This is a classic example of open-loop behaviour. People behave like assholes, but don't get the feedback they would be getting in real life.
It's like the restaurant in tourist areas. Bad meals? Unfriendly staff? No problem - the customers won't be back, no matter whether the service is good or bad. They are tourists and will go home tomorrow.
There's no tit for tat, no negative feedback. This doesn't work in engineering, and it doesn't work in human interaction either.
Not really. In at least some of the internet communities that do this kind of thing, there is actually pressure to conform to the community's norms - it's just that the norms are fucked. For instance, anyone who stands up for the woman in a picture like this will get called all sorts of insults in order to pressure them to back down.
It's like the restaurant in tourist areas. Bad meals? Unfriendly staff? No problem - the customers won't be back, no matter whether the service is good or bad. They are tourists and will go home tomorrow.
There's no tit for tat, no negative feedback. This doesn't work in engineering, and it doesn't work in human interaction either.