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Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

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Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#21

Post by joelrunyon »

> The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

Does anyone honestly believe this? Even Ellen in the op-ed says

> As the trolls on Reddit grew louder and more harassing in recent weeks, another group of users became more vocal. First a few sent positive messages. Then a few more. Soon, I was receiving hundreds of messages a day, and at one point thousands. These messages were thoughtful, well-written and heartfelt, in stark contrast to the trolling messages, which were usually made up of little more than four-letter words. Many shared their own stories of harassment and thanked us for our stance.

I think most people see trolls as just trolls. People are going to be jerks sometimes - whether under their real name (facebook / youtube) or anonymously.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#22

Post by tdees40 »

brotoss wrote: post #20
itg wrote: post #13

From what i've seen on reddit, twitter, and sometimes even on hn, some are quick to label people whose opinion differs from theirs as trolls. It doesn't matter if it is a polite or well-though out comment, they are quick to shout the word harassment or whatever -ist allows them to hold some moral high ground.

You just defined SJW

SJW is just a lazy slur. It's time to retire it.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#23

Post by jmount »

Definitely an interesting read. Mostly I am with Pao. But I do feel Reddit has been in the business of supplying a troll friendly environment that is just interesting/safe enough to monetize for quite some time. So, in my opinion, nobody truly "anti-troll" would have stepped into the situation.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#24

Post by DanBC »

itg wrote: post #13

From what i've seen on reddit, twitter, and sometimes even on hn, some are quick to label people whose opinion differs from theirs as trolls. It doesn't matter if it is a polite or well-though out comment, they are quick to shout the word harassment or whatever -ist allows them to hold some moral high ground.

Pao had thousands of people calling her a ching-chong cunt. Why do you think your comment is relevant to this thread?

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#25

Post by deathhand »

mahouse wrote: post #3
wxs wrote: post #2

I just posted this in the earlier submission[1], but I'll put it here too: I really worry that if we don't find a way to fix the abuse problem, pseudonymity online will be looked back on by future generations as our time's Klan hood. Abuse stories like these make me embarrassed to support any form of privacy online. Platforms need to take a stand and find a way reduce hate and abuse, or public opinion (and my own) wi…

That's supposing the public opinion is against the trolls. In my experience, people support trolls as long as they align with their ideas.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#26

Post by forgetsusername »

mahouse wrote: post #3
wxs wrote: post #2

I just posted this in the earlier submission[1], but I'll put it here too: I really worry that if we don't find a way to fix the abuse problem, pseudonymity online will be looked back on by future generations as our time's Klan hood. Abuse stories like these make me embarrassed to support any form of privacy online. Platforms need to take a stand and find a way reduce hate and abuse, or public opinion (and my own) wi…

That's supposing the public opinion is against the trolls. In my experience, people support trolls as long as they align with their ideas.

>In my opinion, people support trolls as long as they align with their ideas

Exactly. These communities form because there are people that share the beliefs, for better or worse. And it any online community, a "troll" is someone who goes against the norms.

Censorship is a slippery slope. The fact that you have people, like the OP, stating that if bullying doesn't stop he'll turn "against support of privacy" is downright scary.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#27

Post by deathhand »

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#28

Post by eli »

itg wrote: post #13

From what i've seen on reddit, twitter, and sometimes even on hn, some are quick to label people whose opinion differs from theirs as trolls. It doesn't matter if it is a polite or well-though out comment, they are quick to shout the word harassment or whatever -ist allows them to hold some moral high ground.

True enough, but I don't think a semantics debate is helpful. The question is what to do about people who are actually being harassed by bullies.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#29

Post by songshu »

Misquoting Bart Simpson "If you never experience the abuse, you'll never get desensitized to it", and with that in mind, and talking here only about written abuse, these are my favorite three outcomes for, let's say, my daughter:

1) No one abuses her online 2) People abuse her, she dismisses it as noise 3) People abuse her, and she reacts and attempts to control it

I think we should be aiming for number 2.

Re: Ellen Pao: The Trolls Are Winning the Battle for the Internet

#30

Post by [deleted] »

DanBC wrote: post #24
itg wrote: post #13

From what i've seen on reddit, twitter, and sometimes even on hn, some are quick to label people whose opinion differs from theirs as trolls. It doesn't matter if it is a polite or well-though out comment, they are quick to shout the word harassment or whatever -ist allows them to hold some moral high ground.

Pao had thousands of people calling her a ching-chong cunt. Why do you think your comment is relevant to this thread?

[deleted]
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