Walking The Mean Streets of CNET

Well, I started out my morning reading the tech news at CNET. Came across the story Courts chip away at Web sites’ decade-old legal shield and decided to comment. Full disclosure - mine was the first comment (pbarnhart01).

A while later I came back to see if anyone else had commented. This is NOT the place for friendly discourse! I was “off my rocker,” “typical left-winger” and a whole diatribe of evil-doing was ascribed to me. All I needed was a Mini-Me. Luckily I had work to do and all their mojos were safe.

I guess, having participated only in technical discussions in the CNET realm I was a bit unprepared. I accept folks and attitudes from all over (I respect both Ayn Rand and Al Gore) and am shocked when I come across Bill O’Reilly clones.

Clash Of The Jesters

The real issue in my mind, at the end of the day, is not that there are close-minded, paranoid people on the web. Its what happens when they congregate in your social space. The folks that participated in the pike-squat at CNET today may have gotten some strange satisfaction, but it wasn’t fun to me. It wasn’t enlightening or illuminating to me. So I probably will avoid commenting on CNET in the future. Sure - victory for them; they will no doubt dance their little jig-of-joy and wait to pounce on the next fool.

And don’t think its a left-right thing either. Close minds seem to snap shut all over the spectrum - its just that no one from PETA jumped on my Food Network comment today.

A true social network should reflect many points of view. I am disturbed by the fragmentation and divisions happening in our culture. While the web makes it easier to network with everyone, will it in the end fragment us by shielding us from those who have differing points of view?

Perhaps the only hope that those of us who appreciate discussion and debate - the liberals who appreciated WIlliam Buckley, the conservatives moved by Dr. King, the vegetarians who still watch Iron Chef, and the carnivores that sneak a bowl of veggie chili - we can all find common interest, common ground, and most of all, common decency.

As Roderick Jones pointed out in How to prevent anti-social behavior in online social-networks:

But while they have moved relentlessly forward the platforms have had to contend with anti-social elements infecting their services and communities.

But we have enough problems dealing with the true anti-social elements; the rude, the obnoxious, and the hateful will have to wait.