Human beings do amaze me sometimes.
I find that when I interact with most people, they are, at the very least, polite and courteous. Conversations are often pleasant, and most people stay in check. I might not agree with their opinions all the time, and I’m sure that they don’t often agree with mine, but we do keep it civil. I’m also happy when this applies to people I interact with online (either blog comments, messages on Facebook, etc.)
However, this doesn’t apply to everybody.
Recently, CBC.ca started allowing people to post comments on news stories allowing people to share their opinions. While I agree that sharing opinions with others has a real value, I can’t stand to read most of the pages worth of comments on some stories. It would seem that, behind the anonymity of an Internet handle, most people take the opportunity to say things they wouldn’t if people knew who they really were. And it can be bad…
I cannot believe some of the things that I’ve read on these comment boards. Some people have been using this system to post things that are highly argumentative, unfounded, inappropriate and sometimes just plain stupid. Some of the comments posted on certain stories also make me turn my head in disgust because of the shallow or rude nature of them. The last thing I want to read on a story about something tragic are comments that are far from appropriate. (Yes, it can be THAT bad.)
The term “Internet Troll” has been adopted to describe such people. Arguing with Trolls on the comments board doesn’t help the situation since all we end up with is something equivalent to a shouting match that takes the focus away from comments made that are more appropriate or legitimate. And, if the Troll is only looking for attention by posting such stuff, arguing back only encourages him.
While this is nothing new (Trolls have been around as long as there has been an Internet for them to post on), it never ceases to amaze me what some people are capable of saying. I don’t even read comments on news sites anymore. While a few comments might catch my attention, I just don’t want to land on the one that ruins the rest of it for me. I noticed that CBC has disabled the comments function on certain stories, and I really can’t say that I blame them. Considering how sensitive the subject matter of some stories can be, there really is no place for shenanigans like this.
I do applaud the CBC (and other news sites) for allowing people the opportunity to chime in, but let’s remember to be civil with one another. I certainly don’t want to single out the CBC either (considering that they are the source of most of the news I get during the day) because I’ve seen other sites (news and otherwise) that have the same problem. And while I might expect this kind of behaviour in some places, there is certainly no room for it on others.
I don’t mind reading an opinion, as long as it’s informed.
Let’s keep it civil here folks.
And, above all, don’t feed the Trolls.