Sunday 11 June 2006

Rudeness

Wow. I've just been called a Mac fanboy (or near enough) over on the Apple support forums. Despite the fact that I bemoan Apple as much as extol them. Why are people so rude and downright nasty on forums? A question on University Challenge recently revealed that given a certain number of users and a certain amount of time, the chances of someone calling somebody else a Nazi on any given public forum on the internet soon rises to 100%. Someone elsewhere pointed out that because they can't be seen, many people forget basic manners when using the internet. No one has a chance to say, "Say that to my face." What sad, little people they must be, if the only thing they can do to make themselves feel better about their lives is to insult strangers whilst hidden behind a mask of anonymity.

1 comment:

  1. KMB
    I agree about rudeness, AND the likely explanation, at least in part, of faceless anonymity (more below), BUT what's the downside of being an apple fan??

    a few years ago CBS news had a fascinating newsclip of a rowdy teenager who vandalized and desecrated a neighboring black man's house. the man went to the white family house, asked to speak to the boy and, once they knew each other qua faced humans, they became friends, a little fairy tale perhaps but true and testimony to the power of individual contact.

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