05-06-2008, 02:27 AM
Now, the internet was
http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technolog.../710-4205/
designed to be an communications tool, to allow people the world over to discuss all sorts of different topics, current events, and various other ideals and mannerisms. However, nowadays, the world has used the voice given to them by the technology to bitch about movies and to share pornography with one another.
Now, I understand that this is primarily because of anonymity,
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
people can't be policed by outside influences, like their parents, or the police, or whoever else would teach their children to be polite and well mannered to those around them. The result being that what was hoped to be a way to help the world, has now degraded into a means for us to ogle naked people and argue whether or not Dante can beat Cloud.
The thing is that since people are anonymous, they do not have to deal with the same repercussions as they would in other mediums. For example, if you're a
http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=321
bigot, or a
http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=23343
pervert, you would be called on it. Instead of just receiving a ban on an internet forum, there would be more serious consequences that would affect your life more than not allowing you to argue over whether Picard was better than Kirk. I was always brought up under the rule "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all." "Treat others how you want to be treated." But because of the anonymity factor, you don't have to anymore. You can openly be racist, or sexist under the name GoKu9111328_* - because of the internet, people with nothing to say have been saying it loudly. People with complaints make sure that everybody knows about them. People who dislike something tell everybody else how much they hate it.
The thing is that instead of using the internet for what it was designed for, a global communications tool used to share messages and other media forms with people all over the world, we're using it as... well, a giant toilet. There is so much filth and bigotry on the internet, created either by the mass media, or a pre-pubescent teenager screaming at others over a headset.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21882976/?GT1=10547
There's a lot that people can do over the internet that, because of anonymity and whatnot, can result in very serious consequences to others. Credit card fraud, hate messages, and libel.
My question is this: Where did we go wrong? What happened to make one of the most promising mediums of our generation into the most well used lavatory since the Ozzy Osbourne concert with only one Port-A-Pottie?
I know that some of this is very opinionated, and I probably should re-read it before I post it.
http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technolog.../710-4205/
designed to be an communications tool, to allow people the world over to discuss all sorts of different topics, current events, and various other ideals and mannerisms. However, nowadays, the world has used the voice given to them by the technology to bitch about movies and to share pornography with one another.
Now, I understand that this is primarily because of anonymity,
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
people can't be policed by outside influences, like their parents, or the police, or whoever else would teach their children to be polite and well mannered to those around them. The result being that what was hoped to be a way to help the world, has now degraded into a means for us to ogle naked people and argue whether or not Dante can beat Cloud.
The thing is that since people are anonymous, they do not have to deal with the same repercussions as they would in other mediums. For example, if you're a
http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=321
bigot, or a
http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=23343
pervert, you would be called on it. Instead of just receiving a ban on an internet forum, there would be more serious consequences that would affect your life more than not allowing you to argue over whether Picard was better than Kirk. I was always brought up under the rule "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all." "Treat others how you want to be treated." But because of the anonymity factor, you don't have to anymore. You can openly be racist, or sexist under the name GoKu9111328_* - because of the internet, people with nothing to say have been saying it loudly. People with complaints make sure that everybody knows about them. People who dislike something tell everybody else how much they hate it.
The thing is that instead of using the internet for what it was designed for, a global communications tool used to share messages and other media forms with people all over the world, we're using it as... well, a giant toilet. There is so much filth and bigotry on the internet, created either by the mass media, or a pre-pubescent teenager screaming at others over a headset.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21882976/?GT1=10547
There's a lot that people can do over the internet that, because of anonymity and whatnot, can result in very serious consequences to others. Credit card fraud, hate messages, and libel.
My question is this: Where did we go wrong? What happened to make one of the most promising mediums of our generation into the most well used lavatory since the Ozzy Osbourne concert with only one Port-A-Pottie?
I know that some of this is very opinionated, and I probably should re-read it before I post it.