The other day I disabled the Kernbeisser account on Twitter and on YouTube I disabled comments. Here, on this website, the comments have never been on. Why is that? Several people have asked why I customized this. In this short post, an insight into the need for moderation and limiting it to the essentials.
How the pseudonym “Kernbeisser” came into being
How did it all start? That was even before social media. The pseudonym “Kernbeisser” dates back to 2003, when social media didn’t exist yet and the summer was chasing one heat record after another. For weeks, the temperatures were above 30 °C. It was too hot to do anything outside and cooling down was hard to find. That summer, I signed up for a Christian forum to share with other people. As a pseudonym I chose the “Kernbeisser”, a beautiful bird whose name sums up what is important to me.
On this forum I wrote over the years more than 3000 questions, answers and detailed posts. I have not been active there for a long time. What was exciting, however, was the exchange, whether with those who think similarly or with those who think differently. That’s when I discovered while writing: Having a good conversation takes practice. I also quickly realized that having your own opinion can trigger strong reactions. Years of experience on this forum have taught me a few things that have been useful to me later for social media. In particular, I have learned to distance myself when necessary.
Suddenly, more than half of all contributions were “lost”. On it I made the decision to start my own website to work up topics there. This became the Kernbeisser website, where later the Kernbeisser YouTube channel was added. Accordingly, it is a private initiative and is not committed to a church or a particular view. I am not paid for this work, but a small and fine community supports the project, which makes a lot of things easier (thank you!). It is a cost-intensive and above all time-consuming project and some things can only be implemented with support. The support also helps me to free up regular working time for the project on an occasional basis. Specifically, it’s about doing as much as possible with existing resources. Comment moderation, for example, has proven to be particularly treacherous and time-consuming. This impacts presence on social media platforms.
Limitation to the essentials
How can outreach be designed to benefit as many people as possible? The short answer is: “Reduce to the max! (“Reduce to the maximum!”). How to achieve the greatest possible effect? It takes a clear vision and idea of what you want to do and build on the one hand, and the courage to give up less important things on the other. Formats and ideas are also tested and later let go if the effort is not in proportion to the result.
There was once a Facebook page for core biters years ago. Facebook throttled the reach and only great financial effort could have made a difference there. That’s Facebook’s business model. As soon as that became clear, I closed the page.
The story with Twitter is a different one. There had been a Kernbeisser account on Twitter for many years. It was easy to exchange ideas about this. Since the platform was bought the other day, not only was there sheer chaos, but anti-Semitism, extreme right-wing ideas, conspiracy theories and the like were rampant. The platform changed so radically for the negative within a few weeks that I decided to pull all Twitter accounts(Twittertakeover: How the Musk Acquisition Became a Launchpad for Gen-Z Neo-Nazis, Ye, and Widespread Anti-Semitism ).
Having an account on a platform is not enough. It also needs to be taken care of. A conversation wants to be led, comments want and must be moderated, the exchange should serve all readers to build. This is not an easy task. It exceeds the possibilities I have in terms of both time and money. It takes courage to reduce to the essentials.
The pitfalls of social media
On social media platforms, the saying that “if you’re open to everything, you’re not all there” probably also applies. It takes a healthy amount of openness, but you can quickly get caught up in endless discussions. This is usually not conducive to a good exchange. Just because I write something doesn’t mean I have an answer to everything, or have to answer everything. Such sobriety sometimes gets lost in the daily social media routine. Not everything is feasible and not everything should be done. That’s why on this website (kernbeisser.ch) the comments were always turned off. The same applies to the Kernbeisser YouTube channel. I am not alone in this decision – many do the same.
With a limited openness, it is primarily a matter of setting oneself apart from self-righteous representations, arrogance and defamation. Debate is encouraged, but not under unhealthy conditions. Many people move anonymously on social media. This tempts some to talk down to others without decency, condescendingly and arrogantly. You don’t know each other, so who cares? Since my website and YouTube channel deal with religious topics, this – quite logically – reveals the dark side of some religious ideas. Is this what I want in the comment columns? Of course not.
A healthy culture of conversation
Demarcation is necessary and must be part of a healthy culture of conversation today, especially on the Internet. Those who express themselves via text or video on the Internet can get the wind from the front. As we all know, it is much easier to be against something than to get something positive going on your own. I wrote a few posts about this phenomenon last year:
Much on social media is enriching. Some things have to be endured. You don’t have to agree with everything. However, there are limits to what I can do for myself and other readers. It’s about healthy boundaries and preferring to use my energy on positive things, to build up. This is a conscious choice, in favor of better posts, videos and ultimately to better sharing.
