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8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

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Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#21

Post by m0ck »

kevingadd wrote: post #9
m0ck wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to make a distinction between 8chan as a website and /pol/ board. Imageboards are just places for unmoderated and free discussions, the topics are up to users (especially on 8chan, where they can even create their own boards, which is not possible on 4chan). Most of the discussions there are innocent in nature, it's always the same few boards which create shit like this.

Yeah, and part of the problem is that policy allows the bad boards to stick around so they multiply. In practice the bad policy means it doesn't matter how many good boards there are because there's a board next door hosting child porn or something.

This is a way more complicated topic than it sounds. If there was a board dedicated to planning and carrying out mass shootings, or other violent acts, I'm sure it would get deleted rather quickly. But when the topic of a board is "discussion of politics", it isn't illegal in nature.

It's the same reason why Reddit administrators hasn't deleted /r/the_donald yet, despite many of it's users breaking Reddit rules. It's hard to draw the line where it's acceptable to ban a whole community with "safe topic", because majority of posters are breaking the rules / law.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#22

Post by bowmessage »

deft wrote: post #17
username3 wrote: post #2

They should monitor 8chan for manifestos and get alerts for PDF attachments. > It was originally posted on 4chan, later to 8chan. > In each instance, community members denounced the man’s intentions and informed LEO.

the fbi literally pays people to post in threads about mass shooters.

Citation needed?

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#23

Post by fwip »

wyldfire wrote: post #13

I think that technology has brought us some truly marvelous things. But they also enable us to avoid casual social contact while enabling us to withdraw from meaningful social contact. Online anonymity permits endless Sybil attacks -- helping turn communities' frustration from anger and rage into violence. I'm guessing/assuming that 8chan is an anything goes censorship free community (like 4chan was/is?). And maybe i…

Yep - 8chan was started because even 4chan wasn't odious enough for them.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#24

Post by kstenerud »

kartan wrote: post #8

There was a time that it was difficult for me to understand how it was possible that governments in the middle east were supporting domestic terrorism. It was difficult to imagine how normal people were supporting the killing of fellow citizens. Now, that I see this same trend unravel in the USA it becomes easier to understand. I have seen for the past decades the shifting of what "conservative" means. Extremists wer…

The reason why extremism is having more trouble taking root in Europe is because there's less inequality there. Where inequality is highest, terrorism is highest.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#25

Post by javagram »

wyldfire wrote: post #18
puranjay wrote: post #6

What's even stranger to me is how "normal" mass shootings have become

Apparently this marks US Mass shooting #250 for 2019 (this was the 215th day of the year). [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/03/el-pas...

Worth considering the varying definitions of mass shooting can inflate the count beyond what people may think of when they read “mass shooting”.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/...

The US is a large company and there are more guns than people. There’s a lot of opportunity for people to snap and go on a rampage, unfortunately.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#26

Post by Iv »

qwsxyh wrote: post #20

I sure am glad we've reached the point of domestic terrorism and I'm 100% sure people will still go: 1) "Not everyone you disagree with is a nazi" 2) "We shouldn't shut down their opinions, they're just as valid" Because as we can see, that obviously has no negative consequences at all.

1) Of course they will. If they are willing to support terrorist, appearing a bit like an asshole online is not going to be a problem for them.

2) The point about not censoring opinions is not about these opinions being valid, it is about the tools you give the government to decide what should be considered terrorism or not.

In France, after the mass shootings, the government took some anti-terrorist measures and almost immediately used these laws to shut down some ecologists protestors around the COP21 meeting.

I am fine with many outlets deciding that they don't want to publish racist crap but I am also happy that places like 4chan and 8chan are legal. If you go there, you know it is a sewer but total censorship on internet implies very dystopian filtering capabilities. There is nothing governments would like more than the ability to shut down whistleblowers under the pretense of fighting terrorism.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#28

Post by mosselman »

kartan wrote: post #8

There was a time that it was difficult for me to understand how it was possible that governments in the middle east were supporting domestic terrorism. It was difficult to imagine how normal people were supporting the killing of fellow citizens. Now, that I see this same trend unravel in the USA it becomes easier to understand. I have seen for the past decades the shifting of what "conservative" means. Extremists wer…

Can you describe what you mean a bit more in concrete terms? For a second there I thought someone had posted the manifesto here, imagining it is a vague story as well.

What concrete examples do you have of misrepresentation of the situation in the media for example? I believe you when you say that something is wrong, but giving concrete examples will help drive your message home.

Re: 8chan Is a Normal Part of Mass Shootings Now

#30

Post by mLuby »

chvid wrote: post #15

Does anyone have an idea of how big 8chan and 4chan is in terms of users? Just from the visible activity in there I can see they must be massive. I think Slate is incorrect in describing them as expression of traditional neo-nazism. To me they are quite their own thing. Born out of Anime culture and gaming-culture becoming a playground for role playing, trash talking, trolling, real-life pranks degenerating into what…

Could be wrong, but edgy jokes + Poe's Law (sarcasm is uncertain online) would be a strong attractant for actual * ists. They may use it all for plausible deniability cover, but I bet many don't even realize most posts are just joking and think they've discovered an underground movement of people like them. Either way, your outlook changes when you go from the only one with unpopular thoughts that you have to hide to one of an untold multitude in which you can freely express those thoughts and have them validated and reinforced.

An HN post 3mo back was insightful in this regard: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19847437

What I don't know (and am interested to) is this: do * ists on such sites gain members mostly by other * ists finding the community or by converting trolls? Because those two pathways have very different antidotes.

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