Online Forums and the Clangers Therein
Having healthy conversations online currently seems impossible. Like a wildfire catching up and devouring every thing on its way the online community discussion boards are growing in number everyday while its ethical standards declines rapidly. This Internet feature hosts millions of people who log on to different forums each day to talk about everything and anything that catches their attention. From the latest news to the last meal before connection, discussions in them are no holds barred.
To participate in some of them however, one requires not only communication skills but an appreciable level of psychosis. Certain principles which should be upheld to ensure decorum are overlooked. Integrity is thrown to the winds, rumours are peddled, profanities are pelted and facts are distorted to serve the discussants’ purpose. If you’re the religious one, every breath of the ‘spirit of long-suffering’ in you is stretched to hold back flaming reactions.
The objectives for setting up most of the forums is to share information, ask questions, generate ideas, and proffer solutions where necessary. The reverse is the case however, as no meaningful input is generated in such circumstance. The thin line between civility and insolence are pulled to the verge and all commentators see themselves as the final arbiter. Rather than speak on the issue some descend on a person(s) in the forum like a god on its subjects. Nobody agrees to disagree and none expects anyone to disagree with them. While some deliberately digress from the topic of discussion others skip the thread and concentrate on the last comment.
I have found myself drawn into these inflammatory writings and realised that there is no end to it. Why do people exhibit the highest form of irresponsibility online while imploring propriety in their businesses and professions? I am not talking about the face less critics who register with pseudonyms, but the notable custodians of public morality who flout these “rules of engagement” as soon as they are behind the keyboard.
The position that the web forums are social spaces of interaction and thus does not involve any ethical obligation holds no water. Perhaps, every discussant is free to express their opinion in the way they seem fit, but not to the harm of another. It is quite easy to conclude that those “who can’t stand the heat” should not bother. In my opinion however, purveyors of dishonesty and illiteracy who are always bent on anarchy derail the need for a forum in the first instance. It is pertinent to recognize that the human beings online are the same on the street and deserve respect, sensitivity and caution. Deliberately splitting hairs on these forums does the public space no good.
To participate in some of them however, one requires not only communication skills but an appreciable level of psychosis. Certain principles which should be upheld to ensure decorum are overlooked. Integrity is thrown to the winds, rumours are peddled, profanities are pelted and facts are distorted to serve the discussants’ purpose. If you’re the religious one, every breath of the ‘spirit of long-suffering’ in you is stretched to hold back flaming reactions.
The objectives for setting up most of the forums is to share information, ask questions, generate ideas, and proffer solutions where necessary. The reverse is the case however, as no meaningful input is generated in such circumstance. The thin line between civility and insolence are pulled to the verge and all commentators see themselves as the final arbiter. Rather than speak on the issue some descend on a person(s) in the forum like a god on its subjects. Nobody agrees to disagree and none expects anyone to disagree with them. While some deliberately digress from the topic of discussion others skip the thread and concentrate on the last comment.
I have found myself drawn into these inflammatory writings and realised that there is no end to it. Why do people exhibit the highest form of irresponsibility online while imploring propriety in their businesses and professions? I am not talking about the face less critics who register with pseudonyms, but the notable custodians of public morality who flout these “rules of engagement” as soon as they are behind the keyboard.
The position that the web forums are social spaces of interaction and thus does not involve any ethical obligation holds no water. Perhaps, every discussant is free to express their opinion in the way they seem fit, but not to the harm of another. It is quite easy to conclude that those “who can’t stand the heat” should not bother. In my opinion however, purveyors of dishonesty and illiteracy who are always bent on anarchy derail the need for a forum in the first instance. It is pertinent to recognize that the human beings online are the same on the street and deserve respect, sensitivity and caution. Deliberately splitting hairs on these forums does the public space no good.
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