In the fight against trolls and haters, more and more operators are throwing in the towel. How can we counteract this?
I actually wanted to vent about Hearthstone and some cards that particularly annoy me today, and I had even thought of some extremely clever sayings for it (“We’re gonna be rich, bitch!”)… or something like that. However, since Blizzard announced changes to the Shaman and the Buccaneer last night, I will hold back on that for now.
So let’s talk about another favorite topic of mine: the behavior of people on the internet. And it seems that more and more operators of large portals are simply throwing in the towel. Like IMDb, a large database about movies and film reviews, which is closing its forum these days – because they simply can no longer cope with the onslaught of trolls, even if they phrase it more politely.
I often imagine an apocalyptic campfire 50 years in the future, where you sit with the survivors of the impending zombie apocalypse in the ruins of a city, talking to the children and grandchildren who then ask:
“Wow, you had this Internet! You had the opportunity to connect with all people around the world anytime and exchange ideas. Mustn’t that have been an incredibly great, enriching experience? Couldn’t you learn so much from each other, like never before in the history of mankind?”
And then eventually someone would ask: “What did you do then?” and one would have to shamefully reply:
“We all showed our worst sides, stifled communication in the bud, and buried our empathy. And then we posted memes all day and celebrated headbanging doves.”
I increasingly wish for concepts like an “Internet driver’s license” – which sounds ridiculous, but could indeed contribute to improvement. Anyone who cannot prove that they can treat others with respect should not be allowed to go online.
Sometimes I also flirt with concepts like in South Korea, where all users have to register with their social security number, for example, for games. I wouldn’t want everyone to be able to see the names and data of every other person – that would be terrible – but rather, that in cases of criminal prosecution and “misconduct,” there are simply sanctions like “So, you now have a 2-week internet timeout, think about your mistakes and become a little kinder.”
And no, I also don’t want to play “opinion police” – but trolls and hate comments generally do not have an opinion. “You are all sons of bitches and I’ll fuck you up” is simply not an opinion – even if that is hard for some to understand.
Sure, this is just a not very well thought-out figment of my imagination, but the behavior on the internet is increasingly getting on my nerves. And it helps little to say, “If you can’t handle the behavior on the internet, then just don’t use it.” I rather represent the view: “If you can’t treat people with respect, then don’t use the internet.”
But I am already getting worked up about something again – have a nice Wednesday and behave yourselves. Be a positive example for your fellow human beings.
Last week, I was annoyed about killers and survivors – Dead by Daylight still has a few quirks.
