Can we please stop poisoning the well? This forum is turning into Reddit

Mindful Discussions
1

Disclaimer: I’m not always the best with words, so I used Gemini to help me clean up my thoughts and format this post clearly.

Has anyone else noticed how draining this forum has become lately?

I genuinely want to ask the community: when did this space go from being a supportive corner for intentional living to a relentless, negative echo chamber?

I am not defending Mudita here. I bought this phone with my own money, and I have my own list of frustrations. The phone isn’t perfect, and the company isn’t releasing software updates anywhere near as fast as I would like. Holding them accountable and giving harsh, honest feedback is completely necessary.

But there is a massive line between demanding better service and what’s happening here right now.

It feels like a very small, highly vocal minority—honestly, often the same handful of people (or new people that join this group) —have made it their full-time job to camp out on this forum. They jump into almost every single thread to spam, complain, and drag everyone else down into their misery.

This place is quickly turning into another toxic Reddit sub, where a minor group is so loud that they build a false narrative that the phone is completely broken, insecure, and unusable.

Because of all this constant bitching, I can’t even find actual, useful answers or workarounds from other users anymore. Every time a normal user asks a legitimate question or shares a tip, the thread gets hijacked by the same repetitive grievances. It is completely getting out of hand.

The irony is wild. We are all on a forum dedicated to minimalist devices meant to bring us peace and less digital noise, yet a few users spend hours digitally raging.

If the device genuinely makes you that miserable, why spend your finite energy here? There are other options like Minimal Phone, Punkt or everyones “beloved” Light Phone thats been in the game for waaaaaaay longer than Mudita. No one is forcing you to keep a phone you hate. But if you do choose to stay, please stop scattering the exact same complaints across every single thread and poisoning the well for the rest of us who are just trying to use the device and figure shit out.

Instead of just yelling into the void, I want to use this post to figure out how we can actually fix this place. Dropping two things that im bothered by and maybe could help make this whole experiece a cool thing again. Would love to see more ideas:

13 Likes
2

To start things off, here are two simple things I think would instantly fix a lot of the chaos:

1. A real bug tracker section Right now, the categories here are a total mess. Everything gets lumped into giant, old threads or scattered randomly. If Mudita just made one specific section where people could post a bug, upvote it, and see if it’s being fixed, it would keep all that technical stuff in one spot. Then people wouldn’t have to hijack normal conversations to talk about their issues.

2. An official Beta program They should let users opt-in to test software updates early, like Android or iOS do. The people who love hunting for bugs can get the updates first and break things safely, and the rest of us get more stable updates on our actual phones.

What do you guys think? What else woudl make this forum/products/experience a bit better for everyone?
I kinda wonder what others think too, maybe im just trippin and ranting lol!

15 Likes
3

Can we please stop poisoning the planet by using AI for something as basic as a forum post?

12 Likes
4

And can we please stop trying to talk away all the bugs by using toxic positivity (reality avoidance) ?

When I pay for a product, I expect it to work flawlessly, and this is not the case here, so these issues need to be addressed.

5 Likes
5

Thanks for proving my point within 20 minutes of me posting this.

@ed_knight490 I literally said in the first sentence I used AI to clean up my thoughts because I’m not the best with words, have learning issues etc. Thanks for ignoring the entire post just to complain about how I wrote it.

@YYZ Did you actually read what I wrote? I literally said: “I am not defending Mudita here. The phone isn’t perfect, and the company isn’t releasing software updates anywhere near as fast as I would like. Holding them accountable is completely necessary.” > How is that “toxic positivity”? Or are you just being defensive because you feel the post is about you?

You’re proving exactly what I mean. I’m not saying don’t complain or don’t report bugs. I’m asking you to stop hijacking every single thread to do it. If you have bugs, post them in a dedicated spot instead of poisoning every conversation for the rest of us.

6 Likes
6

I promise you that whatever you would have written yourself would have been a lot more engaging than the bland, cookie cutter template that AI spits out.

Even ignoring the negative effects of AI on the planet, people come to forums to read things written by humans - flaws and all.

8 Likes
7

Very suggestive phrase.

Talking about negativity, here are some highlights from your post:

This has got to be the most negative post ever, disguised as positivity.

4 Likes
8

So is it toxic positivity or negativity? Make up your mind lol. You’ve accused me of both now :slight_smile: yet not added 1 bit to the conversation, i assume mainly because you’re literally one of the people that go around spamming on threads and constantly complaining.

3 Likes
9

Now a direct accusation. WHO is turning this forum into all the things you mentioned above ? There has never been a post like yours on this forum, you are just being hostile with the expressions you used. I know not to argue with an “all-knowing” narcissist who will mirror everything. So this is my last reply on this thread. Won’t you be grateful ?

2 Likes
10

@YYZ Anyone who takes a quick look at your profile can see exactly why you got so defensive over this post.

Also, saying “there has never been a post like yours” doesn’t prove what you think it does.

You called it toxic positivity, then you called it extreme negativity, and now you’re pulling out textbook terms like “malignant optimism” and calling me a narcissist. All of this because I asked people to stop spamming every thread and suggested we get a proper bug tracker. And asked to share some ideas. You completely proved my point about people turning this place into a hostile echo chamber over the slightest pushback.

But yes, if you’re keeping your promise to stop clogging up this specific thread with personal attacks, I actually am grateful. Enjoy your life.

—

Edit: Did not mean to offend anyone or point fingers with my post. Just looking for a discussion/opinion exchange and sharing ideas, thanks.

6 Likes
12

Dear @PeterMccan

My honeymoon here is over.

This forum allows you to filter annoyances, mute, ignore…

peace :wink:

Use the option to: Ignore User

Duration:
Please note that all ignores are automatically removed after the ignore duration expires.

6 Likes
13

I have been tempted to reply to some of the other threads that are full of complaining (like the people complaining about Mudita OS being forked from AOSP 12 which is end of life), but I haven’t, for a few reasons.

  1. There is official communication from Mudita about the issue.
  2. “Don’t feed the trolls” is an old internet etiquette rule that I still adhere to.
  3. Mudita has also explicitly told people not to install any apps that are considered particularly sensitive to security, such as banking, email, and browsers. If the people complaining are concerned because they “need” to use those kinds of apps, the Kompakt is not the right phone for them and they should leave and never come back.
  4. Everyone owning an electronic device needs to have a game plan for how to handle the situation if that device gets hacked. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Tamagotchi or the latest iPhone, there is always a potential for hacking, and we delude ourselves for thinking otherwise, for having the illusion of security. In the IT world this is called “zero trust security”. My game plan for the Kompakt is to not install any security-sensitive apps, and to make regular backups in Mudita Center. If the unthinkable happens, just do a factory reset and restore from backup. This is similar to what we do in enterprise data centers, so it’s battle-tested (I’m a system administrator, so I know a thing or two about IT security).
16 Likes
14

Completely agree with much of what you said, the main problem is everyone wants something different from this device, I often think it would be better if Mudita had Locked down the Kompakt in the same way light did with the lightphone. That way many of the complaints regarding things that don’t work or aren’t there would become a moot point.

Many of the requests / complaints made in this forum are not things I personally want and some compromise the privacy of the device, which was the main driver for me buying it.

I think everyone at some point has had a bit of moan about something on the Kompakt, but there is really no point in repeatedly bringing up the same topic, as you say if it doesn’t meet your needs, sell it and buy something else. Everyone is looking for the perfect phone and it literally doesn’t exist, somewhere a compromise has to be made.

13 Likes
15

To compare this forum to reddit is very extreme my friend. I don’t sense it is like Reddit at all. People paid for this phone and they have every right to give positive and negative feedback. No one is telling you to read other people’s comments.

7 Likes
16

Ironically this is the most toxic (and weird) thread lol.

3 Likes
17

I just learned that Light’s entire OS had all the apps as part of the OS, so if they tweaked one it might impact the others. They are now changing directions and treating apps separate from the OS…should be some big changes by fall.

All that being said, agree with you and @spicebush . Especially point #2 - don’t feed the trolls. And when it comes to compromise, that is a given which these small, non corporate, companies trying to go down their own path.

Personally, Mudita has become home. My big fear is T-Mo losing 4G as T-Mo is by far the friendliest US carrier when it comes to the Kompakt. Ideally, AT&T or Verizon whitelists the Kompakt as both will likely keep their 4G going longer than T-Mo

3 Likes
18

A simple block button would do wonders @urszula . I’d block most of the people who replied to you @PeterMccan

6 Likes
19

I don’t think I want to do that. Yeah, this thread (and some parts of the forum) do read like the forum equivalent of a small town council meeting where everyone showed up because they care too much, but we don’t believe in blocking people (unless their posts become abusive, threatening or vulgar).

The second a forum starts removing people simply because some people find them annoying, negative, repetitive, pessimistic, or emotionally exhausting, it stops being a real community and starts becoming brand theater.

We want people to be able to give us real feedback. If we blocked everyone who occasionally frustrated us, there would probably be about 7 people left on the internet :sweat_smile:

Part of having a real community means hearing things we don’t always agree with or enjoy reading. As long as people remain respectful and follow the forum rules, we try to leave space for different opinions, even the uncomfortable ones.

I always come back to the Steve Jobs quote:
“If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream.”

And honestly, even then someone will ask why the ice cream isn’t vegan, keto, sugar-free, organic, locally sourced, and available in dark mode :soft_ice_cream:

16 Likes
20

I think negative feedback is important to listen to, but that is important to you as a community manager. As a user, I don’t have those qualms at all. I’m not trying to manage the whole community. I’m trying to manage my own experience.

That’s 6 too many /j

{BBF12D14-35C6-40F1-B307-74D3847C8CC0}
{BBF12D14-35C6-40F1-B307-74D3847C8CC0}613×456 12.2 KB

2 Likes
21

Silly little online arguments aside, a dedicated bug tracker section would be nice! Allowing forum users to vote on bug fixes / features could help with prioritization for future releases

16 Likes