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Speak for yourself I say. My nature is NOT to be nasty.
The tone of your comment was hurtful to my delicate feelings. It came across as nasty. If you really are nice, will I get an apology from you? Your comment triggered me.
Anonymity allows for lack of accountability. What's the worst that could happen? You get banned from a site? There are a million more out there upon which you can spew you pent up and unexpressed rage and hatred. People don't do this in public (generally) because there are real repercussions to their actions. It's kind of like the stages of moral development - if you are only concerned about doing right to avoid consequences, a lack of consequences ameliorates your desire to do right.
Anonymity, yes, but I've noticed the same thing on another site where you are supposed to use your real name in order to be allowed in. The site is like Facebook for neigorhoods. Most of the people in my community are using their real names and they still say nasty things. I call them the "keyboard cowards" because they wouldn't say what they are posting to your face, or come to a board meeting. They'd rather sit home all night and post comments.
MSN Canada just shut down their comments on their faux news sites, as it became obvious the same faux posters, faux facebook accounts, and complete morons/idiots were damaging MSN's "brand". Basically, most comments are a waste of time, and all the more useless when you can't identify the commenters location/culture/education/point of view. This is changing: large news/media sites are evaluating what the problem is RIGHT NOW. And for them revenue stream wise, it is a real problem.
Why do people find the internet such an easy place to argue and be nasty?
Because sometimes life is tough, harsh and unfair, so many people have too much stress, feel tired, angry, or depressed, and they may want to talk to someone and want someone to understand them, but they cannot do that in real life. If they had nowhere to vent, they might become crazy or exploded. So it is a good thing there's internet for people to vent. Some people may just need to vent, and afterwards they feel better because they could release their anger or pressure from bullies or authorities, and they can function again.
Besides, inside everyone’s heart, there are always angel and evil. No one is perfect.
Of course, even with the anonymity on the internet, you still cannot go too much overboard. If you were too nasty in the forums, you could be banned; or if you sounded threatening, especially to the VIP like President or PM, you could be arrested.
I think people on the internet can be like actors, actresses, comedians, or authors. They can play ugly, nasty or nice, kind as whatever they want. And the messages they write are like short novels. They can be creative and use their imaginations to express their opinions. Some best selling novels contains a lot of cruel things and offensive langue too. However, there’s always a limit at some point. Thus, people do need to control themselves; otherwise, they would be kicked out of the forums.
Zero social repercussions, due to anonymity factor and the general nature of online interactions. Elsewhere in life, if you're an ass to people face-to-face, there is typically some sort of consequence.
They're probably not as worried about getting punched in the face if they say something horrible while sitting in front of a computer thousands of miles away from the person they are insulting.
Everyone knows that you can't send a fist thru a computer, so it's a great place to let off steam. One of my local newspapers said I couldn't even put facts in their newspaper that could save many lives. Can you see how that could get people angry enough that they need somewhere to complain?
Also, younger people feel more free to use the language of their choice, like f**k is not offensive to most of them, nor is s**t. I like to ask which can do more damage, a F "bomb" or a real bomb? Also, some people have very bad lives and see no way out short of suicide. They probably know rich people that are always seemingly happy, have a lovely family, etc. Some need to complain constantly, so may seem nasty to everyone when their bad mood may have little to do with the poster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emotiioo
I note that not all online interactions are nasty but...
I notice on C-D, comments after lots of news articles, or online commerce (like EBay for instance) some people really get nasty and say vile things they would most likely never utter in face to face interaction.
I know that the internet cloaks everyone in some degree of anonymity, but some of this commenting really belies deep seated anger, hatred and other major problems. Are these trolls and malcontents serious? Or are they just playing a role to get attention?
What do you think? What is it about the internet that brings out the worst in people?
Manipulation of an open forum is easy for a pro. Trolling gets more hits.
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