If you read newspapers on the Web, many of them allow people to write a comment about the story. It's a way for the newspapers to be more interactive and, I suppose, studies show that this is a good thing.
Well, there's an unintended consequence to this good thing and that's the mean spirited comments that people continue to post anonymously. To someone who thinks that being polite is a sign of societal advancement and makes a man into a gentleman, there isn't much to like when the arguments degrade into name calling. In fact, I'm thinking kids at the schools may be better behaved than the commenters on the various online newspapers that I'm reading -- although brother Randy may choose to differ as he's closer to the playground variety thugs.
Now I'm friends with the online editor at the Bismarck Tribune. His name is Jason Leuder. The last time I was at the Tribune for a media briefing, I stopped by to pay my regards to Mr. Leuder. He told me that roughly 25 percent of all the comments sent to him don't get posted because they cross the line.
I can't imagine what these would be because some of the ones that do get posted are pretty outlandish and disgusting.
In yesterday's Bismarck Tribune, for instance, there was a story about a 70-some-year-old man who has been charged in his wife's death. Now there were a couple of comments from people who knew the couple who said some nice things, but there were a lot of people who probably didn't know the couple at all and they said some horrific things. Now I'm thinking about the kids, who are probably well into their 30s and 40s, and who have just lost their mother and had their father arrested. Do they also need to read the terrible things being written by these conspiracy theorists who seem to know law enforcement better than the police detectives?
It's got me scratching my head...but I say no!
This morning I was reading the Fargo Forum online and the rudeness of the commenters on that site is just as despicable.
Luckily, I still prefer to read my newspaper with it held in my hand. I like the feel of newsprint and the smell of ink. I also like knowing that I'm not going to get someone's drivel along with my news.
Emily Post, the mother of good manners, must be spinning in her grave.
Give me that old time religion -- and newspapers -- they are good enough for me.
Recipe - Aunt May's Famous Wheatcakes
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3 comments:
Ahh, the internet. It makes everyone feel that all of their thoughts are important and valid.
Hey everyone, you should be reading my blog, at http://r-o-u-s.blogspot.com/ !
This is no new phenomenon. In the 80s when computer hobbyists were calling "BBS's" (Bulletin Board Systems), it was common for people to assume complete anonymity. Along with it they assumed they were devoid of any responsibility or accountability.
Fast forward 25 years, and people still think that typing things into that big, anonymous Internet gives them the same license. The sad thing is, they don't see how pathetic they are or how pitiful their words make them seem.
People like that are the reason I moderate the comments on my site.
I, too, have been slightly sickened by the responses to newspaper articles. Obviously, walking a mile in their mocassins doesn't cross the poison penned writers who don't have enough courage to stand behind their remarks. Much of my newspaper reading is done online and I avoid scrolling to the bottom to read the comments.
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