Really interesting Slate article, proposing that we should lose our anonymity on the internet.
And then there was the female gamer who decided to deal with rude comments by contacting their moms on Facebook. (Loved this one!)
I've long looked at this forum and recognized there are many members who behave exactly as they would in person (thank you ) & others who, behind the wall of anonymity, say things they'd never say if not on a forum (you know who you are).
All in all, an interesting topic for discussion - perhaps over the holiday table.
Multiple experiments have shown that perceptions of an article, its writer, or its subject can be profoundly shaped by anonymous online commentary, especially if it is harsh.
If all of this commentary were spontaneous, then this would simply be an interesting psychological phenomenon. But it is not. A friend who worked for a public relations company in Europe tells of companies that hire people to post, anonymously, positive words on behalf of their clients and negative words about rivals. Political parties of various kinds, in various countries, are rumored to do the same.
And then there was the female gamer who decided to deal with rude comments by contacting their moms on Facebook. (Loved this one!)
I've long looked at this forum and recognized there are many members who behave exactly as they would in person (thank you ) & others who, behind the wall of anonymity, say things they'd never say if not on a forum (you know who you are).
All in all, an interesting topic for discussion - perhaps over the holiday table.