A few last minute loopholes were carved in according to comments in this post
- some apps have gotten a temporary reprieve such as Narwhal
- Some apps have gotten an exception for access for visually impaired.
- the NSFW block is exempt for mods so if you start your own sub, you can still see all content or so it seems (I’m not quite sure because Narwhal still seems fully functional in this regard and I am not a mod)
The karma/upvote/downvote system encourages engagement and gives users an idea of how others perceive their posts. It also encourages people to think about their posts and it helps keep garbage from clogging up the feed.
The problem is that posts are now “attention-centric” and that might lead to people posting stuff that’s more controversial or even “rage-bait” because it gets a reaction.
But honestly though, the toxicity was always there. It’s just that now people express it with an arrow click instead of a flame post calling out the OP’s mom.
I think anonymity or at least the perception of it on the internet breeds toxicity because it’s easier to hurt someone when neither party has to look each other in the eye.