The Internet

Strangefan

1, im not offended
2, If you read back, you will notice I tried to talk to my colleagues about it but they were not interested, so you guys were my 2nd resort
3, no hypocrisy here me old fruit

Myranda

The internet has changed the concept of communication.

Once you said something offensive and it got heard by a dozen people.

TV and radio increased your audience to thousands up to millions... but often people watching programs would share some interest (even if just in the specific program) so there is some alignment of personalities 

When you say something to enough people, then you might offend some... the more people, the more chance that people will see it and the more chance that someone might take offence AND take action about it. Something like twitter or facebook brings together people with no shared interests, likes or dislikes, people who are in different cultures, countries, religions...

We got by for hundreds of thousands of years with just the spoken word and occasional daubing on the walls, in the last few thousand years, writing appeared... a few hundred years ago news papers bringing news to an unprecedented mass audience... since then, cinema, the radio, television, the POTS based internet, and now mobile internet ... communication has evolved faster than our culture and so it's rather unsurprising that at this birth of a new age that we're experiencing difficulties in knowing how to use this new medium. 

People still talk about "political correctness" as a bad thing ... even though in principal it's message is "don't be a dick" ... I recall my father once saying "it's ridiculous, can't even say paki shop any more - that's political correctness gone mad" no dad, it's political correctness gone right. People (mostly morons) can't tell the difference between health and safety and political correctness - Can't play with lawn darts with mmy blind children? Political correctness gone mad, bloody nanny state. (Somehow ignoring how many people died each year from easily preventable accidents that H&S prevent now... grrr. but that's another topic). If the idea that not calling people names because we're too stupid to be polite is still too complicated in person then is it a surprise the internet is baffling people?

As for writing angry letters? What do you think twitter storms are? Angry letters take paper, envelops, stamps, a days postage and if you're wanting a petition then days of going around getting a dozen signatures... Twitter can get 50,000 or 100,000 supporters in a day (or less)... the will of the people made manifest.

Perhaps large groups of people jump on hype trains or bandwagons too easily... but it's new and confusing still. 

If there is ever to be a cultural awakening that brings the world together - it will start with communication. What better tool is there than the internet for such a mass consensus? First baby gurgles, then forms words, and one day baby grows up and says something profound - I have a dream type profundity came from someone who gurgled as a baby. Internet communication is still learning to gurgle... perhaps it's gotten as far as the terrible two's lashing out in whatever temper tantrum it can... One day though... something profound will come from the screens we stare at so often. So it's easy to ignore and move on from the twitter twatter that we see today.

Strangefan

Brilliant post @Myranda the only part I don't t agree with is the bringing people together, purely for the fact that us as humans will never all get along, we have had many thousands of years of in fighting for that to ever change. Our nature dictates we cannot get along as one planet and unfortunately I can never see that change..... Unless aliens invade then we will have to

Hertz32

@Strangefan
You say that, but we live in the most peaceful period in modern human history

Strangefan

@Hertz tell that to Syria

strtdv

Hertz32 said:

^wis.
I'm also of the opinion that no one is entited to any opinion other than that which they can defend rationally.

I disagree with that.

One of the fundamentals of the principle of autonomy is that you can hold an irrational, and indeed wrong, opinion.

However, people seem to be of the opinion that they can express free speech without consequence, which is not the same thing as having freedom of speech. If you behave like a moron, people are perfectly entitled to treat you as one. Similarly, if you spout offensive nonsense on an internet forum, the mods banning you is not a violation of "free speech" (and indeed you would be under a very wrong impression if you thought you were even entitled to free speech in the first place on a privately owned and operated forum).

As far as health and safety goes, I think there has to be a degree of freedom for natural selection to take place. If stupid people do stupid things and remove themselves from the gene pool, that's hardly the state's fault is it?

As for political correctness goes, I think society is in danger of applying our standards to previous generations, which is most unfair (I'm not terribly well versed on the issues, but the removal of a statue of Woodrow Wilson from Princeton seems a bit much for example).

And yes, if you see something on the internet that offends you, just close the tab and move on. 

Myranda

We never got along in the past - but in the past we didn't have to talk to each other

The future is filled with all sorts of people.. cultures will change, homogenise and evolve... look how many countries americanised atr least a bit through Holywood and McDonalds. What will happen after 100 years of several billion people being free to chat with each other...

We're a long way off, but one day... 

And... clever marketing gets millions of us to buy the same stuff we don't need... or hate celebs that we're meant to hate.. how hard is it to believe we couldn't be lead to mutual co-operation and understanding without our knowledge or even against our will... one day we might wake up tolerating people without ever knowing why.

mart

Sporky said:

I always preferred catenaries.

So you don't mind a bit of hyperbole so long as it's a cosine that's getting hyperbolic?

Sporky

mart said:

Sporky said:

I always preferred catenaries.

So you don't mind a bit of hyperbole so long as it's a cosine that's getting hyperbolic?

It's more about the rope for me.

strumjoughlamps

Jen has the internet

Strangefan

mart;953077" said:

Sporky said:

I always preferred catenaries.





So you don't mind a bit of hyperbole so long as it's a cosine that's getting hyperbolic?

I do not have a clue what that means.

I am a simpleton

breakstuff

I find the best way to show you're offended is to turn off your PC,get off your arse and do something meaningful,something that's actually going to make a difference.Hit the streets,campaign,make a noise,make a nuisance of yourself,challenge the status quo.






Just like this lady.

http://i.imgur.com/kBGu1Z5.jpg

Strangefan

@breakstuff hmm mm lol or wisdom?

Chalky

I find it very difficult to think I was growing up in an era of 1950s/60s when individuals took great 'offence' to things, then lived through 70s-90s when taking 'offence' was seen as being an intolerant prat of limited intelligence, through to the 2000s until now when anyone can take offence to anything and the rest of society has to work to make them 'unoffended'.

If you take offence, you're an idiot. Or worse.

randomhandclaps

I'm really careful about what I write on the internet as personally I would be mortified if I inadvertently offended someone;  Whether that be one of you cunts here or some other twat on another part of the internet.

Myranda

Chalky said:

I find it very difficult to think I was growing up in an era of 1950s/60s when individuals took great 'offence' to things, then lived through 70s-90s when taking 'offence' was seen as being an intolerant prat of limited intelligence, through to the 2000s until now when anyone can take offence to anything and the rest of society has to work to make them 'unoffended'.

If you take offence, you're an idiot. Or worse.

What if someone says something actually offensive? Like anything that Trump says... shouldn't we BE offended by somethings? 

Strangefan

I think if the offence hurts us on a deep level and it was aimed at me or what I stand for that's understandable, but their seems like a huge difference to proper offence and what I call Internet offence

Strangefan

randomhandclaps;953145" said:

I'm really careful about what I write on the internet as personally I would be mortified if I inadvertently offended someone;  Whether that be one of you cunts here or some other twat on another part of the internet.

Man you are such an epic bellend......... No offence ;D

randomhandclaps

Myranda said:

Chalky said:

I find it very difficult to think I was growing up in an era of 1950s/60s when individuals took great 'offence' to things, then lived through 70s-90s when taking 'offence' was seen as being an intolerant prat of limited intelligence, through to the 2000s until now when anyone can take offence to anything and the rest of society has to work to make them 'unoffended'.

If you take offence, you're an idiot. Or worse.

What if someone says something actually offensive? Like anything that Trump says... shouldn't we BE offended by somethings? 

See I don't see the point of getting offended by anything Trump says.  HE should be embarrassed by his idiocy rather than I offended by it and I'll be damned if I'm putting in any more into Trumps spoutings than he is.  Being offended by dicks like Trump isn't going to change anything apart from buying them more priceless coverage.

The epitome of this theory for me is the Westboro Baptists church.  They were apparently going to protest at Bowie's funeral.  Well Bowie well and truly fucked them didn't he?  No funeral, no coverage, no publicity.  Without outrage and publicity they are just a weird family with zero influence... Except for maybe their second-cousin/dad/grandmother Donald Trump.

randomhandclaps

Strangefan said:

randomhandclaps;953145" said:

I'm really careful about what I write on the internet as personally I would be mortified if I inadvertently offended someone;  Whether that be one of you cunts here or some other twat on another part of the internet.

Man you are such an epic bellend......... No offence ;D

None taken.  I know it's just that everything looks a bit more brutal in the written word.