Tuesday 11 August 2009

RANT: Internet Etiquette

Dear Internet,

Thank you for the anonymity you provide. We can pursue every embarrassing interest we have in relative security, safe in the knowledge that our love for Harry Potter FanFiction, hentai, or Lazy Town will never be known to the people that matter. We all have skeletons in our closet, I guess... and we shouldn't really judge... BUT...

Thanks as well for making us the socially awkward people that we are-- you have become so inclusive of everything that we no longer have the courage to, or knowledge how to, meet people outside of your realm. Of course, this means the 'relationship' Joe Stereotype-Geek has built up with Danielle, that stunning 24 year-old blonde in Wyoming, is actually 13 year-old Dan's invention to embarrass the nerd next door.

Oh, yeah, and thanks for taking the time to give us a little fake mustache and glasses when we comment to humiliate those YouTube gems that have so little talent they make our ears bleed. Thanks for any forum you give us that allows us to verbally abuse people so we can feel a touch better about ourselves.

Cheers to turning us all into taunting five-year-olds sans moral compass.

Love ya, Interwebz,
Rachie





The internet gives us a Potter-esque invisibility cloak in the world, but I fail to see why this suddenly allows us to behave disrespectfully toward others. Let's put it this way-- the internet is a public place. We are faceless, bodiless entities in a digital world, free to pursue any avenue of choice.

Why, then, do we choose to have horrid manners? Anonymity provides privacy in what is a public forum. ANYONE with access can join you where you are, but no one knows who you are. People respect that privacy. When you abuse the anonymity, however, why should it be respected?

Let's be honest. How many times do you see nasty comments and abuse on any given forum or site? I don't understand why; if I'm walking down the street, there certainly aren't people swearing at me left, right, and down center. When I walk down the street, people don't scream at street performers (regardless of talent) and call them useless wastes of space. If I'm out with my friends, they will not tease me in front of strangers about scandalous things.

The point is this: when interacting with others on the internet, why do we not treat them with the respect and courtesy we normally would in person? This a simple exploitation of the faceless nature of the net.

I sincerely doubt that, meeting someone off the street (excluding those in the oldest profession, I suppose), you'd instantly ask them to see their breasts... Unless you were Joe Francis at Mardi Gras, which, let's face it, you're not.

The internet is a public place; we should behave as we would if the world could see you. Truthfully, the world can. We've all gotten the lectures on Facebook profile-checking and internet screening for jobs, so someone is watching us if we take a wrong step. Ultimately, though, we should do it to dissipate the obnoxious behavior that permeates the internet we know and love. We could make it so much more enjoyable for everyone...

And if you need a place to vent, go to an insult forum, or start your own. Just be prepared to get as good as you give... could be a good reminder that insulting doesn't make you better than anyone.

Preacher Rachel's rant = finished.

2 comments:

  1. ur hott. a/s/l??1?

    FIRSTLOLZ!!!1!

    I IZ nO TROLLZ!!!1!

    MUDKIPS>??1?

    Lazy Town pwns. Culture spwns.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @The Loudest Fan

    I appreciate the irony, D :)

    ReplyDelete