This is so sad. For all the conventional reasons: the victim of the abuse deserves sympathy, and that abuse shouldn't happen. But also because we seem to be placing the blame for the abuse on the service, not the abuser. And that's sad because instead of being able to just make interesting stuff and put them online, we are being forced to consider "what's the worst possible thing that some evil bastard could use this…
> But also because we seem to be placing the blame for the abuse on the service, not the abuser. Blame is not exclusive or zero-sum, and while there is obviously blame being placed on the service, I don't see any evidence that blame is not being placed on the abuser (or that less blame is placed on them than would have been if blame wasn't placed on the service as well.)
Omegle 2009-2023
181–190 of 1001 posts
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, each generation thinks they're special. But I think the early internet was different since it had literally just went from 0->1
IMHO the early internet was different in one important way - you used to have to know how to use a computer that was fairly complex to even get online vs mashing glass on a touchscreen device that is always connected that you have approximately 0% idea of how it works That is to say the idiots back then were almost smarter than the average user today
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
> As a young girl, Alice (not her real name) logged on to the popular live video chat website, Omegle, and was randomly paired with a paedophile, who coerced her into becoming a digital sex slave. Nearly 10 years later the young American is suing Omegle in a landmark case that could pave the way for a wave of lawsuits against other social platforms. This is fucked. We shouldn't have to put safety padding on everythin…
> Should we put inflatable balloons around people because cars and high velocity objects exist that we can collide with? You’re talking in hyperbole but… yeah, we do a ton of work to make roads safer than they might otherwise be. What purpose do you think pedestrian crossings serve?
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#184I don't know the whole story, but this seems very genuine. It echoes a sentiment I imagine many people my age feel, where the magic of the early internet we witnessed during our coming of age feels threatened. I feel for him, and hope he's able to move onto other projects which aren't as stressful.
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#185Amazing. This post is 1 hour old and Wikipedia is already updated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omegle "Omegle (/oʊˈmɛɡəl/[1]) was a free online chat website that allowed users to socialize with others without the need to register. The service randomly paired users in one-on-one chat sessions where they would chat anonymously using the names "You" and "Stranger". It operated from 2009 to 2023." ... "On November 8, 2…
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
So car manufacturers need to stop making cars because someone might drive drunk? Kitchen knife manufacturers need to somehow prevent their products being used as weapons? This line of thinking is appropriate to a degree, but not really all that useful. Many products can be abused, and there's no feasible way to prevent that abuse.
In the US, at least, bars can be found liable for patrons drunk driving. That's probably a closer analogy to Omegle than a car manufacturer, since its patrons hang out at the "establishment," engaging in potentially risky behavior. That's not a comment on the validity of the lawsuit, but the situation isn't as simple as you make out.
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#187Gives me chills, that was so heartfelt and raw. Hurt on all sides, but this is a bit like losing access to a public space because someone committed crimes there. One of the greatest things Omegle enabled is this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhzHV9QD0Is (Harry Mack freestyling for random Omegle matches, it was a series of 90+ episodes and brought me and others so much joy during COVID)
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it interesting that the "magical period" seems to be determined by your age. For me, the internet has already lost its magic by the time the mid 2000s came around, well before Omegle came out in 2009. For me, the magical period was the early 90s, when I was growing up. In 15 years, are people going to be talking about the current internet as the time when the magic was there? It seems more about the magic of c…
Back then you could post to Craigslist for an anonymous hookup and play poker online for money. Now the Match Group owns all the dating websites and successfully shittified them. Social media in general has been basically a big loss, with Reddit charging for API access since they don't want to lose revenues, Youtube trying to block adblockers, Twitter promoting Russian propaganda
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
By that standard I cannot see how any reasonable person could justify building anything at all; most of us, not being evil bastards, have imaginations which will simply fail to suggest such uses.
No one is expecting anyone to be an oracle to be honest. > By that standard I cannot see how any reasonable person could justify building anything at all; This is hyperbolic, don't you think? If I were to write a new, let's say, operating system - why would this thinking block me? There's a ton of things you can create that really won't pose a moral question. Especially when we have prior art to look at.
Re: Omegle 2009-2023
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also would comport with the explanation that the Internet just gets worse and worse. Will be interesting to see if kids who grew up with TikTok et al. will, as adults, view it as affectionately as we view our childhood form of the Internet. I do think there's something to be said of an overall trend toward more consumption, less production.
> there's something to be said of an overall trend toward more consumption, less production I think this couldn't be further from the truth. You could argue that the production has been heavily centralized, but I think today more than ever we see kids in their early teens making videos on YouTube/TikTok, etc. It's different from other people's childhoods where you'd make geocities website or customize your myspace pa…
Note: All of this based on impressions/vibes, would be keen to hear any stats if people around have ‘em on hand!