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Online tough guys take note

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By faba
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faba

Posted
Posted

Online Anonymity Lets Users Gets Nasty

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20070321T135817Z"));3 hours agoUPDATED 2 HOURS 28 MINUTES AGO

When a California woman recently gave birth to a healthy baby just two days after learning she was pregnant, the sudden change to her life was challenging enough. What April Branum definitely didn't need was a deluge of nasty Internet comments.

Postings on message boards made cracks about Branum's weight (about 400 pounds _ one reason she says didn't realize sooner she was pregnant). They also analyzed her housekeeping ability, based on a photo of her home. And they called her names. "A pig is a pig," one person wrote. Another suggested that she "go on the show 'The Biggest Loser.'"

"The thing that bothered me most was, people assumed because I am overweight, I'm going to be a bad mom," Branum says. "And that is not one little bit true."

It was yet another example of how the Internet _ and the anonymity it affords _ has given a public stage to people's basest thoughts, ones that in earlier eras likely never would have traveled past the watercooler, the kitchen table or the next barstool.

Such incidents _ and there are countless across cyberspace _ also raise the question: Is there anything to be done about it? Or is a decline in civil discourse simply the price that we pay for the advance of technology?

"The Internet really amplifies everything," says Jeffrey Cole, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. "We have a lot of opinions out there. All of a sudden there's a place we can go to share them." Add to that the freedom that anonymity provides, he says, and it "can lead to a rowdy Wild West situation, with no one to filter it."

"It's all things said reflexively, without thinking," says Cole, who tracks the political and social impact of the Internet as director of Annenberg's Center for the Digital Future.

"My guess is that if you went back to these people, a lot of them would have second thoughts." And if you asked them to add their name, as in a traditional letter to the editor? "They'd be embarrassed."

There are examples everywhere of anonymous comments that cause harm. On even the most innocuous sites _ a parenting message board, for example _ anonymity often leads to the type of response that would hardly be likely if names were attached.

"People post insults on here left and right," one person wrote Monday on the New York edition of urbanbaby.com, a networking site for new mothers. "It seems the common word these posts have is Fat. Just because someone is overweight, fat, thick whatever you call us, doesn't mean we are ugly, lazy or insecure ... So stop the childish remarks."

News organizations, struggling to find ways to keep their readers involved in an increasingly digital and interactive world, are trying to strike the right balance.

Branum's case fueled debate at the Orange County Register, whose Web site had only recently added a public comment section after news stories. OCRegister.com deputy editor Jeff Light says the site has modified its message board, only six weeks old, in response to staff concerns about inappropriate posts. Now, among other changes, language is more specific about what the site expects from those who post, and how a comment can be deleted.

Ideally, Light says, it's the users, not the site's operators, that should determine what is discussed, and how. "The comment area is not a journalistic space," he says. "The point is for people to react freely."

And Yahoo News took down its message boards completely in December, with the goal of finding a new system that doesn't let a small group of vocal users dominate the discourse. "Our hope is to raise the value of the conversation," says Yahoo spokesman Brian Nelson.

Harm can be much greater when people are singled out by name on the Web; such attacks can hurt someone's career or home life. One entrepreneur is trying to help people recover from such attacks with a company he started last year: ReputationDefender.

"It takes one person 20 minutes to destroy your reputation, and it costs them nothing," says Michael Fertik, who employs about 40 part-time "agents" on what he calls "search and destroy" missions against unwarranted Internet attacks. "It can take you 200 hours to try to clean it up."

Fertik, who says his is the only company providing such a service, has clients ranging from victims of unfair comments on dating Web sites to people who feel they've been mistreated on MySpace.com. He also is helping several female law students fight what they call defamatory sexist and racist comments on a message board widely read in the legal community. Their story was reported earlier this month by The Washington Post.

Fertik says he offers "a PR service for the everyday person," charging a fee that can be as low as $10 monthly, for a thorough search of Internet references. The "destroy" part starts with a polite letter and can occasionally lead to threatened legal action. (Generally, Web site operators are not liable for offensive postings.)

One person who takes it pretty much in stride is Branum, the California woman who was unaware she was pregnant until Feb. 26, two days before she gave birth. Her sister had alerted the newspaper to the story. Neither of them anticipated the nasty comments that rolled in.

But, Branum says, "it's America. People are going to say what they're going to say. It's going to be everywhere, and you can't stop it. Anybody's allowed." She says the flip side was the posts that came in defending her _ and the cards and letters from people she didn't know, wishing her luck.

Her fiance was less forgiving, even calling the paper to complain. Branum said she had a simple response for him: "Deal with it."

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joewilly

joewilly

Posted
Posted

lots a things about the internet not to like.

i joke about porn all the time but I think the availability of nudity & lewd acts online is seriously corrupting the moral fiber of the world.

I remember when getting a peek at dad's playboy magazines was a huge thing indeed.

playboy is rated g in the porn industry most lilely these days

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Garb

Garb

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lots a things about the internet not to like.

i joke about porn all the time but I think the availability of nudity & lewd acts online is seriously corrupting the moral fiber of the world.

I remember when getting a peek at dad's playboy magazines was a huge thing indeed.

playboy is rated g in the porn industry most lilely these days

The internet can be evill. Sure - it's an informational explosion and makes life easier for all of us....(AOL Last Minute Get-a-ways anyone? ;) ) Still....it can be evil. Evil. Evil. Evil. I still do not understand why any child is allowed on the net without adult supervision. There is so much sh*t out there, it's scary. I fear for my niece. She's too sweet, too insecure about herself physically and too blonde. Some perverted piece of doo-doo could seriously take advantage of her. He'd die a long, painful death.....but that's not the point ;) The point is: The internet can be Evil.

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CrazyCarl40

CrazyCarl40

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Posted

I think if you don't know you're pregnant for over 9 months that should be a very big sign that you might want to take it easy on the fast food etc. If the baby kicks and you don't feel it because of 100 pounds of fat you might want to take a few walks around the block. A lady in my town didn't know she was pregnant because she was so obese and the kid is now not quite right. Of course I'm not going to even get into the grossness of not only having intercourse with whales but impregnating them. :puke:

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124

124

Posted
Posted
You won't show. Homo.

Bring it on homie. I'm there every game, or at least that's where I leave my car and then I kinda fly away to random parts of the parking lot.

But hey, I'll be there if we'll brawl, dog.;-)

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Thor99

Thor99

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Bring it on homie. I'm there every game, or at least that's where I leave my car and then I kinda fly away to random parts of the parking lot.

But hey, I'll be there if we'll brawl, dog.;-)

Doesn't seem fair, you being a giant and all.

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124

124

Posted
Posted
Judging by how hard you were digging for cash to buy it, you probably haven't found enough money to buy the bullets for it yet.

How many times must I tell you that my bank account is back up and rising... well until my court date, then it goes back down.:character42:

But for now my bank account is doing okay.

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johnny green balls

johnny green balls

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How many times must I tell you that my bank account is back up and rising... well until my court date, then it goes back down.:character42:

But for now my bank account is doing okay.

don't worry, i'm sure the judge will agree that you shouldn't be liable for knocking over all those stoplights with your head when driving around in your convertible.

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124

124

Posted
Posted
don't worry, i'm sure the judge will agree that you shouldn't be liable for knocking over all those stoplights with your head when driving around in your convertible.

:lol: I love it. Johnny, you're one funny ****er. :lol:

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Panzer Division Marduk

Panzer Division Marduk

Posted
Posted
Online Anonymity Lets Users Gets Nasty

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20070321T135817Z"));3 hours agoUPDATED 2 HOURS 28 MINUTES AGO

When a California woman recently gave birth to a healthy baby just two days after learning she was pregnant, the sudden change to her life was challenging enough. What April Branum definitely didn't need was a deluge of nasty Internet comments.

Postings on message boards made cracks about Branum's weight (about 400 pounds _ one reason she says didn't realize sooner she was pregnant). They also analyzed her housekeeping ability, based on a photo of her home. And they called her names. "A pig is a pig," one person wrote. Another suggested that she "go on the show 'The Biggest Loser.'"

"The thing that bothered me most was, people assumed because I am overweight, I'm going to be a bad mom," Branum says. "And that is not one little bit true."

It was yet another example of how the Internet _ and the anonymity it affords _ has given a public stage to people's basest thoughts, ones that in earlier eras likely never would have traveled past the watercooler, the kitchen table or the next barstool.

Such incidents _ and there are countless across cyberspace _ also raise the question: Is there anything to be done about it? Or is a decline in civil discourse simply the price that we pay for the advance of technology?

"The Internet really amplifies everything," says Jeffrey Cole, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. "We have a lot of opinions out there. All of a sudden there's a place we can go to share them." Add to that the freedom that anonymity provides, he says, and it "can lead to a rowdy Wild West situation, with no one to filter it."

"It's all things said reflexively, without thinking," says Cole, who tracks the political and social impact of the Internet as director of Annenberg's Center for the Digital Future.

"My guess is that if you went back to these people, a lot of them would have second thoughts." And if you asked them to add their name, as in a traditional letter to the editor? "They'd be embarrassed."

There are examples everywhere of anonymous comments that cause harm. On even the most innocuous sites _ a parenting message board, for example _ anonymity often leads to the type of response that would hardly be likely if names were attached.

"People post insults on here left and right," one person wrote Monday on the New York edition of urbanbaby.com, a networking site for new mothers. "It seems the common word these posts have is Fat. Just because someone is overweight, fat, thick whatever you call us, doesn't mean we are ugly, lazy or insecure ... So stop the childish remarks."

News organizations, struggling to find ways to keep their readers involved in an increasingly digital and interactive world, are trying to strike the right balance.

Branum's case fueled debate at the Orange County Register, whose Web site had only recently added a public comment section after news stories. OCRegister.com deputy editor Jeff Light says the site has modified its message board, only six weeks old, in response to staff concerns about inappropriate posts. Now, among other changes, language is more specific about what the site expects from those who post, and how a comment can be deleted.

Ideally, Light says, it's the users, not the site's operators, that should determine what is discussed, and how. "The comment area is not a journalistic space," he says. "The point is for people to react freely."

And Yahoo News took down its message boards completely in December, with the goal of finding a new system that doesn't let a small group of vocal users dominate the discourse. "Our hope is to raise the value of the conversation," says Yahoo spokesman Brian Nelson.

Harm can be much greater when people are singled out by name on the Web; such attacks can hurt someone's career or home life. One entrepreneur is trying to help people recover from such attacks with a company he started last year: ReputationDefender.

"It takes one person 20 minutes to destroy your reputation, and it costs them nothing," says Michael Fertik, who employs about 40 part-time "agents" on what he calls "search and destroy" missions against unwarranted Internet attacks. "It can take you 200 hours to try to clean it up."

Fertik, who says his is the only company providing such a service, has clients ranging from victims of unfair comments on dating Web sites to people who feel they've been mistreated on MySpace.com. He also is helping several female law students fight what they call defamatory sexist and racist comments on a message board widely read in the legal community. Their story was reported earlier this month by The Washington Post.

Fertik says he offers "a PR service for the everyday person," charging a fee that can be as low as $10 monthly, for a thorough search of Internet references. The "destroy" part starts with a polite letter and can occasionally lead to threatened legal action. (Generally, Web site operators are not liable for offensive postings.)

One person who takes it pretty much in stride is Branum, the California woman who was unaware she was pregnant until Feb. 26, two days before she gave birth. Her sister had alerted the newspaper to the story. Neither of them anticipated the nasty comments that rolled in.

But, Branum says, "it's America. People are going to say what they're going to say. It's going to be everywhere, and you can't stop it. Anybody's allowed." She says the flip side was the posts that came in defending her _ and the cards and letters from people she didn't know, wishing her luck.

Her fiance was less forgiving, even calling the paper to complain. Branum said she had a simple response for him: "Deal with it."

What are people actually supposed to take note of?

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