I've run message boards of one sort or another for 25 years, starting up first on AOL when it actually counted for something. I was also active in Usenet newsgroups, which consisted of active online discussions about all sorts of topics. Call them the forerunner of forums.
Well, as many of you know, the anonymity of a forum sometimes conveys the feeling of power on the part of some people, so they become far more aggressive — and sometimes more inflammatory — in their online comments. Sometimes they'll even gang up on people with contrary points of view and attack them.
One of these people once told me it was a sort of game, "you flame me, I flame you." But I was having none of it. I have other priorities in my life.
If anything the arrival of social networking has managed to empower even more people to behave in a disagreeable fashion.
Well, one major tech site has decided to just give up on allowing readers to post comments:
A Note to Re/code Readers | Re/code
I like to think we keep a balance, mostly, here. When people go over the top we sometimes give them a little time off to count from one to ten and return with calmer nerves.
When I venture into the outside world, in an unmanaged setting, I see such unsavory behavior more than ever. Unfortunate, but we'll keep on keeping on here and do our best to tone it down when emotions run high.
Well, as many of you know, the anonymity of a forum sometimes conveys the feeling of power on the part of some people, so they become far more aggressive — and sometimes more inflammatory — in their online comments. Sometimes they'll even gang up on people with contrary points of view and attack them.
One of these people once told me it was a sort of game, "you flame me, I flame you." But I was having none of it. I have other priorities in my life.
If anything the arrival of social networking has managed to empower even more people to behave in a disagreeable fashion.
Well, one major tech site has decided to just give up on allowing readers to post comments:
A Note to Re/code Readers | Re/code
I like to think we keep a balance, mostly, here. When people go over the top we sometimes give them a little time off to count from one to ten and return with calmer nerves.
When I venture into the outside world, in an unmanaged setting, I see such unsavory behavior more than ever. Unfortunate, but we'll keep on keeping on here and do our best to tone it down when emotions run high.