The King in Black Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The homophobia thread reminded me of an unpleasant incident from a while ago. On the comments section of a prestigious newspaper website, the very first comment on an article about persecution of homosexuals in the middle east wss homophobic and derogatory. It further spwaned a long discussion of it's own. Now why didn't the site delete it already ? I don't know. But now a days every article, every website will be having this very problem. So what is it about these areas of the Internet that brings out the worst in netizens ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The usual suspects. Anonymity combined with the ability to immediately react to something with an opinion you havent had time to process, plus its attention seeking behavior and a shred of internet celebrity thrown in. It's almost the most natutal thing in the world.Eta: as for sites letting toxic shit stand, most don't have the crack team of mods we got up in this piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Ent Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I’m a big fan of comment sections. Often, they contain extremely valuable and topical information. I also think they make for better newspaper articles, because any attempt at journalistic bias is immediately exposed in the comments. To me, the value added by comment sections far outweighs the problems of letting people with viewpoints different than mine having access to the public sphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Newspapers, with few exceptions don't don't take their comments sections seriously and don't invest in the sort of community development that presents serious obstacles to the fathomless tides of stultified misanthropy that slosh across the Internet.Even then, the Guardian puts a lot of time and effort into its online community and its comments threads are still home to some of the most insanely bitter and depressing people ever to have smeared grease and skin flakes across a keyboard. We are left to recall the words of Muammar Gaddafi, who so astutely observed:This Internet, which any demented person, any drunk can get drunk and write in, do you believe it? The Internet is like a vacuum cleaner, it can suck anything. Any useless person; any liar; any drunkard; anyone under the influence; anyone high on drugs; can talk on the Internet, and you read what he writes and you believe it. This is talk which is for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glaurung Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 As Larry mentioned, it's the anonymity. Response bias as well...only people responding to the article are people who have a personal interest in the story...so while that brings people who want to legitimately discuss a topic they feel strongly about, it also brings the people who have negative/hateful views on the topic. Then you have trolls...people who don't necessarily believe or agree with anything that they're saying, they just get a kick out of toying with people's emotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Pepper Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I've noticed recently that a lot of comments sections are linked to people's facebook accounts. The lack of anonymity doesn't seem to prevent people from spewing disgusting nonsense online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluetiger Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Internet portals where you can comment even without making account are the worst. In my country on said portals people mainly insult each other, other nations , religions. They think that they are 100% anonymous... that no one will ban them.... When I read some comments my blood becomes hot.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I’m a big fan of comment sections. Often, they contain extremely valuable and topical information. I also think they make for better newspaper articles, because any attempt at journalistic bias is immediately exposed in the comments. To me, the value added by comment sections far outweighs the problems of letting people with viewpoints different than mine having access to the public sphere. I agree, I like the comment sections too. Some people are unnecessarily brutal and/or full of hate but there is often more useful info in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I’m a big fan of comment sections. Often, they contain extremely valuable and topical information. I also think they make for better newspaper articles, because any attempt at journalistic bias is immediately exposed in the comments. To me, the value added by comment sections far outweighs the problems of letting people with viewpoints different than mine having access to the public sphere. I feel the same way. There are often links to more source material, or one of the comments will call out the author or website for something that I wasn't aware of, and wouldn't have known otherwise. I just wish people weren't so hateful. I had to stop following a couple of sites because the people who commented were like a pack of wild dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryanfury Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I've noticed recently that a lot of comments sections are linked to people's facebook accounts. The lack of anonymity doesn't seem to prevent people from spewing disgusting nonsense online. It's more the dissociation imho. People like that aren't visualizing real people with feelings and beliefs, they are just arguing with a computer screen. News websites are ironically a terrible place for discussion. I've actuall stopped reading certain sites because of the comments sections; many of the commenters seem to have nothing better to do but argue ad nauseum with the same people over the same shit, often with hugely racist motivations, but always with just petty blind hate for the sake of hating. Sports team loses? "Bunch of no-hopers, cowards, waste of taxpayer money, glorified children" etc etc. The same team wins? "Hardly a win, idiots nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, flukey win, that Maori guy is shit and should be dropped" etc. apply the same shit to anything, politics, economics, general news, celeb news, whatever, its just hate hate hate been thrown at the story and at each other.If you want decent discussion, stay the fuck away from news websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Fool Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Comments sections seem to me a great demonstration of why freedom of speech isn't really all that great. There, I said it. Go ahead and hate me. Yadda yadda yadda, our forefathers, blah blah, fought the Japanese, blah blah, ungrateful, blah blah, tyranny, blah blah, constitution, blah, just because someone who thinks differently, blah blah, free market of ideas, blah. Heard it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluetiger Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Comments sections seem to me a great demonstration of why freedom of speech isn't really all that great. There, I said it. Go ahead and hate me. Yadda yadda yadda, our forefathers, blah blah, fought the Japanese, blah blah, ungrateful, blah blah, tyranny, blah blah, constitution, blah, just because someone who thinks differently, blah blah, free market of ideas, blah. Heard it.I agree that Freedom of Speech has some disadventages... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I usually love comments sections. I can't be the only one who will read a well written article and be ready to agree with its premise, only to be stopped by an intelligent comment that is just as well written and just as well sourced, and now I'm thinking hard about it. I love that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Free speech is worthless. It turns out that speech needs to have some cost, e.g. in reputation or at least seeing the impact on others, to inject some quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Fool Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I usually love comments sections. I can't be the only one who will read a well written article and be ready to agree with its premise, only to be stopped by an intelligent comment that is just as well written and just as well sourced, and now I'm thinking hard about it. I love that. That's happened to me. Once, maybe twice. More likely is I'll read a well-written article, only to be stopped by the fact that every other comment is made with 100% pure idiotic asshole and realizing that humanity is doomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castel Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The usual suspects. Anonymity combined with the ability to immediately react to something with an opinion you havent had time to process, plus its attention seeking behavior and a shred of internet celebrity thrown in. It's almost the most natutal thing in the world.Eta: as for sites letting toxic shit stand, most don't have the crack team of mods we got up in this pieceAlso: people are toxic shits all over and let's not let the bias of policed places like this affect that view. Homophobia is alive and well, perhaps even the default. The comments section doesn't give a fuck who's posting, some asshole kid from Britain or some asshole kid from Xvia. As a result you will get toxic ideas. The more popular and loose the website the greater the pool of shits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince of the North Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Something I once saw in someone's signature on this board (that is riffing off of something from ASoIaF, I think) which gave me a chuckle because it's so true: "There's a beast troll inside every man that stirs when you put a sword keyboard in his hand." ;) ETA: I remember now, the original is actually a quote from Ser Jorah Mormont in ASoIaF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodor!!! Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 @Iskaral Pust I think you are confusing "free speech" and "anonymous speech". One does not necessarily contain the other.And of course your assessment of "quality" is purely subjective and nothing more than your personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castel Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I usually love comments sections. I can't be the only one who will read a well written article and be ready to agree with its premise, only to be stopped by an intelligent comment that is just as well written and just as well sourced, and now I'm thinking hard about it. I love that. This happens for me on Reddit, even if they've turned whining about everyone else's biases into an art. I have no interest in risking my sanity with the comment sections on most random sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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