Is it possible you were getting downvoted for other reasons?

The examples you gave don't seem like things that should bother people. Of course, you'll always get bots trying to manipulate the front page, or miserable people that downvote everything they don't completely agree with, but if there's SIGNIFICANTLY more downs than ups, there's probably something else causing this kind of reaction.

I think it might be worth looking at your posts again with an open mind. It could be unintended tone or phrasing that is causing people to misunderstand your intentions. Without looking at those posts, I have no idea what the problem might be, but it feels like this could be an opportunity to improve your Social Media skills.

In my experience it's almost always one of my kids, or Trump.

It's about 50/50.

I don't think I've ever seen this one before, but I look forward to guessing more in the future! Thanks for this, it sounds like fun!

Without a doubt, this guy is totally into you.

You can always rely on McDonald's to sell the cheapest product they can make, at the highest price people will pay for it.

Something like that. I don't know the details, I just read about it after I played the game. Something like that is far beyond my scope.

Let your friend know that most experts agree:

Outdoor cats are devastating to the local ecosystem, and have a significantly shorter lifespan than indoor cats.

Inscryption. There was an ARG puzzle event at one point if you wanted to get REAL deep.

By getting old.

I don't purposely listen to anything made after 2015.

Yeah, "other causes" 😉

Praise Daanii!

I know exactly what you mean. I've noticed the same "shift in quality" but I honestly think they are real, live, barely intelligent people.

I can't help but think the recent surge in "How do you get past a Reddit ban?" posts is related.

Subjectivity makes EVERYONE think they are realists.

Why would anyone believe anything that they don't think is real?

This really depends on scale. If you look at all accounts and activity online, there probably is enough bots to outnumber people.

Personally, I don't interact with THE WHOLE INTERNET. I interact with people I know, and Lemmy, which feels more human than other platforms, so I'm confident that most of my online interactions are with actual humans.

I'm saying there's no such thing as a Realist.

That's a bullshit term that people only use to say "Any opinion that differs from mine is not 'realistic'".

No, you're right. I'm pretty fucking old.

I'm registering as Bull Moose.

Mathematically, we're a torus.

Remember kids, Winners never cheat, and cheaters never lose.

The Internet can only be what people make it. It has no goals or motives.

Yes, we are that bad, and we've been MUCH worse prior to the creation of the Internet.