I think that unmoderated anonymity is a bad thing

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14 Comments

To be clear, I think that internet anonymity can be a good thing. It allows us to express our thoughts without fear, and other good things. In fact if it wasn't for anonymity I wouldn't have been an active is it normal user. However, it is my view that a forum that is completely unmoderated and anonymous brings more bad than good. I think that in such cases it will be almost completely hijacked by the worst of the worst, and there will be nothing to stop it. I mean I understand in cases like Reddit where people are allowed to congregate into their own little nuclei regardless of how scumbaggy it is, since we can stay clear of the things we don't like. But I think that for anonymous public comment sections that cater to the public, routinely enforced moderation is absolutely essential.

Is it normal to hold this view?

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75% Normal
Based on 24 votes (18 yes)
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Comments ( 14 )
  • thegypsysailor
    9 years ago

    The really nice thing about the internet, like all entertainment, is that if you don't like what you are seeing or hearing, you can change the channel or turn it off.
    If enough people don't like something, it gets no attention and fades away.
    Therefor, an unmoderated site will only survive as long as those who frequent it continue to do so, sort of a Darwin's law of entertainment.
    So, I guess we are all the moderators, after a fashion.

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    • Riddler
      9 years ago

      Oh if only most people would think this way. A lot of people on a lot of websites don't really understand that. They are petty and believe everything needs to be there to entertain them and if not you have committed some type of evil crime. That you need to be punished for it.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      9 years ago

      Problem is that there are sites that are unmoderated that still exist and are used primarily for gossip and cyberbullying.

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      • thegypsysailor
        9 years ago

        But there's absolutely nothing that says anybody has to go on that site, which is my point. If you don't like the site or don't want to be bullied, then don't go there. Easy, don't you think?
        Then whoever wants to go on there can and that shouldn't bother you one little tiny bit, now, should it? Because, honestly, it is none of your damn business; my other point.

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        • Anonymous Post Author
          9 years ago

          The problem with that is that the problem doesn't just stop with "Don't go there". In some cases they are community forums that actually slander real people (who are not celebrities) who don't even go on that site, and it often causes the community to turn on them in real life.

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  • westoptic
    8 years ago

    I agree. Reddit is a good example. That place, which I used to love and frequent, has turned into a cesspool of human scum and hatred because of this very reason.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      8 years ago

      Reddit is like a place where anything goes as long as it's within a contained atmosphere. Essentially, what happens on that subreddit stays on that subreddit. Online comment sections are wide, open places like public squares. Without moderation, I would think that if they didn't have moderation it would be as bad as a town ravaged by ISIS.

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  • dom180
    9 years ago

    I'm not sure how far I agree. I think most communities are fairly good at self-moderating. I think IIN is at most only partially moderated, and a large part of IIN is unmoderated. There's a significant sub-community that exists in the unmoderated section, and the reaction to serial rule-breakers is usually laissez-faire on all parts of the site. IIN functions effectively despite this because people want it to and we can sort out most of our own problems without being policed.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      9 years ago

      IIN is not unmoderated. You can report them.

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      • dom180
        9 years ago

        They might delete a comment or even ban a user, but that user can always come back under a different name. In practice it's more of a free-for-all than it is a well-controlled atmosphere. The only moderation is when it comes to stories, and some people can see unmoderated stories anyway.

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        • Anonymous Post Author
          9 years ago

          But by that time I think most of them would have learned to control themselves or they would get continually banned.

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        • ㅤㅤㅤ
          9 years ago

          IP ban.

          Even though it's easy to change your IP...

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          • dom180
            9 years ago

            It takes an awful lot to get IP banned on this site. Of course it's technologically possible, but as far as I'm aware Udi pretty much never does it.

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  • [Old Memory]
    9 years ago

    moderator ;)

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