The internet can be a great place to stream your thoughts to the world, kick back and take a voyeuristic look at the lives of others, carry on conversations, or get a quick afternoon laugh. With the number of social networking sites and forums growing exponentially, there is plenty of opportunity to “converse” with people we otherwise would never get to know.
I recently found that the internet can also bring out the ugly in all of us, and this is where we have to be careful.
Pornography is without a doubt a hot button issue with me and because of this I recently felt justified telling people in an online forum note over at 9rules that they were “sad”, “porn freaks”, and needed to “get a life” due to their porn habits. The question of "where you store your porn" hardly required the response it elicited.
I've always thought of myself as civil. I've never left an anonymous or mean comment on a blog or forum, at least not that I can remember. I have thus far always been able maintain a non derisive civil discourse in online disagreements.
I wondered when the straw broke, why the intervention of the machine made this little bit of nastiness more acceptable to me? Where did I, all of a sudden, get license to scorn others for opinions and habits I find abhorrent? Was I inherently nasty to begin with or is there something about cyberspace that can turn me, a usually pleasant individual, into an ugly little judgmental beast?
I’m not talking about real internet terrorism here that's a whole other story; I’m talking about the average non-violent internet user, me and quite possibly you.
What of a cyberspace where education, propriety, and sagacity are thrown aside, I wondered, and what is the solution? With all the places we can state our point of view out there these days, and considering the fact that there will be hundreds more tomorrow, everyone needs to consider where and how to expend their time and energy.
I usually don’t spit on people, so what is it about cyberspace that made me, if only for a second, start spitting? And how do I prevent this kind of thing from occurring in the future?
Article comments
1 - pia
Cooper I actually read the post that was inspired by your comment. Knowing you and your seven comment styles, it was difficult to think of you as having caused controversy.
Comments are always an "iffy" subject for me as I know what it's like to get comments to attack for the hell of it---and had almost half of 400 comments on a BC thread to show that.
Strangely that post, and the comments which were personal attacks can't be found on BC anymore.
I really didn't mean to make this about me.
I have a blanket rule. I only comment on blogs that I like.
I have no wish for Internet debate. I find debating in person to be much more enjoyable. The playing field is more equal and nobody tells me that I don't deserve to live etc.
2 - Joe
The idea of the internet now being an "extension of" as opposed to an "addendum to" is a helpful way to look at it.
When I was in college, not that long ago, the internet wasn't even the place to do research. It was merely an addendum to life. It's now a necessity and
The idea of the internet now being an "extension of" instead of an "addendum to" is a helpful way to look at it.
The addendum to allows us to make mistakes such as the one you described the extension of would prevent a lot of that.
3 - Michael Karesh
Because of the nature of my website, I spend much of my time on various automotive forums. It is very clear to me that many people use forums as an outlet to speak and act in ways they'd never speak and act in their regular lives.
4 - EsotericWombat
Well said
Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more
Mark Twain
Of course you know well I can't pretend to always contain the beast. Though I try to only let it out if I or a friend of mine has been attacked. Or if it would be funny. But you can't always prevent a flame war in a realm where people take pointing out a fallcy in their logic as a personal offense