Any one read Time Magazine?

[CountryGal]

Just wondering if anyone saw the articles on mob mentality. Tyranny of the Mob.

 

[travelover]

Are you referring to the article on internet trolls?

 

[CountryGal]

Yes. It was a real eye opener for me. I have seen a few on the internet, but had no idea how pervasive it might be in our culture.

 

[travelover]

Yes. It was a real eye opener for me. I have seen a few on the internet, but had no idea how pervasive it might be in our culture.

Next time you read a news article on line, read the comments, especially if it is a political article. You will lose faith in humanity.

 

[Aerides]

I haven't read the article, but participate enough on twitter, etc., - the underbelly of racism and sexism is far bigger and uglier online that most would imagine. Anonymity + ease of access seems to breed and connect the trolls with a sense of false legitimacy, in their own sub-culture.

Many recent examples (Gamergate, the Ghostbusters remake), it's not possible to be an outspoken female or POC on the internet, without being subject to regular barrage of death threats.

 

[MichaelB]

Next time you read a news article on line, read the comments, especially if it is a political article. You will lose faith in humanity.

Don't lose hope, or faith.

NPR recently announced it is shutting down the comments section (here). Less than 0.1% of readers actually post comments, and of that group, half the comments come from 10% of the commenters - 0.01% of the readers. They internet gives them a channel to shout out their crazy views, but it does not make that voice is any more relevant.

 

[braumeister]

If there were ever any lingering doubt (and I doubt there was much), the story of Tay should have disabused us of it.

The racist hijacking of Microsoft's chatbot shows how the internet teems with hate

 

[CountryGal]

Next time you read a news article on line, read the comments, especially if it is a political article. You will lose faith in humanity.

I have slipped into the comments in local news, public Facebook type posts, Internet news and religious posts. While at least 50% of the conversation shows me different views and some food for thought, I have seen those that degrade to the lowest level possible - just hateful. I have seen some of the stories about the recent Ghostbusters movie and it is really sad what they did.

The fact that some of these people even subscribe to boards where they slam each other is just crazy.

I do have a personal friend who had to move a few years ago because the neighbors had targeted them. They did everything possible to harass them that was just shy of illegal. The emotional toll on the family was huge. I have also read about it happening to others, so I wonder if this was the same people acting out in real life as well as online.

I honestly don't think this behavior happened to the same extent 30-40 years ago and that the internet provides a mechanism for them to communicate and feed off of each other.

 

[Sunset]

I have slipped into the comments in local news, public Facebook type posts, Internet news and religious posts. While at least 50% of the conversation shows me different views and some food for thought, I have seen those that degrade to the lowest level possible - just hateful. .......
I honestly don't think this behavior happened to the same extent 30-40 years ago and that the internet provides a mechanism for them to communicate and feed off of each other.

I thought this was going to be a discussion of how Time magazine is good/bad and I was going to tell everyone I just signed my FIL up for a year subscription using 1,200 AA points. Which I think is pretty cheap and renews the clock on my points for another year.

I sometimes read the comments, and you are correct, some are pretty useful/informative. While others are garbage/spam/hate.

Besides the internet allowing the hater/bigot/racist to unite into a community it has allowed paedophile and other sex offenders to band together and strengthen/increase their criminal activities.

Freedom does have a price...

 

[jazz4cash]

Don't lose hope, or faith.

NPR recently announced it is shutting down the comments section (here). Less than 0.1% of readers actually post comments, and of that group, half the comments come from 10% of the commenters - 0.01% of the readers. They internet gives them a channel to shout out their crazy views, but it does not make that voice is any more relevant.

I heard some commentary on this. It takes too much time/effort to moderate the comments section. Some providers will require a Facebook Login ID to register which eliminates anonymity (don't know this personally as I am not on FB). The comments section was supposed to elevate the discussion instead. The editor of Calculated Risk was on Bloomberg telling how he discovered his co-blogger Tanta as a contributor to the comments section.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[travelover]

......... Some providers will require a Facebook Login ID to register which eliminates anonymity (don't know this personally as I am not on FB).........

My local newspaper, the Detroit Free Press, started requiring Facebook IDs to post in the comments, which were a real dog's breakfast. It didn't help. Some people have fake Facebook IDs and some people just don't seem to care and will post the most hateful, racist comments imaginable. There is nothing to gain by reading the comments, as they follow a predictable pattern.

 

[Major Tom]

Less than 0.1% of readers actually post comments, and of that group, half the comments come from 10% of the commenters - 0.01% of the readers. They internet gives them a channel to shout out their crazy views, but it does not make that voice is any more relevant.

When I worked in radio, we used the callers on the request lines to help the sound of the station i.e. recording them requesting songs, yelling with glee when they won contests etc, but we were also told not to take anything they said that seriously, as they were not representative of the listenership as a whole. It's also true with the internet, that the very loud vocal minority do not represent the overall population. I think that any site which considers itself a serious news source would do well to disable online comments.

 

[Bestwifeever]

How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet | TIME is the article. Interesting meeting the author had with one of his trolls, described near the end--sound like she had been posting under the influence.

Disabling comments is probably a good idea for online publications--make the trolls write e-letters to the editor that can be selected by an editor and edited as necessary before publication, just like they do for the printed version.

 

[Music Lover]

That's a one-sided article that erroneously blames almost all trolling on those with an opposing political viewpoint from the author, when in reality, the opposite seems to be true.

 

[FI by 2024]

Don't lose hope, or faith.

NPR recently announced it is shutting down the comments section (here). Less than 0.1% of readers actually post comments, and of that group, half the comments come from 10% of the commenters - 0.01% of the readers. They internet gives them a channel to shout out their crazy views, but it does not make that voice is any more relevant.

+1 for NPR

 

[FI by 2024]

That's a one-sided article that erroneously blames almost all trolling on those with an opposing political viewpoint from the author, when in reality, the opposite seems to be true.

I've been reading articles about trolling on various media for about a year and I assure you trolls are found in every political party, across every demographic.

There was a podcast about trolling that I listened to in early 2016 where a troll was interviewed who said he didn't even believe most of what he was saying, but it felt "good" to get a reaction out of people.

It's not about the message. It's about being a troll.

 

[CountryGal]

I haven't found it limited to politics or anything in particular. We have a local Facebook site that posts local news. Even the comments for a snow storm article can get hateful.

I guess a lot can be going on in someones life and with their health that might cause them to lash out online. Then there is the anonymous factor, that nobody knows who you are. ..but not by any means an excuse. Especially when it turns personal and impacts someones life.

 

[CountryGal]

How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet | TIME is the article.

Thanks for posting this. I could not find the link online. I subscribe to a magazine app for the iPad and the actual title wasn't clear to me.

 

[travelover]

............ a troll was interviewed who said he didn't even believe most of what he was saying, but it felt "good" to get a reaction out of people. ...........

Exactly, the whole purpose of trolling is to get an emotional reaction. That is why it is best to ignore trolls.

 

[Just_Steve]

 

[Hamlet]

I don't think unmoderated comments are worth reading these days, to be honest. All of the message boards I frequent, including this one, are moderated, and are vastly better for it.

They all vary in how much they moderate, and some of them allow a lot more leeway than others, but they all weed out the worst trolls. The sites still have trolls, but they have to do their thing without threats or real unpleasant name calling.