Patterico says; “Always assume that anything you write can and will be seen by anyone, and that they will know who you are … following this policy also increases civility.”
I guess the example he cites supports his point. But I think the advice is only useful to normally decent people who are tempted to tread the path of trolldom, who make up a very small part of the problem.
The problem being: society breeds trolls faster than Iowans breed pigs. Our earnest young rug monkeys are taught that the world is run by sinister control-freaks who want to wreck the environment (except for the part of the environment that’s made out of oil, of course) and poison everybody with arsenic. They are taught that bad people are trying to control everything that they see, think, do, or hear. And they are taught that protest and activism are inherently noble activities; that it is good to have “energy” and “passion” – which, given the earlier premises, means lashing out spitefully at the awful universe they were born into.
No matter how useless and self-traumatizing this behavior is, it is assumed that if enough innocent children are taught to do this it will result in positive change – what I call “The Hundredth Rug Monkey Phenomenon”.
I’ve certainly crossed the line a few times. Pseudonymity + not having facial cues really makes it easier to write things in a tone you would never say, though that can be a good as well as a bad thing. Though once it’s out there, you have no way of knowing other people’s reaction, and you can’t take it back. One of the things I think is admirable about Atrios is he never threatens to unmask someone, no matter how trollish their abuse.
Patterico says; “Always assume that anything you write can and will be seen by anyone, and that they will know who you are … following this policy also increases civility.”
I guess the example he cites supports his point. But I think the advice is only useful to normally decent people who are tempted to tread the path of trolldom, who make up a very small part of the problem.
The problem being: society breeds trolls faster than Iowans breed pigs. Our earnest young rug monkeys are taught that the world is run by sinister control-freaks who want to wreck the environment (except for the part of the environment that’s made out of oil, of course) and poison everybody with arsenic. They are taught that bad people are trying to control everything that they see, think, do, or hear. And they are taught that protest and activism are inherently noble activities; that it is good to have “energy” and “passion” – which, given the earlier premises, means lashing out spitefully at the awful universe they were born into.
No matter how useless and self-traumatizing this behavior is, it is assumed that if enough innocent children are taught to do this it will result in positive change – what I call “The Hundredth Rug Monkey Phenomenon”.
I’ve certainly crossed the line a few times. Pseudonymity + not having facial cues really makes it easier to write things in a tone you would never say, though that can be a good as well as a bad thing. Though once it’s out there, you have no way of knowing other people’s reaction, and you can’t take it back. One of the things I think is admirable about Atrios is he never threatens to unmask someone, no matter how trollish their abuse.