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The tragedy of the commons is one of those sad realities, where so many things could be made better by being shared, but humans at the end of the day will be humans. It only takes a few selfish or stupid jerks to ruin some genuinely good ideas for the rest of us.
Someone asked “What genuinely useful thing has been ruined by stupid people?” and people shared their examples. From shared amenities to just good, old public spaces, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own experiences and ideas in the comments section below.

#1

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things State Parks, but more tainted than ruined. My husband and I hiked at two separate state parks this weekend and I was appalled. We saw dog poop, dirty diapers, water bottles, and food wrappers on almost every trail we walked. Also, for the love of God, NOBODY wants to listen to your music. Use headphones, you heathen.

MT0502 , Marco Report

#2

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things The internet’s potential for knowledge has been marred by misinformation.

CrystalLark20 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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similarly
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even worse, there are so many sites that represent themselves as "news" sites, but are little more than clickbait, ragebait, and telling people what they want to hear.

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#3

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Every goddamed app on the planet wanting to have you turn on push notifications. No, I do not want my phone constantly going off at all hours of the day.

The_Pastmaster , cottonbro studio Report

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Sand Ers
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m baffled that people install aps at all. Corporate aps are spyware. Browsers being used to spy on me are already too intrusive. I don’t see the value of ramping that intrusion up to 11. If it needs an ap to do it, I don’t need it.

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#4

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Airbnb.

A cool, couch surfing idea that became a way to rent a spare room and save a little money on a hotel, got turned into a way to cut off housing supply and create a housing crisis, all by its own users.

redsoxsteve9 , cottonbro studio Report

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similarly
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not so much that AirBnB was used to cut off housing and create a housing crisis so much as corporations creating an artificial housing shortage in order to raise property prices in a VERY dangerous game of economic musical chairs, and then using those properties as short-term rentals, Airbnb, etc. I feel personally it was not so much AirBnB misusing the system so much as financial institutions using AirBnB as a means to misuse the system.

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#5

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Pain medication. People with health issues suffer in pain ignored by doctors because junkies use our qualify of live saving medication to get high.

Ok_Priority_1120 , Polina Tankilevitch Report

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brown eyed girl
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a neuromuscular disease and have been in increasing amount of pain in the last 20 years. I also own a pretty successful large business. Since the oxcycontin debacle and the rise of synthetic fentanyl I cannot get the needed pain meds to be able function like I used too. I appreciate the above post... this is big problem for chronic pain patients who DON'T abuse their medication.

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#6

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Google search

At the time, Google's algorithm was a breath of fresh air compared to the dog s**t Ask Jeeves.

Now its results are just those who paid the most to Google followed by those that paid the most to SEO companies.

inspectorgadget9999 , Caio Report

#7

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things One genuinely useful thing that has been ruined by stupid people is the online review system. Originally intended to help consumers make informed decisions and businesses improve their services, it has been flooded with fake reviews, both positive and negative. Some people leave one-star reviews for trivial reasons, like a package arriving a day late, or worse, they weaponize reviews to unfairly attack businesses they have personal grudges against. This misuse undermines the credibility of the entire system, making it harder to distinguish between genuine feedback and malicious or frivolous comments.

Distinct-Champion_ , Greta Hoffman Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel that the misuse by ordinary people pales in comparison to the misuse by corporations, who literally pay other corporations to leave reviews. I generally look for places on the internet (won't say where, since I don't want to the corporate bots to figure it out too quickly) where ordinary people talk about their experiences with various products.

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#8

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things The environment. We should've been doing something about climate change ages ago. We've known since 1938.

EpiphanyWar , Pixabay Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a kid, Saturday morning was filled with "Give a hoot, don't pollute" and "Only you can stop forest fires" and other commercials that were famous for my generation. In the 1960s, there was this huge movement to care about the Earth, but here we are, 80 years later, and we're still doing a lot of the same stupid stuff!

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#9

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Voting

Everyone who votes should pass a basic civics test. Stupidity is killing our democracy, as our elected representatives are increasingly manifestations of grievances and hatreds and not of our aspirations.

Angry_butnotenough , Mikhail Nilov Report

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Sky Render
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would help if they could. Voter suppression is notoriously bad in certain places, as is gerrymandering.

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Ace
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dangerous. Wars have been fought to give everyone the right to vote, do you really want to limit that right to only people you deem to be suitable?

Graham_Illegal
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Very dangerous indeed! Also, people are pushing this dangerous idea of further limiting voting rights without providing any data on the exact results they hope to achieve. What percentage of these people seem too "stupid" for voting, and how would a "basic civics test" exactly alter the outcome? Why risk a basic human right with some additional criteria instead of incorporating functioning(!) civics education into the existing school system?

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similarly
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think we need fewer obstacles to voting, not more. I think, personally, though, that the biggest impediment to democracy in voting is the box on some ballots where you basically say "I only want to vote for candidates of Party X". Political parties in general, I feel, are a bad idea.

JB
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No! I would rather vote in a basic test for humans to reproduce than block anyone from voting.

Kira Okah
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because that TOTALLY doesn't have as much baggage and the likelihood of being abused as voting restrictions... (it does if you can't tell, caled eugenics programs).

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Garth
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Passing a civics test to graduate high school was done away with so we don't oppose what our government is doing to us.

Graham_Illegal
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need a true multi-party system where parties emerge and disappear based on their performance first. This constant back-and-forth between the same two parties resembles a bipolar autocracy. Even in regular parliamentary systems without mandatory voting, parties disappear for far less harm than these two have caused. Yet, they continue to block the way for newer and better political alliances to enter the scene. If we had 8 to 10 parties, like in the countries that rank higher than the U.S. in quality of democracy and freedom — there are MANY of them — it suddenly wouldn’t even be such a big deal that not everyone is voting.

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MoriahPapaya
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the bigger issue is the electoral college, at least in the US.

Sam Kenway
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, that dumb electoral college that makes sure everyone's vote matters instead of letting two or three very populous cities decide how the whole country is run. Funny, the post is about people needing to pass a civics exam before voting, and here we see exactly what he's talking about.

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Mary August
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Finland you have the right to vote if you are citizen. No other qualifications needed. And that's real democracy.

LaserBrain
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think that's true. People under 16 are citizens, are they allowed to vote?

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Lavern Defazio
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Funny thing. I work with two people who just graduated from university. They have many opinions and are convinced that their candidate is going to win. Although their candidate seems to be grabbing air right now...🍊. Get this, they aren't even registered voters and say they aren't going to vote. These are college graduates. Am I missing something here?

Ace
Community Member
3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Complacency. They're confident that the candidate/party they would vote for will get the result in the area they live in, and the fact that their vote is then useless at any higher level means they just don't see the point. Not defending them, but that's the way the system works, so you can understand, if not condone, why they think that. Up until their assumption turns out to be wrong, of course.

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jon gilbertson
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That might change soon. There's legislation in progress to allow *some* ex convicts to vote. Some states already allow it, some are working on it .

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Tara L.
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kind of hard to vote for a competent person when ALL the candidates are such pieces of s**t.

tee-lena
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well. Now there are competent candidates for president and vice president. I cannot wait to vote blue. Trump has turned me into I will never be a Republican. I was not excited about Biden but Kamala? As well as Tim Walz? This cat lady is downright giddy at the thought of voting her in.

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SkippityBoppityBoo
Community Member
3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is one hot potato. On one side it's - Freedom of speech but on the other side it's - "I don't agree with you and I think you're stupid!" type squabbles. Vote however you want to because people have died for your right to vote. I may not agree with you but I do support your right to your own opinion. So long as it doesn't incite hatred or violence. There's been enough of that here in the UK recently.

Verena
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The US voting system needs to be modernised. In Europe every vote is counted and the only math done is to transform the numbers into a percentage of seats in parliament. Our parliaments are a direct reflection of the various opinion of the voters, this is why there are several parties present, and coalitions a necessity. No "winner takes it all" b******t.

StrangeOne
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is basically saying everyone should vote, but not everyone should vote. What if someone who doesn't follow politics and doesn't know who they're voting for on the ballot card, decides to forgo their vote? They get chastised for it. But then people complain those who blindly vote are idiots and shouldn't vote. Society really doesn't know what's best for society.

geezeronthehill
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure would like to spring a surprise US citizenship test on every congressional representative just to see how many would pass. Then I start to wonder about the rest of us. Could I pass?

DramaDoc
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The people running for office should be the ones required to take a basic civics (and ethics) test--and pass at 70%--in order to even be considered.

Laserleader
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every politician should have to pass a test o what the job requires! This should be instantly implemented! Now!

The Phantom Stranger
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a simple solution to almost all of the problems mentioned in this thread (at least in the US): term limits. It would allow parties that no longer serve the interests of the people to die natural deaths instead of being propped up by power hungry career politicos; it would foster better candidates and more voter participation because they would not be trying to unseat deeply entrenched incumbents, and it would greatly reduce the influence of lobbyists, corporations, and special interests who might not be willing to spend billions propping up a candidate knowing they will not be in office for 50 years.

michael reid
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1. Need qualifications to hold elected office approved by a board similar to becoming a chartered engineer or accountant. 2. Everyone has to vote. 3. All major government decisions go to referendum. That's more democracy than we have at present surely

kansasmagic
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had poll taxes and tests once upon a time in the U.S. It didn't work out the way that OP assumes it would.

Jan
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's been done. https://www.history.com/news/jim-crow-laws-black-vote. We/re never going back.

StumblingThroughLife
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's been so long since politicians served the People-... if they ever did, tbh, but now and then, we get a chance to vote for someone who could actually do so, and we rarely vote them due to believing the smears of bias MSN and inside traitors. We need Proportional Representation in the UK, and an easier way to oust the ones when we realise are self-serving/lobbying. Our current Govt Party got in with the lowest voting turn out, due to apathy. :(

Aleksandras Tvardauskas
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why it is called representitive democracy. The goverment represents its people and if the people are dumb it is only fair... Educating the whole society is the way to go :)

Janice
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Vote? In the US? Until gerrymandering is abolished or at least nonpartisan, it almost doesn't matter if people vote except for local elections.

Jan Moore
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm in a quandary about voting, especially this year. I don't think any of the candidates are competent and it seems that everyone is out for what they can get out of it. The politicians are not representing the people who put them in office.

Susy Hammond
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone who runs for office should pass a basic civics test.

xolitaire
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oooh, brilliant start! We only allow people to vote which we deem "worthy"! Let's put that to use even more! How about medical care! Or freedom of speech? But in all seriousness: I guess OP is from the US? Sorry to you then, but your election system is already broken af. The mere fact that candidates have to pay for their own campaign (unless they have super close connections and get funded), which disqualifies any candidate who is not stinking rich, is the first strike. You keep electing old, rich men who are as far removed from the "normal" population and it's problems as you can possibly be...

xolitaire
Community Member
3 months ago

This comment has been deleted.

Arkham Wohlfert
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Except that is exactly why the electoral college exists in the US. It's in the constitution because the "founding fathers" decided that no one besides the elite were smart enough to vote correctly. The electoral college is a huge injustice, not something we want to make worse. I get it, I can't begin to understand how the hell the US elections have gotten so unimaginably absurd. I would have never believed someone so ridiculous, dangerous and hateful could ever have been elected. But the destroying all elements of liberty isn't the answer.

digitalin
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the US, there were times when people tried to restrict others from voting by requiring "tests" that were thinly veiled ways to deny others their right to vote, mostly for racist reasons. This is NOT a good road to go down.

Timothy Patel
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People who have no interest in voting, should not be voting. I do think there should be a test to get a voter's registration card.

Melody
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem is that a test like that could be used to keep people with the “wrong” ideology from voting by either side.

Sandra Morison
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Should have locked him up when he was found guilty of fraud.....he would be the first to shout about it if his opponents were convicted criminals

Toothless Feline
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Picture must be from Iowa. (The 29-star flag flew in 1847 and 1848, with the 29th star representing Iowa.)

ANTIVICTORIA
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every election is won by the candidate with the biggest warchest. It makes no difference who we vote for. It's crazy to punch down or horizontally at other people instead of looking up at the power /money hungry politicians. We don't operate as, or live in a democracy. It's a corporatocacy at best, and olgarchy/kleptocracy at worst.

Steve Hall
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most people wouldn't be allowed to vote if they had to understand basic civica.

Laserleader
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Be careful with that... tests with impossible questions were used by states to prevent minorities from voting, historically. One ACTUAL question was "how many seeds are in a watermelon"... and if you guessed wrong you don't get to vote.

Lyoness
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please, please provide a source for this. A question about counting watermelon seeds? Where? When?

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DeoManus Argentem
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A non-vote is a choice, and a vote for the status-quo. People who don't vote can't complain!

Phil Green
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You make it appear that US politics is all politics. Don't forget, there are countries who are not as lucky as you, and do not have free, and fair elections. There are also those countries, like mine where we have real democracy. It is not all about the US!

Susan Atkinson
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Civics Class was mandatory when I grew up. Civics went out the window for future generations. Now all the civility has gone out the window. Community meant more. Empathy was more prevalent than hatred and community service became punishment instead of an ideal.

Dani Pret
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It used to be that way. Only men could vote and they had to be educated in the subject

LaserBrain
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I voted twice in my country, and both times the person I voted for won, and later turned out to be a*sholes. So there's that.

Rachel Walker
Community Member
3 months ago

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Pyla
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That backwards thinking lines up with early anti voting practices after voting rights act was passed. Now we have issues where states won’t do mail in ballots, limit hours for voting, intimidate ballot workers. Let’s not slip into fascist thinking.

Kyra Noelle
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was just told yesterday by someone that they never voted, nor will they vote. Blew my mind! HOW? WHY?!?!?

Donna Peluda
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So well put "as our elected representatives are increasingly manifestations of grievances and hatreds and not of our aspirations." couldn't agree more.

James016
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need a none of the above option on the voting cards. Also a worrying amount of people in the uk don’t seem to know how our election system works. We do not directly vote for the prime minister.

Miki
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bus such test would HAVE to be objective. We all know what would become of such test in no more then 5 min.

Luis Hernandez Dauajare
Community Member
3 months ago

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Haywood Jablome
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you think voting makes a difference in America, I have a bridge to sell you

Bob Brooce
Community Member
3 months ago

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Sand Ers
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You don’t get to dismiss an idea solely because it has been corruptly implemented before. If that were the bar, nothing would ever get done. Especially, all forms of voting and voter registration.

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#10

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Plastic. Incredibly useful material.

Totally ruined by selfish people discarding it without a thought, corporations for prioritising profits over the environment, cosmetic companies for creating micro plastics, and governments for not doing anything about it!

badmother , Catherine Sheila Report

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similarly
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm just glad that there are so many different projects now that are doing research into alternative AND solutions. I believe that if these are pursued, we might actually live in a world without plastic someday.

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#11

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals. Contrary to popular belief, they are not the same thing at all and stupid people getting fake ESA’s has bled into it harming people with service animals. Only a medical professional can prescribe an ESA, not a website or “registry” and an ESA is not allowed in public spaces like a service animal. It just allows the animal to live with you in places that usually wouldn’t allow animals or pets.

WhyY_196 , Brian Wangenheim Report

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Snazzy Smurf
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ESA are making life a little difficult for Service Animals. Service Animals do a job such as guide the blind, predict changes in blood sugar or pressure, assist with POTS, help those with seizures, aid the hearing impaired, assist those with autism, help with mobility problems, and aid in certain types of mental health settings and PTSD. Service animals work to keep their owners alive or in stable/good health. Most importantly service animals are legally considered trained medical equipment. A trained dog starts at $10K depending on need. An owner can only be asked 1. Is the dog a service dog? 2. What job or tasks has the dog been trained to performed? ESAs are legally considered untrained pets that provide comfort to their owner but do not actually perform a job. To qualify for an ESA a letter from a legit health care professional is needed. I know I went overboard but there is sometimes confusion between the two.

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#12

Conversations.

People don’t understand that information isn’t just found on FB, Insta and other social media platforms

They repeat ridiculous things they see posted by someone they don’t know and state it as fact because “I read it”.

Common sense is gone. Critical thinking. Gone. People liking things doesn’t make it true. And this whole “ I feel like it’s true” BS has to stop already. Facts aren’t what you feel.

lookn4knks10 Report

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similarly
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My feeling is that clickbait and ragebait are, like spam emails, deliberately designed to bypass people's logic by causing them to feel a strong emotion. They shock us with titles that cause worry, fear, anxiety, anger because these strong emotions tend to inhibit rational logical thought. Instead of reading and thinking, people just react to the headline, and then what's in the article doesn't really matter. People will only see what they want to see. And why do they do it? Not to help anyone, that's for sure. It's because they want people to like, subscribe and share because all of that gets them ad revenue. Money is the end-all, be-all of the whole shebang.

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#13

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Social Media. Spreading fake news, they are not thinking before clicking.

Vixen_LoveMeDaddy , Tracy Le Blanc Report

#14

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things The media.

Great journalists doing impressive, balanced analysis of the issues of the day that informed people was what we had.

Today, with idiots at the helm and solely being driven by advertising rather than content we get total BS that is dividing countries by being aligned to a certain political movement.

CreepySquirrel6 , Brett Sayles Report

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#15

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Antibiotics. Great for dealing with bacterial infections, not so good at dealing with viruses, and now we have antibiotic resistant bacteria because of overuse.

Caelreth1 , JESHOOTS.com Report

#16

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Online recipe blogs.

I understand the value of sharing experiences and the personal touch, but scrolling through pages of life stories and reflections on the changing seasons just to find the temperature for baking chicken thighs can be maddening. The recipe gets snowed under an avalanche of context and anecdotes. It's especially tedious on mobile, where your battery life ebbs away as you swipe past the tales of childhood and pictures of someone's dog wearing a chef's hat.

What started as a wholesome platform to share kitchen wisdom has become a test of patience, where we're forced to dig like culinary archaeologists to find the treasure trove: the actual list of ingredients and instructions. We've taken the concept of passing down recipes and wrapped it in the literary equivalent of a thick wool sweater — heartwarming, but not when you're in a hurry.

CrystalCutie2 , KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA Report

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#17

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things The general idea of home owners' associations.

24benson , Hert Niks Report

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Sand Ers
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

HOAs have become a form of collusion between developers and local jurisdictions. Instead of the City or County maintaining public infrastructure, the developers form an HOA and dump that responsibility onto it. Cities are happy because they can collect property taxes, but don’t have to supply any services in return. Developers are happy because when their shoddy shìt starts to fail a few years down the line, they’re effectively untouchable (they had the HOA sign a contract absolving them of responsibility). They people that live there are screwed.

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#18

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things I’ll go first: essential oils. They smell brilliant, reduce stress & anxiety and help treat fungal infections, but all the anti-vax & ‘crunchy’ moms have decided they’re a magical solution to everything that is wrong with the world.

QuantumLinhenykus , Laryssa Suaid Report

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Zelda McLink
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are some specialists in aromatherapy that use it as complimentary treatment. They are aware that oils aren't going to cure autism or cancer, but know that making patients more comfortable and peaceful will promote healing and lead to better patient outcomes.

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#19

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things At least in my area, “Pick your own” farms. It used to be a way to get seasonal produce in bulk for a low cost because you supplied the labor of picking it. Then it became trendy to do. Now it is full of people and kids making a mess, damaging plants, picking unripe items or deciding what they picked isn’t “perfect” and throwing it on the ground, and eating huge amounts instead of buying. Farms have been forced to massively raise prices to compensate for the losses caused by people who have no business being in the field.

DeaddyRuxpin , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Recently, there's been a trend to massively inflate the prices of food, and I've seen a LOT of different things being used to justify it. However, it's just a profit scam. Someone finally dropped the last of their morals and said "What do people absolutely need? Food? Water? Shelter? Health care? Education? Let's massively inflate all of these!"

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#20

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Public parks have been ruined by littering and vandalism.

EmberMist21 , Pixabay Report

#21

All the "something" sharing, car sharing/ Uber , room sharing/ airbnb, etc. A simple idea with huge potential to have a big impact in the way people use resources, all ruined by greedy people.

Long-Opposite-5889 Report

#22

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Phone/mail/email
Used to be great ways of communicating.  Now there's so much spam and scam communications that it's pretty miserable.

bluecaliope , Torsten Dettlaff Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gotta use those filters. Keep defining stuff as junk. I've learned on my email not to open the email, not to even click on it. Just "empty junkmail folder". Reduced a lot of junkmail. Apparently, they know it's been opened.

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#23

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things In my city there was this bike sharing project. Amazing for students and young people. Within 3 days (3!!!) all of the bikes (F*****G ALL OF THEM) got either stolen or badly damaged.

love-unite-rebuild , Anna Tukhfatullina Food Photographer/Stylist Report

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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's really sad! One solution might be to require an ID check to borrow a bike. Bikes are free, but you're responsible for loss or damage.

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#24

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Reddit. Pretty much any online forum tbh. I just want to chat about jigsaws and guitars please stop calling me names.

Rgeneb1 , Brett Jordan Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. It's so easy for people to do that in the secure anonymity of the internet. Even on BP, there's a tendency that once a person starts to get upvoted or downvoted, the trend continues. People who see a downvote are more likely to downvote that post. While most people on BP are awesome, there are a few who do namecall and get very rude.

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#25

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Capitalism. You have a third or fourth generation of f*****g morons inheriting the company daddy built, suppressing competition and automating or outsourcing all the jobs. Then increasing prices to get an 8th consecutive quarter of record profits. Then they go get their government “loan”.

AlwaysSaysRepost , Chloe Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a fact that the more money you have, the easier it is to get more money.

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#26

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Driving. Arguably far from ruined but has the potential to be so much safer and better for all if it wasn't for the recklessness and stupidity of dangerous drivers.

Biggyzoom , Hassan OUAJBIR Report

#27

The NHS. Deliberately wrecked by successive governments (mainly Conservative), who have destroyed our greatest source of national pride.

anon Report

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Pandarosa
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aussie public health is suffering too, services being slashed particularly after the budget blow-out during covid. I'd hate to work in health right now.

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#28

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Food delivery. Tried to hand my buddy cash and told him I’d pay for pizza. He couldn’t find anywhere to order from without paying first through an app. People are stupid for accepting this as the new norm. Tipping before you receive the service? Delivery drivers seeing the tip before they take a delivery is ridiculous.

cornerdweler , Norma Mortenson Report

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StumblingThroughLife
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So far, I've had one (Just Eat app) restaurant ask me to add a tip. Cheeky sods, I haven't used that take out place since. We have a decent mandatory min wage in the UK, and we don't really have that kind of tip-pressure-culture, and if I ever want to give a tip to the driver (for being quick, for e.g.), I'll hand him cash on delivery.

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#29

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Gas cans. I promise more gas is spilled today than was ever wasted in the past with normal cans that just had a spout.

Part of the problem is how the new cans are designed. They build them for a car and they work okish for that purpose. But who uses a gas can on their car? People want to fill motorcycles, or lawn mowers, or leaf blowers, and countless other small engines with small tanks where you can't shove a weird foreskin activated 4 inch long gas spout into a tank 2 inches deep and expect it to work properly.

OutlyingPlasma , JOHN LLOYD Report

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BrunoVI
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMG, YES!!!! What f*****g IDIOT lawmaker thought gas cans are used mostly for cars?

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#30

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Nature. Forest. The oceans.

Nateddog21 , Marta Wave Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In a global sense, yeah, I guess humans have done quite a lot of individual and collective damage there.

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#31

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Higher education.


Parents in the 1960s saw that a degree guarantees you a cushy and respected job with a corner office, company car, and hot secretary, so they made their kids ashamed of blue collar jobs, and pushed them into higher education.


Now the western (and probably most of the eastern) world we have overeducated population, with only so many "elite" jobs to go around, so many are underemployed.

Life_Of_Vadim3 , Sơn Ngọc Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Trades are underappreciated. So many people think they need a "college diploma" and don't realize that a trade school can sometimes give them a better career for less educational investment. Not everybody needs college.

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#32

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Youtube. It used to be fun and a great place to get information and entertainment.

Moon_Jewel90 , cottonbro studio Report

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Luis Hernandez Dauajare
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Still is. You just have to dig deeper. And if ads bother you, get a VPN or a good adblocker.

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#33

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Bike paths, traffic calming, and pedestrian friendly design.

Us little people figured all this was a great idea and it was intuitively obvious where they’d do the most good.

Political hacks see the opportunity for glory projects, skip the obvious opportunities and areas of need, ignore local input, and blow though piles of money on reinventing the wheel (which they call “innovative” in the press release) and boondoggles in areas where there was no realistic demand or need for such amenities.

For the tiny few who do find the new construction helpful, maintenance will be neglected as the politicos set more money on fire chasing another shiny thing.

knockatize , Tanya Leona Report

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Anonymous
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bike infrastructure suffers the network effect: one bike lane is worthless. A bunch is okay. If they are everywhere they work awesome. But you can't afford to change everything all at once, so change what you can when you can afford it and grow the bike network just as we grew the car network. You hardly ever see horses any more.

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#34

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Digital media in general.


TV, Internet, Video Games - other than the latter one these media can be super useful.


But practically speaking screens have just become executive dysfunction induction machines that people use as an escape to never truly start living.


Screens have stolen so many years of my life it's crazy.

Aggressive_Formal_50 , Ksenia Chernaya Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see the point, but I feel the escape into the screens is not the fault of the screens, nor even the media. It's a symptom of other problems. Why are we all trying to escape? People keep trying to focus us on the problem of TV addiction, internet addiction, phone addiction, when our TVs and phones aren't the problem. We have unresolved social problems that are the cause, not the effect.

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#35

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Roundabouts. Great idea, but people can't seem to understand them. I don't know what to expect, though, when most drivers don't know what the red octagon sign means.

__________________73 , Kelly Report

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StumblingThroughLife
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We've been using them for decades, so they're not an issue, re: confusion over here (UK). It's in with the rest of learning to drive Theory/Practical. Do they just put them in and expect drivers to know without instruction? If so, I can understand your antipathy.

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#37

I doubt anyone will see this, but "passing lanes" should've been in here somewhere.

October_Surmise Report

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#38

Stupid People Managed To Ruin These 35 Once Genuinely Useful Things Flushable wet wipes. So many people flushing the regular non-flushable kind down the toilet and causing problems led to the idea that the genuinely flushable kind were some sort of scam.

LampshadeWatermelon , Towfiqu barbhuiya Report

#39

The United States of America.

salmiakki1 Report

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Luis Hernandez Dauajare
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No. I get that you may be talking about patriotism, the USA was never *great* to begin with, and neither is any country. Some people had it better, but not everyone. Economy could have been better, but mostly things were just different. It sounds better for you because you did not live through it. People tend to romantize the past, and nostalgia for a glorious past is something many leaders dream of, but it was never real.

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#40

Tough one, but Google Wave.

It would have revolutionised user to user communication and collaboration, and most of the numerous failings of modern social media simply wouldn't have been possible if we were all using wave to access it.

Wave was three things, a concept, a protocol and an app. The idea was the app was in the users control, the protocol was open so anyone could build an app to consume all the data.

The problem was, to demonstrate this, google threw together a horrible, unintuitive, lumpy java app and then (and what I think was a first for google) made an early beta of the app (which was nearer alpha quality) available to the masses.

The masses, being stupid people who didn't read up on what wave was all about, they just played with the app and hated it, and therefore decreed that wave was dead before it even launched. Which was a real shame, as under the hood it was a real game changer.

GlennPegden Report

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Dre Mosley
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's best to not get attached to Google products, they have a tendency to kill them after a few years. They have so much money, that they can just experiment.

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