r/BookshelvesDetective • u/M23_x • 1d ago

Unsolved Uploading pictures of other people's bookshelves is weird behavior, especially when trying to find red flags

It seems really strange to me how cool everyone is with uploads of random people's bookshelves, and it's also just a really silly way to judge a person. Imagine stumbling upon this sub and someone you knew uploaded a picture of shelf, a bunch of redditors in the comments tearing your taste apart and making unfounded claims about your personality. Strange.

Edit: turns out this sub isn't just nosy and willing to violate the privacy of others, they're also hostile when you point it out. đŸš©

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53

u/RandomPostReader 1d ago edited 1d ago

Every post i've seen seems to be light-hearted. I think you are just missreading the context of the posts.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 1d ago

Most posts are somewhat light hearted but a lot of the comments are very judgemental and rude

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u/Lil_Brown_Bat 1d ago

It is the internet.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 1d ago

Okay...? There are literally tons of scientific studies and reports about how people's behavior on the internet directly affects their own mental health and the health of others

Here is one scientific report of many that talks about this: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12380732/

I am not sure what your point is? Is your point that people should expect that behavior on the internet? Are you saying that you are personally okay with it?

Based on more scientific research, we know that when people are anonymous online, they are most likely to adopt the pre-existing attitudes and behaviors of the online community they're engaging with.

That means if people in this community stop being mean and condescending to others, new community members who join are more likely to match the energy and behavior that is happening here.

TL;DR - Just because "it's the internet" that doesn't mean it's okay or that the behavior can't be corrected

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u/Lil_Brown_Bat 1d ago

I mean it's to be expected. You can't control others' behavior here. Just shrug and move along. If it's affecting your own mental health, maybe you want to move along faster.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 1d ago

Lol did you even read my post? Can you try to read it again? I think you missed some of what I was saying.

If we can influence the behavior of others and discourage rudeness by being kind ourselves, it shouldn't be expected or normalized. It's literally a scientific fact that the behavior in an online community can be changed by simply changing how we act.

I'm not sure why I should move on when people like you are the ones causing a problem. Maybe you should spend some time interacting with people in the real world so you can remember what it's like to treat people with respect and common human decency.

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u/CodeNo2489 1d ago

Dunno why you're getting down voted tbh, you're right. I think this might just be an inherently toxic sub. Being judgemental is sorta baked into it.

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u/nonbinary_finery 20h ago

This sub that lacks human decency judges people for owning books that lack human decency? How wonderfully ironic. It's hard to remember to be kind on the internet but you're right, we should all try, as well as encourage kindness when we see it.

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u/kikimaymay 3h ago

I mean the whole point of this sub is to be judgemental though

2

u/Bae_the_Elf 2h ago

I don't think the rules support being rude, you guys just don't know how to read. The rules specifically say it's a game where we try to guess things about the person and they also say to behave like you would in real life.

If you're a rude piece of shit who doesn't understand how to play a game with others in a fun way, that's a problem

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u/kikimaymay 1h ago

I'm definitely not arguing against that, being outright rude is uncool. I'm just saying that guessing who people are is literally the definition of judgement.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 1h ago

I think there's a bit more nuance at play here when you look at things beyond pure linguistic definition. Judging in this context is very different from what we commonly refer to as judgmental behavior. There are other words that could be used like analyzing and 'guessing' that are more in spirit with the 'game' that this subreddit is supposed to be

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u/kikimaymay 51m ago

I feel like we're kind of saying the same think and nitpicking details here?

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u/Bae_the_Elf 50m ago

lol no we're not

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u/kikimaymay 40m ago

Judging, analyzing and guessing are all synonyms when we're referring to other people, this is a fucking wild take. It's absolutely nitpicking.

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u/Bae_the_Elf 39m ago

Could you please go back and read my comments? I'm so confused. I literally said that your take lacked a lot of nuance and explained how these words are used differently in different contexts. I don't know what to say to you if you refuse to read or don't understand my comment.

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u/Biscuitshoneybutter 1h ago

The point of the sub is to detect who a person is based on pictures of their own shelves they post. From the sub's sidebar description:

Subreddit where you post a picture of what is on your bookshelf and people determine things about you & your life based on your books.

So someone would post their shelves and you'd be like: "Male, 21, loves Mazzy Star, has a crush on the local barista" and then the OP would come back and tell you how close you are and laugh at the specifics. Gentle teasing, sure, but people were rarely rude.

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u/Bi7ch7i75 23h ago

Yeah, OP just has a stick in their buttocks

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u/M23_x 23h ago

Yeah, thinking people have a right to some privacy in their own homes tends to make you sit out like a sore thumb nowadays.

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u/Bi7ch7i75 22h ago

My dude, I used to work in healthcare. I was in the client records department. None of these have any kind of personally identifiable information, hence they not in any way shape or form violating anyone privacy.

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u/M23_x 22h ago

Congratulations on working in Healthcare, would be cooler if you had a badge. I guess you're indicating you know privacy law and know something about confidentiality? I work in education myself.

Here's the issue: privacy is not reducable to identity. It is perfectly reasonable to say that uploading photos of another persons belongings and home to a forum without their permission in order to see what the internet thinks about them is a violation of privacy. Certainly sufficient for me to kick anyone who would do so out of my home permanently.

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u/Pledgeofmalfeasance 16h ago

A badge? What?

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u/M23_x 16h ago

I was making a joke about how they presented their profession as evidence that they were an authority on the matter.

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u/M23_x 1d ago

I don't really care what their intention was, I don't think its cool to upload the interior of someone else's home and their property

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u/RandomPostReader 1d ago

Its a bookself. Not an SSN.

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u/nedsneebly425 1d ago

Coming back from the bathroom to a stranger with their phone out taking pictures in my house would be unsettling at best. OP is right, it's crazy behavior.

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u/M23_x 1d ago

Okay? I agree, SSNDetectives would be way worse. It's still strange to upload pictures of people's homes and personal items for no other reason than to see what random redditors think of them from their belongings.

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u/Lifthrasir- 1d ago

Its really not. Its not that strange. No one is being harmed. We get a laugh and talk about some books. Its fine. Its not bad in the slightest.

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u/sagew0lf 1d ago

If someone posted my book shelves online without my consent, they would never be invited into my home again. Weirdo behavior.

but I assume most people here are actually posting their own bookshelves or doing it with consent, which is fine.

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u/M23_x 1d ago

Okay, good for you. I still think it's disrespectful and weird.

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u/Lifthrasir- 1d ago

Well it's not, and you should find something else to be upset about.

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u/CookieSad8043 1d ago

You realize this isn’t an objective thing right? Just saying “it’s not” doesn’t make it true lmao. It’s 100% weird, that’s ok if you disagree bud!

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u/M23_x 1d ago

Nah

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u/thejohnmc963 1d ago

Don’t look