GoKunming Forums

Interesting article on an internet problem

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

This is about Websites comments sections being like radioactive waste. We have seen this on forum section here too.

blogs.telegraph.co.uk/[...]

Extract
"...Prof John Suler outlined a theory of disinhibition for online interactions ... He highlights dissociative anonymity – i.e., it is relatively tricky for others to know who you are online, which allows you to feel your comments are unconnected to your real-world identity. While the unmasking and prosecution of particularly aggressive commenters has become more common, this is still the biggest source of security for ultra-negative commenters.
The paper also suggests there are elements of fantasy to the average hardcore commenter's approach... "It's All In My Head" and "It's Just A Game". Suler says: "People may feel that the imaginary characters they 'created' exist in a different space, that one's online persona along with the online others live in a make-believe dimension ... separate and apart from the demands and responsibilities of the real world.

That view is supported by [others]...some individuals see their online lives as a game where the norms of every day life do not apply. That seems clear in the case of the most mischievous and aggressive commenters who, when unmasked, are often revealed as rather mild-mannered...

Comments, at least on popular websites, aren't conversations. They're cacophonous shouting matches."... the idea that websites are obliged to host those comments and spend huge amounts of resources weeding out the barmy and the bigoted is wrong. Ask yourself: how often have you genuinely learned something valuable from a comment section? If we can't have a decent debate, is that debate worth having to begin with?"

Geezer (1953 posts) • 0

crazy.laowai?

Maybe he went back to NOLA. Maybe he is incognito these days. Maybe the two chicks, Chinese and Western chicks, have him so busy and worn out he can't lift a few fingers to type. Maybe he French Chefting with Yunnan bugs. Maybe he set off on his e-bike for parts unknown, so, watch for a big headed laowai with a tight skid lid pushing his two wheeler back to Chenggong.

Moderator (46 posts) • 0

Two post have been deleted and this thread has been locked. Please respect the GK user policy that states:

"Forums that veer wildly off topic, devolve into attacks on individuals or groups of people or use abusive language will be removed at the Moderator's discretion. Please remain respectful at all times."

If you have evidence going beyond internet conjecture that someone is committing, or has committed a crime, we advise you contact the police.

@tigertiger: feel free to begin another forum regarding the original topic.

Related forum threads

Login to post

This thread is locked.