. The user of this fallacy has some data pertinent to the problem but not enough to form the basis of a sound conclusion. The media's rush to interpret early voting results out of Florida for the 2000 Presidential election was clearly hasty.

from hawaii.edu

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: loki8481
afaik, the demographics on AT tend to skew relatively young and coastal.

also, being conservative on P&N requires a pretty thick skin to survive the onslaught from a dozen people after posting anything that goes against the norm.

Let's not forget the history of this board where conservative members found them self being banned for stupid stuff left and right.

I don't want to get in trouble, but look at the seniors MODs and their political leanings and think about it.

I will say that things have gotten much better since Derik took over.

Guess what ProJo, the stuff that got you banned before Derek was on board, like Mod Call Outs and wishing a member dead, would get you banned now. Anymore discussion of alleged Moderator Bias in this forum will earn you another timeout.

Jebus, that's really disappointing.

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: loki8481
afaik, the demographics on AT tend to skew relatively young and coastal.

also, being conservative on P&N requires a pretty thick skin to survive the onslaught from a dozen people after posting anything that goes against the norm.

Let's not forget the history of this board where conservative members found them self being banned for stupid stuff left and right.

I don't want to get in trouble, but look at the seniors MODs and their political leanings and think about it.

I will say that things have gotten much better since Derik took over.

Guess what ProJo, the stuff that got you banned before Derek was on board, like Mod Call Outs and wishing a member dead, would get you banned now. Anymore discussion of alleged Moderator Bias in this forum will earn you another timeout.

Jebus, that's really disappointing.

Do you expect anything different?

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: loki8481
afaik, the demographics on AT tend to skew relatively young and coastal.

also, being conservative on P&N requires a pretty thick skin to survive the onslaught from a dozen people after posting anything that goes against the norm.

Let's not forget the history of this board where conservative members found them self being banned for stupid stuff left and right.

I don't want to get in trouble, but look at the seniors MODs and their political leanings and think about it.

I will say that things have gotten much better since Derik took over.

Guess what ProJo, the stuff that got you banned before Derek was on board, like Mod Call Outs and wishing a member dead, would get you banned now. Anymore discussion of alleged Moderator Bias in this forum will earn you another timeout.

Jebus, that's really disappointing.

Do you expect anything different?

In all fairness I doubt he was serious and those of the other political viewpoint have done the exact same thing and have been sanctioned for it.

This thread is not about ProJo or the Moderation of this forum, let's get back on subject or this thread will be locked.

 

[seemingly random]

Get back on topic

Anandtech Senior Moderator
Red Dawn

 

[Corn]

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Corn
the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

And look how that turned out. Guess they aren't so smart politically.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

So, what do you need help on?

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

Looks almost even to me.

 

[Corn]

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

So, what do you need help on?

How about exercising some of that "intellectual curiosity" you lefties are known for and do a search of the forum for my posts in the tech-centric areas and see what kind of help I've asked for. Report back on your findings.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

Your link supports my point? A candidate that won by several percent nationally lost by 11 points to anyone with any kind of postgraduate degree. I guess you could be taking issue with the gradient.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

So, what do you need help on?

How about exercising some of that "intellectual curiosity" you lefties are known for and do a search of the forum for my posts in the tech-centric areas and see what kind of help I've asked for. Report back on your findings.

I am not a leftie. Sorry, didn't mean to question your technological prowess. You are posting on anandtech forums, a technical forum. P&N is an anandtech forum. Do you need help or not? This probably isn't the best place to seek psychological help.

 

[db]

When name-calling starts, thinking stops and it turns into spew. That's why ad hominem attacks should be slapped/banned, otherwise the thread devolves and we all lose.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Corn

Originally posted by: eskimospy
I would say that in general people on technical message boards tend to be more educated than the average. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. (cue the "HURF BLURF LIBRUL COLLEGES!") Regardless of what you want to say about why, it's a fact.

A fact you say? Looks to me like the least educated among voters cast votes for the liberal candidate. Even the post grads voted for Bush within 11 points of the liberal candidate while the rest of the "educated" majority also voted for Bush .

My experience is that stupid people come to these tech forums becuase they don't know what they are doing most of the time and need help trying to figure out how to fix what they fucked up. Hence the liberal slant to their biases.

This is a pretty ridiculous thread, and I was going to just stay out...but I just had to respond to this post. Seriously, are you some kind of moron?

The very link you posted says that folks with no college degree voted for Bush 53% to 47% for Kerry, while college graduates voted 49% for each. It's also worth noting that Bush's largest percentage gain (from 2000) by far was among people with no high school diploma, and he only gained 1% total among people who had at least a 4 year degree. Your analysis only makes sense if you don't understand (or ignore) the percentages of the population that make up each education bracket. You give exaggerated importance to the "no high school" diploma group, which only makes up 4% of the population and only voted for Kerry by 1% over Bush, while you ignore the postgraduate group, which at 16% makes up 4 times the population of the least educated group and went to Kerry by 11%.

Also, what that survey doesn't show is what kind of degree the college graduates had. Not all college degrees are created equal, I'd be interested to see the political breakdown among people who got real degrees that require intelligence and critical thinking skills like engineering, science and math. I might be wrong, but I have a feeling that the Bush voters were more likely to major in Frat Boy than anything that makes someone what I would consider "educated".

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: loki8481
afaik, the demographics on AT tend to skew relatively young and coastal.

also, being conservative on P&N requires a pretty thick skin to survive the onslaught from a dozen people after posting anything that goes against the norm.

Let's not forget the history of this board where conservative members found them self being banned for stupid stuff left and right.

I don't want to get in trouble, but look at the seniors MODs and their political leanings and think about it.

I will say that things have gotten much better since Derik took over.

Guess what ProJo, the stuff that got you banned before Derek was on board, like Mod Call Outs and wishing a member dead, would get you banned now. Anymore discussion of alleged Moderator Bias in this forum will earn you another timeout.

Jebus, that's really disappointing.

Do you expect anything different?

In all fairness I doubt he was serious and those of the other political viewpoint have done the exact same thing and have been sanctioned for it.

This thread is not about ProJo or the Moderation of this forum, let's get back on subject or this thread will be locked.

The 'wish another member dead' comment was an allegorical argument in the Israel v. Palestine debate.

Where a member suggested that Israel should negotiate with Hezbollah and Hamas and I was making the point that when one sides admitted goal is the death of another it is really hard to find center ground with that group.

 

[DukeN]

Same reason the scientific community is overwhelmingly liberal. Being conservative!= possessing intelligence (typically).

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: DukeN
Same reason the scientific community is overwhelmingly liberal. Being conservative!= possessing intelligence (typically).

Hence, the derogatory 'knuckle draggers' attribute.

 

[ProfJohn]

I don't think you can place broad based liberal v. conservative labels on groups like scientists and techies etc.

I think the vast majority of the country is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
I don't think you can place broad based liberal v. conservative labels on groups like scientists and techies etc.

The troll op did.

I think the vast majority of the country is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

I will be surprised if you really believe this.

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
I don't think you can place broad based liberal v. conservative labels on groups like scientists and techies etc.

I think the vast majority of the country is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

I don't have the link for it, however most of the country is around either Hilary/Bill ideology or Bush/Reagen's ideology - there are very few libertarians.

 

[sandorski]

"Liberal" Tech Forum

Thread titles

OMG! Intel to come out with X Core Processor in 2013!!!
New evidence for Blackholes!!
Building new PC, what should I get?

"Conservative" Tech forum

Thread titles

PTL! Will we see Him soon?
My new Wife wants me to stick it in a hole, won't I get Cooties?
Brethren, my blessed Wife hath breaketh the Butterchurn, Pray tell thine knowledge so I might fixeth it

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Vic
-snip-
I've been posting here since P&N was first opened shortly after 9/11, and there has never been a time when either liberals or conservatives, righties or lefties were afraid to post here.

I must disagree. I personally know people (conservatives) who have been afraid to post here.

And again, many conservatives don't post here here for the very reasons many of the replies here demonstrate (mindless & stupid insult-type remarks - See excellent example below).

Edit:

Originally posted by: shira
-snip-
Another possibility is that "liberal beliefs" correlate better with actual truth, and bright, well-educated people (such as those who frequent technical forums) are better equipped to ascertain actual truth (and therefore tend to be more liberal) than less-bright, less-well-educated people (who naturally gravitate toward conservatism).

Something that demonstrates that those on the right are indeed less bright on average than those on the left is this insistence (by the right) that news reportage has a liberal slant.. That's the right's conclusiion presumably because of the prevalence of left-sounding statements (as compared with right-sounding statements) in the media. But of course the gross flaw in this claim of bias is that it assumes that left-wing views are NOT inherently more correct than right-wing views.

There's a simple term for that kind of illogic: circular reasoning. But what can one expect from right-wing brains?

Fern

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: Vic
-snip-
I've been posting here since P&N was first opened shortly after 9/11, and there has never been a time when either liberals or conservatives, righties or lefties were afraid to post here.

I must disagree. I personally know people (conservatives) who have been afraid to post here.

-snip-

I'm not saying that were right or wrong in that opinion, just that that perception existed.

And again, many conservatives don't post here here for the very reasons many of the replies here demonstrate (mindless & stupid insult-type remarks).

Fern

I can't say who you're talking about. I do remember a time when the board was strongly libertarian and 'conservative' postings consisted of almost entirely of hit-and-run news articles (leading to the 'post comments' rule). And then yeah, the board did go far left for a while to the point where even I got regularly attacked as a wingnut, but I (along with a number of others) fought hard to bring it back to the middle. And now even most of the leftist posters have either left or gone moderate (thankfully toning down their rhetoric this election year, something they completely failed at in 2004). The far right here has become a lot more vocal and desperate with (as I noted) a number of new members that are quite radical (putting it mildly for some IMO).

Quite frankly, while I see the faults in the left, it seems to me that it's this far right who are the ones trolling the mindless & stupid insult-type remarks these days. I could search back on Corbett and Budmantom, for example, and find NOTHING but those types of posts. While JS80 and a few other conservative posters here that I used to have more respect for seem unable to do anything these days but chant Obamamessiah and Rush's daily talking points. Claiming it all comes from one side, as you implied here, seems a bit disingenuous.

So if there are more intelligent and articulate conservative posters like yourself, Fern, and they're not posting here.... well, then, that's their own fault IMO. Because I'd love to see them here to bring up the quality of the discussions.
However, whining about the political bent on a forum as relatively moderate as this one is just pathetic. Sorry, but that's how I see it. If your views are getting enough representation in your opinion, then perhaps that's because there are less posters willing to represent those views. And that should tell you something I think.

edit to your edit: ... uh, shira kinda irked me in that Atreus thread to/about eskimospy when he responded to my comments about agnosticism by proving at length that he knows nothing about the subject. I just ignored it.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: db

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

And since then it's been liberal and angry

Wrong. You weren't here, so why would you say "since then it's been liberal and angry...."?

I wasn't signed up as a member and posting. That doesn't mean I wasn't here. One would think a smart guy like you could figure that out.

btw, this thread, and the responses contained within, are a PERFECT example of the elitism, arrogance, and "I'm right and everyone else can STFU" attitude of liberals today. What a demonstration by our resident liberal crew.

:golfclap;