In defence of internet regulations
The internet is such a scary place. Even though it's not technically a place, insofar as it is not a physical location. OK, I shall amend that. The internet is a scary medium. Better? Loads.
It's scary because all the things that make it so amazing also make it overly easy to misuse. Like, for example; it takes five minutes for any random person to start a blog. I should know; I've done it myself. Now, whilst this may provide a safe and healthy outlet for all manner of human expression, including but not limited to bad poetry, miscellaneous venting and the narration of imaginary sexual escapades, it also allows anyone and everyone to say the most absurd things.
Unfortunately, absurd does not always mean 'My pink slippers ate my cobra.' It also means bad things. Terrible things that are better off not mentioned, lest some impressionable mind should stumble upon them and spread the badness.
Also, under the comforting shelter of anonymity, the internet allows people to create characters for themselves, which in turn allows them to say whatever they want, which is never a good thing. I mean, peer pressure exists for many reasons, one of which is to curb dangerous deviant tendencies.
What exactly do I mean by this? Well, as a mentor figure probably told you at some point in your life, extremes are bad. They are. But you can publicise any extremist viewpoint on the internet without anyone stopping you or knowing who you are.
So you get all manner of creeps and idiots, alongside the mature and interesting individuals. And the worst thing is, you don't even know what you're looking at until you're drawn so into it that you can barely tear yourself away form the screen and succumb to the fits of hilarity and/or frustration that the situation warrants. Is it just me or do many internet users act much younger than they are? You see adults bickering and flaming each other like there's no tomorrow. No such thing as healthy debate. Which makes for free entertainment, but also makes you reflect on the general crappiness of humanity, if you should so happen to be inclined towards depressive thoughts.
OK, fine, freedom of expression, I get it.
I like the internet. It has email and Wikipedia. It also has online newspapers (which I don't really care about, but which my dad likes to read) and gossip columns on BBC (which I try to avoid but end up knowing off by heart anyway because of Pan). But it scares me. Mostly because people scare me. People are creepy. They shouldn't be allowed on the internet.
Go ahead and disagree.
Oh, and before I forget. One thing that makes me say 'Screw human rights! This is punishable by 56k modem!' is the abysmal state of grammar on the internet. 'Grammarcrime', as I like to call it, is the worst possible offence in today's web-based world. In my totalitarian dictatorship, which I shall establish as soon as I take over the world (I do seem to have autocratic tendencies, don't I?), words such as 'definately' and sentences such as 'Your writing a new post on you're blog?' will be hunted down and executed.
PS: None of this, of course, applies to me or my blogroll. I love me! And my blogroll!
It's scary because all the things that make it so amazing also make it overly easy to misuse. Like, for example; it takes five minutes for any random person to start a blog. I should know; I've done it myself. Now, whilst this may provide a safe and healthy outlet for all manner of human expression, including but not limited to bad poetry, miscellaneous venting and the narration of imaginary sexual escapades, it also allows anyone and everyone to say the most absurd things.
Unfortunately, absurd does not always mean 'My pink slippers ate my cobra.' It also means bad things. Terrible things that are better off not mentioned, lest some impressionable mind should stumble upon them and spread the badness.
Also, under the comforting shelter of anonymity, the internet allows people to create characters for themselves, which in turn allows them to say whatever they want, which is never a good thing. I mean, peer pressure exists for many reasons, one of which is to curb dangerous deviant tendencies.
What exactly do I mean by this? Well, as a mentor figure probably told you at some point in your life, extremes are bad. They are. But you can publicise any extremist viewpoint on the internet without anyone stopping you or knowing who you are.
So you get all manner of creeps and idiots, alongside the mature and interesting individuals. And the worst thing is, you don't even know what you're looking at until you're drawn so into it that you can barely tear yourself away form the screen and succumb to the fits of hilarity and/or frustration that the situation warrants. Is it just me or do many internet users act much younger than they are? You see adults bickering and flaming each other like there's no tomorrow. No such thing as healthy debate. Which makes for free entertainment, but also makes you reflect on the general crappiness of humanity, if you should so happen to be inclined towards depressive thoughts.
OK, fine, freedom of expression, I get it.
I like the internet. It has email and Wikipedia. It also has online newspapers (which I don't really care about, but which my dad likes to read) and gossip columns on BBC (which I try to avoid but end up knowing off by heart anyway because of Pan). But it scares me. Mostly because people scare me. People are creepy. They shouldn't be allowed on the internet.
Go ahead and disagree.
Oh, and before I forget. One thing that makes me say 'Screw human rights! This is punishable by 56k modem!' is the abysmal state of grammar on the internet. 'Grammarcrime', as I like to call it, is the worst possible offence in today's web-based world. In my totalitarian dictatorship, which I shall establish as soon as I take over the world (I do seem to have autocratic tendencies, don't I?), words such as 'definately' and sentences such as 'Your writing a new post on you're blog?' will be hunted down and executed.
PS: None of this, of course, applies to me or my blogroll. I love me! And my blogroll!
Labels: Deep Thought
posted by The Poodle's Friend at 9:43 PM
6 Comments:
ALL HAIL QUEEN TPF!!!!
i get what you're saying about some people misusing the internet.
however, stopping them from expressing their views on the internet seems a bit extreme.
they've blocked blogger.com here you know and it's beyond annoying but you can still use proxy servers to access the blogs so it's pretty useless, isnt it?
the more you deny someone something, the more they want it and they'll find other ways to get it.
Oh, Eris, stop being all rational and mature. It's out of character! =)
nikki, you are truly the perfect minion.
don't make me hurt you woman!
I must disagree. If we give a third person the power to keep people away from the Internet, then it won't continue to be the vibrant place that it is.
If we prohibit right-wing extremists to voice their opinions, that precedence might give them the power to prohibit us from voicing ours.
Of course, under your totalitarian dictatorship, we can be sure that sense and taste reigns supreme. Pity we never had a woman dictator.
Don't worry, nitin, that will change in the near future. MUHHAHAHAHAHHAH!
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