"The Internet is Serious Business"

[The Doctor]

That is the most bullshit statement I have ever heard. People like to whip it out when they think people are getting too upset about goings-on on the internet. While I agree that there are things not worth getting upset over on the internet, there are some where you really...should.

This may be a bit of a rant, so be forewarned.

The internet is a medium for individuals to interact with each other, whether it be chatting, talking about a specialized subject, or playing games together. People get to know other people, and some even make friends.

And yet, there are some who use the internet to bully and berate, thus ruining the experience for others.

The inspiration for this topic came from a recent event in my life. An online friend of mine, who has serious mental issues, was arrested for assaulting a teacher. The comments on the news story were ignorant and hurtful, but that isn't what really angered me. What really made me mad was that a forum (who for some unknown reason has declared war on any forum ever with special attention to the one I am admin on) decided to post a topic on a third forum dedicated to bashing the heck out of my friend, even going so far as to put his head and voice (and mine, apparently. I never made it to the end of the video and it's gone now) on a prison rape scene. I lodged a complaint, and you know what the administrator said?

"It's only the internet. Stop taking everything so seriously."

This makes my blood boil. I mean, sure it happened on the internet, but it was a real life situation. What makes it different from laughing about some guy who spills coffee on himself or fat people breaking trampolines is that these people specifically sought out information about my friend in order to satisfy some sort of petty grudge they've held against him for over two years. The story was only ever in the local news. The only way they found out about this was by lurking on my (private) forum and looking for the smallest thing to launch an attack against us.

Emotions felt on the internet are just as real and can be just as hurtful as emotions in real life. There are real people on either side of the screen. The internet is just a middle-man of sorts, a way to talk to everyone. So don't give me this "only the internet" crap. Saying something to someone on the internet is no different than saying something to someone on the phone or face-to-face.

Those are my views on it, at least. What are yours?

 

[Via Armbar]

I'm somewhat with you Doc. Of course things said and done on the internet can be as equally as effective as they would be in live physical interaction. Calling a dude a fat ugly piece of shit on the net would be the same as me calling his cell phone and saying it to him. There have been suicides brought on by cyber bullying. So no one could ever say that what you can on the internet couldn't effect someone deeply. In an ideal world people would use decent judgement with what they say on forums or youtube or what have you. They should act as they would around people. Thats just me though, I try to represent myself the same no matter where I am or else you aren't really you any more and the reason for you speaking no longer exists.

I think it's up to people to take what other people say witha grain of salt. People usually only have a few close people whos opinions should mean anything to them. I know everyones different and some people take things a little more personal than others, but they should try to realise that the people hurting your feelings on the internet have no real valid opinion of you. They can say whatever they want, at the end of the day it's up to you whether or not you take it seriously. Since you can't assume that everyone will know you are joking or just playing around, you should definitely be extremly cautious with what you say.

And there will always be issues, like the one Doc mentioned, that you have every right to be upset about. Everyone has something they are passionate about and we have the wonderful ability to express that passion with other people over the net. Peoples ideals are bound to clash eventually. But regarding issues like this, people have every right to get upset about something that is important to them.

 

[BladeRunner]

Anonymity creates monsters.

The only reason many people are moral, is because they have a reputation to uphold. In reality, people have a body that they can't get out of, and that body contains a reputation and a name.

But with the internet, there is no body. And there is no reputation contained within that body. There is also no set identity. Identities shift like sands in the wind.

So some people become horrible depraved monsters because they cannot be held accountable for their actions.

What you're seeing is the worst of humanity on display.

I understand where you're coming from, and it upsets me too.

There's a reason we have laws in society. But on the internet, where are the laws? The laws are capricious, made by whoever happens to hold the power of owning that particular website. And most people don't know a goddamn thing about equality, freedom of speech, or treating people with respect and dignity. And so you have this devolution of man into primates. Gorilla's throwing their feces at each other.

The power mad abusing their power from one end, while the scoundrels sneak here and there abusing the innocent.

I can't say that I have a solution though. And sometimes I wonder why I even deal with any of it in the first place.

Sorry to doublepost but I just realized something else.

I realized, that even though I am anonymous, I don't abuse the power of it.

You also seem to realize that people need to be treated with respect even if you don't particularly get anything from it.

What we're talking about here is virtue. Virtues are actions that are conducive to living a good life. The thing about virtue is, it makes up a man's character. A man is what he does.

Now even though we don't directly benefit from being nice to people on here, nevertheless we realize that if we uphold certain virtues, perhaps others will realize that said virtues are conducive to being happy and living a good life and they might go by those as well.

Maybe we represent the hope of a better internet. Because we both could have used the power to abuse others, but we don't. Maybe, we prove that there is something on the internet more than just scoundrels and dictators.

 

[Razor]

That is the most bullshit statement I have ever heard. People like to whip it out when they think people are getting too upset about goings-on on the internet. While I agree that there are things not worth getting upset over on the internet, there are some where you really...should.

Like bannings....flames....rep....post count....modship....the like. But I'll let you get back to your post.

This may be a bit of a rant, so be forewarned.

Have you ever seen one of my threads? They're almost always rants. I just construct them to make them look like I know the definition of structure.

The internet is a medium for individuals to interact with each other, whether it be chatting, talking about a specialized subject, or playing games together. People get to know other people, and some even make friends.

I understand. Like me, FTS, Norcal, and Xfear when he isn't being pissy because I trolled a thread I shouldn't have.

And yet, there are some who use the internet to bully and berate, thus ruining the experience for others.

Really? People can ruin your experience on the Internet? The largest, and arguably greatest invention of Mankind can be ruined because someone makes fun of your mom?

I'm calling bullshit.

The inspiration for this topic came from a recent event in my life. An online friend of mine, who has serious mental issues, was arrested for assaulting a teacher. The comments on the news story were ignorant and hurtful, but that isn't what really angered me.

I read those comments. They didn't once say "Kill the ******!" They were working from the fact that the boy viciously beat his teacher, and deserved jail time. The article made no mention of the boy's mental disabilities.

What really made me mad was that a forum (who for some unknown reason has declared war on any forum ever with special attention to the one I am admin on) decided to post a topic on a third forum dedicated to bashing the heck out of my friend, even going so far as to put his head and voice (and mine, apparently. I never made it to the end of the video and it's gone now) on a prison rape scene. I lodged a complaint, and you know what the administrator said?

Well, that's not very nice.

"It's only the internet. Stop taking everything so seriously."

Well, I mean, did the video make fun of your friend's mental disabilities? Or was it just your two heads in a prison rape scene? That's not very serious. In fact, I'd find it funny if you put FTS' and my face into a video like that. But if they made fun of your friend's mental disorder, then be mad. You have a right.

This makes my blood boil. I mean, sure it happened on the internet, but it was a real life situation. What makes it different from laughing about some guy who spills coffee on himself or fat people breaking trampolines is that these people specifically sought out information about my friend in order to satisfy some sort of petty grudge they've held against him for over two years. The story was only ever in the local news. The only way they found out about this was by lurking on my (private) forum and looking for the smallest thing to launch an attack against us.

Internet Bullying is SRS BSNS.

Emotions felt on the internet are just as real and can be just as hurtful as emotions in real life. There are real people on either side of the screen. The internet is just a middle-man of sorts, a way to talk to everyone. So don't give me this "only the internet" crap. Saying something to someone on the internet is no different than saying something to someone on the phone or face-to-face.

That doesn't mean that the emotions you feel can't be over-the-top. In fact, in most cases that can be just the situation.

Those are my views on it, at least. What are yours?

As far as your situation goes, I'm assuming that the boys know about the friend's mental disorder, and why he beat your teacher. It's not alright to beat your teacher, but it's somewhat explained by his mental disabilities. He's still going to jail, or a mental hospital, don't be mistaken. But those boys taunting him is no better than me going up to a person in a wheelchair and saying "Hey, guess what you can't do?" and proceed to jump up and down.

As far as people taking things too seriously, it happens in the Bar Room all the time. People get pissy if I insult them, or if I call them jackasses. Sorry, but if you're being an idiot I'll tell you. I'm not going to sit around and act like you're not being an annoying prick. Just ask JKO. I tore into that dude for a good 5 months. But he's good people now.

Or, if that's not a good enough example for you, take Rep, Post Count, Posting, Cliques, Sigs, Sections, and Modships. My god. If a day in the Bar Room goes by without some noob mentioning Rep or somebody not having a really big post count I'll shoot my own foot.

However, there are legit times to be upset. When someone insults over stupid shit, like mental illness, or is just a miserable human being that jokes about things that shouldn't be joked about, then you can feel upset. I know if someone joked about Major Depressive episodes I would be pissed. As I do when someone makes that claim that all women who gain custody of their children and ask for Child Support are baby stealing ****es or that everyone on Welfare is a lazy bum. I take personal offense to those, because I know my mom isn't a baby stealing ****e, and that my mom tried her hardest to raise us, even if that meant being on Welfare for a year.

With that said, you can't take offense to everything said and say "But the Internet is a medium of interaction!" Somethings just aren't worth getting worked up over.

 

[Kasey]

BladeRunner said it: Anonymity creates monsters. Why? It removes the consequence barrier from human impulse. It allows people to do things they normally wouldn't do or say things they'd never have the guts to say to someone face-to-face. "Internet Courage" is my preferred terminology, or "Keyboard Warrior," if you will.

I also think that some people place an overly increased value on their computers and consequently on the internet. Shit, I remember being flabbergasted years back when some dude offed himself because he was assassinated on EverQuest. EVERQUEST! The internet is like a parallel universe for some people and I have a friend and even a brother who've had strained relationships (and in my brother's case, the loss of a job) because of playing too much goddamn W.O.W.

I usually try to take a stance of relaxation where the internet is concerned...and I don't try to take anything on there too seriously...or personally. The internet is a tool...but some people just can't handle it, sad as it is. It can be used for good or bad. If you want evidence of just how mentally small and tightly wound people can be visit a youtube comments page. I see threats of violence on there all the time when I check out anything involving a fight clip. Instead of a calm debate or a Q&A session at the bottom of the page, it can often de-evolve into primates on keyboards flinging their e-crap at each other across state or even international lines. Ridiculous.

As for the vast amounts of shitbags on the internet these days? I guess they haven't designed The Golden Rule to be Mac or OSX compatible. Who knows? Maybe Ubuntu will make a patch.

 

[Kanye South]

As far as people taking things too seriously, it happens in the Bar Room all the time. People get pissy if I insult them, or if I call them jackasses. Sorry, but if you're being an idiot I'll tell you. I'm not going to sit around and act like you're not being an annoying prick. Just ask JKO. I tore into that dude for a good 5 months. But he's good people now.

Yeah, Doc, the internet is really not that serious. Like Razor said he and almost everyone else in the Bar Room hated the shit out of me from like August to January. And the whole time I thought it was funniest thing I have ever seen. Why? Because it's the fucking internet kid. I am basically anonymous and people can't do anything more than red rep me. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to come up with witty insults and have pointless flame wars with people for hours. And the best type of fun comes from those who take it seriously. The internet shouldn't be taken seriously. I'll use Razor for an example. For months, he claimed that he hated me in a way that could never be forgave. He took every oppurtunity he had to shit on me, and now, we're cool. Thats just how the internet works.

I skimmed over the comments on that article. I really don't remember them to be honest. But unless they said that the boy needs to be shot or something stupid like that, then there's no need to get angry. If someone Photobucketed my head onto an anal rape victim, I'd find it funny as hell. The times that you should get angry from the internet are very rare. The kid assaulted his teacher. He deserves whatever jail sentence he gets. And with that jail sentence comes insults from the masses. So what if a few people make fun of him? Unless they are wishing harm on his family, being racist towards him, or hoping that he dies a slow, painful death in a dark, snake-infested cave or something, you should just chill out. And you can't blame everything on "mental problems". Those Ft. Hood and Virginia Tech shooters had "mental problems" too. That still doesn't excuse what they did.

 

[ABMorales787]

Some topics should be taken seriously and others really shouldn't. The Cigar Lounge and Bar Room are proof of this here. If lines aren't drawn on what they can do then people will go as far as they can if they choose to. Imagine if there wasn't a "ban on the spot" rule for porn. It would become an intolerable section filled with to much BS (Poor Jane). Ruling should always be implemented and re-enforced on said sites to avoid these kinds of conflicts. Theres no limit to the Wikianswers or Yahoo Questions pages. You posted on the thread FTS made so you saw how stupid people can be on the internet. Its a matter of order. If its an anarchetic site like the Bar Room or /b/ just let it slide because there isn't much you can do on the matter. And the last thing you should do is to acknowledge them if you know their behavior. You'll be provoking them and making them feel good about themselves.

 

[The Doctor]

Oh I know that there are times when you shouldn't take things seriously. I'm not saying that you should get upset about every little thing, only that there are certain situations where "It's only the internet" doesn't cut the mustard. Those people on that other forum did make fun of my friend's mental disabilities, and that's what made me so angry. I don't condone what Danny did, but insulting his having a mental illness was just wrong.

Once again I don't want to come off as whiny but not everything on the internet can be excused. Obviously the forum knows that as we infract and ban people for using slurs on here, even in the Bar Room. There is a threshold that when crossed should cause a decent human being to get upset.

But unless they said that the boy needs to be shot or something stupid like that, then there's no need to get angry.

Heh. Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what they said.

I find "drama" and flame wars quite entertaining myself, but when things turn personal, that's when the excuses have to stop.

 

[Kanye South]

Heh. Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what they said.

Well then you have every right to be mad. Wishing harm on someone is not cool. It's one thing if I call you a stupid cunt and repeatedly swear that your mother wobbles on my rod every night, but it's something completely different if I say that I hope you get shot in the head and die. The internet is an endless source of entertainment. I could sit here for hours and stir shit up, and no one should take it seriously because it's just a forum. But there is a line that shouldn't be crossed, and if they wished death on him, then they have definitely crossed the line.

 

[Tastycles]

I think to a certain extent you have to realise that people aren't really being themselves on the internet. I pretty much am myself here, which is why you will never see me flaming anyone really nor using any language that I don't use in speech, but I am in the minority. People use the internet as an ego boost, and as a result you have to be more tolerant of people than you would in the real world. If someone ripped the shit out of one of my friends in the real world for ages, I would probably react. If someone did it on the internet, you have to have more leeway, because they are only saying it because they are protected, are egging each other on and most importantly because they can get a rise out of people without consequence.

It's like baiting a bear in a cage. You still get the reaction, but without the potential consequence. You can choose to take it personally, but in all honesty you should probably learn to take it on the chin, because by not doing so, you are playing into their hands.