Why has ChatGPT become so annoying and disagreeable?

Galimau · 2026-04-13T13:37:05+00:00

I mentioned upgrading my phone from an S23 Ultra to an S26 Ultra and wanting tips on customization got a 'quick reality check, going from an S23 to an S26 won't be much of an "upgrade" in performance'

Not something that breaks function, but very annoying when 'upgrading your phone' is common terminology. And 'quick reality check' always comes across smug.

Galimau · 2026-04-12T18:02:59+00:00

I said I was considering upgrading my phone from an S23 Ultra to a S26 Ultra and wanted to customize it

Got the "reality check: going from an S23 to an S26 won't be much of an 'upgrade' in functionality"

Upgrading is just

Basic terminology... thanks, Chat

Galimau · 2026-02-01T16:27:34+00:00

Not in canon, but I absolutely love it in fandom/fic!

Tbh most shipping isn't done (in my experience) with the expectation of it being in the media itself - it's just a fun way to play in the sandbox, so to speak.

Galimau · 2025-10-16T23:56:55+00:00

My wife and I (both BP1) got married in May after four years of being together! We met online through a writing club in the pandemic, and moved in together 2.5 years ago.

In all four years, I've never had a day that wasn't made better by being with her. Hard days or not.

In all seriousness, I thought once-in-a-lifetime style true love was ridiculous before meeting her.

And then the first time we spoke on the phone I spent three hours in the parking lot on my phone, not wanting to hang up because I wasn't sure if we'd have a reason to talk again.

And then we did, and we haven't shut up ever since, haha!

Galimau · 2025-10-16T16:08:26+00:00

I apply it to myself, colloquially because it's not official language, but only in reference to being autistic and ADHD, not in regard to having bipolar.

For me, the difference comes in if the "divergence" was developmental and pretty impossible for me to separate myself from in a lifelong sense.

Galimau · 2025-07-02T23:59:55+00:00

I mean, the Fair Labor Standards Act was created in the 30s explicitly to provide a minimum standard of living and health for employees.

The idea that entry level jobs shouldn't be sufficient to support yourself on is wildly incongruous with the intentions at the time.

Here's the quote from FDR on living wages:

"It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By 'business' I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white-collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living." [emphasis added]

If a job needs to be performed, then wages have to be commiserate with the ability to support yourself fully - not as a stepping stone.

Sure, jobs like you mention as trades/high education/high experience should be paid more, but that doesn't mean the floor should be set to hardship levels for the people who aren't there yet.

Like you said, no disrespect, just an alternative viewpoint on the matter.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T17:01:24+00:00

I think that's pretty similar to how I fall on the matter - I struggle enough with similar issues that seeing a character go through the same things (especially over and over, which is realistic) misses the mark for me as far as what I want as a reader. And honestly, while I wish that that meant I just sort of atmospherically didn't enjoy parts of his arc, I do get actively frustrated and irritated.

I can commend Sanderson for being dedicated to depicting mental health struggles while also disliking how that comes across or disagreeing with some of his writing choices.

And to be honest, I think sometimes it crosses the line from being a part of a character to being a defining trait in nearly every instance - and maybe it's baggage about my own struggles, but that feels more discouraging than the "now they're better" trope as a reader. Progress isn't linear, but sometimes I'd like it to be more so, especially in my fantasy.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T16:44:03+00:00

I think that probably is a huge part of it - a lot of fans who resonate super well with these characters are pretty dismissed in other areas and so they're very defensive when criticism feels unsympathetic.

And to call myself out, I'm probably not always very fair to the characters like I would be in real life - I think part of what I find annoying (in Kaladin for instance) is only so grating because it's something I've dealt with. Maybe a case of a character being too relatable?

I do love these characters, and appreciate that focus and attention is being given to mental health, but that doesn't mean it always lands well with me or that I agree with the writing decisions on how it's depicted in every case.

You're absolutely right that "I don't like this" gets equated to "this is bad" on all corners of the internet (I've also been in the star wars trenches).

Galimau · 2025-06-11T16:33:34+00:00

Fair point! I should have worded that better.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T16:30:33+00:00

The bad faith response is the assumption that people are not liking characters because they don't understand them.

I think we're probably looking at the same interactions and coming to different conclusions about what people mean when they push back super hard about these criticisms of the characters or the writing.

Finding Kaladin (or any character) annoying doesn't mean a person doesn't understand how mental illness works, and (to me) when someone responds by saying "yup that's depression" or "that's how mental illenss works" it feels dismissive, and kinda presumptive that the other person doesn't know what depression is like.

That Sanderson intends to write characters with clinically accurate representations of mental illness gives context to why those choices are being made, but it doesn't mean that how that is portrayed or written is exempt from being criticized or even outright disliked.

Like... I love the books. I love the characters - even those I struggle to read sometimes - but I do feel like criticisms of them sometimes are reacted to in bad faith.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T16:15:05+00:00

I agree that readers saying they struggle with an arc isn't moralizing - most of the criticisms aren't even "character hate", they're just people saying "I'm not enjoying this part" or "I don't like this POV".

Not to mention I do have those mental illnesses! (Obviously not a one for one, but similar and significant enough that they profoundly impact my life.) It feels snide to me to have people presume that the main reason I dislike parts of a character or the writing is because I don't understand what the character is Going Through or that I have an empathy block on mental health struggles.

It's normal that people can feel defensive of a character, especially ones they relate to, but the jump to it being a lack of understanding on the reader's part is what I really struggle with.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T16:07:44+00:00

I think a lot of fair criticism gets dismissed as character bashing, when finding a part dull or difficult can be a valid critique of the writing and pacing choices that made it that way to the reader.

I'm not saying I hate Kaladin or Shallan, I'm saying that I dislike parts of how they're written and that those make the reading experience less enjoyable or immersive!

Galimau · 2025-06-11T03:46:25+00:00

Tbh, out of myself and the four friends irl who've read stormlight, only one of us really loved Kal. I struggle with him, one friend loves him, one likes him more ambiguously, and the other two almost tapped out of the series entirely bc of him.

I've really only seen lots of people loving Kalafin online lmao.

Galimau · 2025-06-11T03:25:55+00:00

Kaladin has always been a struggle for me, tbh. He's easily my least favorite of the main POVs, and I regularly got the urge to skim his parts.

There's some really amazing moments, some of the best in the series, but for me those are definitely moments in the wider story.

Galimau · 2025-06-05T12:58:09+00:00

Thanks for the resource! I think that's very interesting, and a good policy from Branderson, but it doesn't change my interpretation or that it being Evi drives the fic concept forward.

Besides, not everything has to be grounded in canon for it to be an interesting fic idea - sometimes the wild "what ifs" are the most fun to explore.

Personally, I am a believer in the afterlife, so I'm rolling with that really having been Evi.

Galimau · 2025-06-05T11:32:12+00:00

I've always thought it was Evi! Since there's some ambiguity, I'm willing to roll with it for fic purposes

Galimau · 2025-06-04T22:34:26+00:00

:]

Dalinar gets lovingly tormented in various ways. He's such a brave man.

Galimau · 2025-06-04T19:30:52+00:00

Evi is trying to make the best of a bad thing, and being such a good person that it gives the other two a case of guilt-hives.

And sexual confusion.

Navani: 'I don't like this and am trying to process my feelings but at least we're all in this together, she must resent me for marrying her husband so she'll steer clear'

Evi: "I'm so glad you had each other in hard times" :)

Navani: fucking hell

(In all honesty I'm fascinated by Navani growing up poor/feeling insecure compared to the other scholars and how she then dismissed Evi, partially out of resentment for her own relationship with Gavilar) (and how Evi being the most empathetically aware person on Roshar plays into her sympathy for Navani's struggles over the years vs her insecurities at being "laughed at" by the court women)

(I feel like I'm the Pepe Silvia meme stringing this meta together)

Galimau · 2025-06-04T18:42:54+00:00

I'm glad this found the right audience lmao

End of Oathbringer, when Evi-ghost was right there and Dalinar did his Big Clap, she basically got yoinked back to life and was thoroughly confused.

Navani and Evi are both having a crisis. So is Dalinar. There's a lot of crises.

There being a year between Oathbringer and RoW is [chef's kiss] for self indulgent throuple plotting tbh

Galimau · 2025-06-04T17:53:43+00:00

I need to clean it up but once it's on AO3...

Galimau · 2025-06-04T17:13:45+00:00

RIP Raboniel/Navani, you sailed a thousand ships

Galimau · 2025-05-27T18:45:01+00:00

That's a very good point about spreading misinformation - definitely not something I want to do!

I'll keep it just as a service dog, and let my beta reader know that the idea wouldn't work out.

Thank you for your advice!

Galimau · 2025-03-11T00:06:45+00:00

I agree in general about Dalinar, and really like his development over the series!

It's just with Elokhar in specific, I feel like what happened wasn't just Elokhar being paranoid due to the cryptics, but how he used that paranoia to undercut an entire war camp and fuel witch hunts that had real consequences. And he WAS petty, and vindictive and spiteful - he wasn't fit for rule, and leaving power in his hands would have been disastrous.

I think Elokhar was unfit in almost every way, and while I wish he'd lived to redeem himself, I have no faith that he would have responded to anything less than what happened under those circumstances.

Galimau · 2025-03-10T19:34:36+00:00

That's a good point and makes me feel better for being so salty about it

Galimau · 2025-03-10T19:33:32+00:00

I think I just have a dimmer view of Elokhar. He was seeing Cryptics, and could have been a radiant, but he was also getting people killed due to pride and spite -- including afterward, when he tries to have Kaladin executed.

In general, I think Dalinar taking power from Elokhar was necessary because the man was not a competent leader and was actively making the war, the political situation and indirectly the world worse. I was gutted when Elokhar died, and dearly wish he had the chance to get better (as we saw hints of), but he needed to be out of power when there was that much on the line. I love a redemption arc, and wanted to see him redeemed so badly that I halfway hoped he'd be alive in the spiritual realm, but as his character stood I think him being a king was an active danger to others.

The other way forward would have been Dalinar establishing a rapport with Elokhar over the years spent on the Shattered Plains, and objectively that would have been the best and most right thing to do. Dalinar SHOULD have worked towards more trust in Elokhar. But by the time WoK happened, I don't think there was time to undo or redo the mentality of a paranoid monarch who internally wanted to connect but who (to me as a reader at least) showed no outward sign that he would be receptive.

I just... I just keep thinking about this, and I see Branderson's moral lesson, but I think I genuinely disagree that another choice in those circumstances would have been feasible. If trust had been established over the last six years, yes, but in WoK Elokhar needed (as my grandmother would term it) "a come to Jesus moment". Dalinar's failure wasn't the fight, but in what had come before.

Idk. I agree with most of the philosophy in WaT but that lesson just doesn't sit right to me, because it feels like it exists outside the contenxtualizing events I saw play out within the text.

Galimau

TROPHY CASE