Interesting reflection on online cruelty in the Times: nytimes/2014/08/24/sunday-review/dealing-with-digital-cruelty.html Im glad the author chose to end with a reflection on kindness and the psychology involved with focusing on positive comments and compliments, as opposed to the negative ones. Anyone who wants to see how a positive feedback loop works should look at how Justin Levys friends & networks are supporting him, or how dozens and dozens of friends, family and strangers supported me when I lost my beloved greyhound this week: https://facebook/photo.php?fbid=748655641085&set=a.748686314615.1073741835.15403664&type=1&permPage=1 Im not sure about the NYTimes editors summary -- that the Web encourages bad behavior, through anonymity and lack of consequences. I think that what we see online reflects what humans are, as a mirror, and that what we see on social media (which is really what is discussed here, not the World Wide Web) is a 1) function of what the platforms allow, with respect to the architecture of participation, and 2) what the community norms established there are. Compare newspapers online comments, YouTube comments and Twitter to what you find in the comments at Ars Technica, BoingBoing or even, dare I say it, in the blogs or public profiles I moderate. As Anil Dash has observed, the people who create and maintain online forums and platforms bear responsibility for what happens there: dashes/anil/2011/07/if-your-websites-full-of-assholes-its-your-fault.html Its a surprisingly delicate balance to allow robust debate and disagreement on politics, current events, technology choices, or even sports (hello, tribalism) while guiding conversations away from cruelty, anger, or even hatred, whether youre in a classroom or online: digiphile.wordpress/2012/09/17/revisiting-standards-for-moderation-and-community-on-social-networks/ The comments we allow to stand offline or online largely determine the culture of the class, town hall or thread theyre made within: dashes/anil/2011/07/if-your-websites-full-of-anonymity-that-might-be-okay.html While people bear always responsibility for their own cruel actions or words, its incumbent upon those of us who host conversations or share our thoughts publicly online to try to respond with empathy, kindness and understanding where we can, and with polite but resolute moderation when others do not respond to those tactics or attack our friends and communities.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:14:46 +0000
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