4 ms·

Props for not going through with the outing. There's a weird sense of entitlement that people have, that they have the right to unmask someone doing nothing wro

Props for not going through with the outing. There's a weird sense of entitlement that people have, that they have the right to unmask someone doing nothing wrong but choosing to be anonymous. I'm really glad to read the author overcame that urge, it helps keep the world a little more interesting.

joshdickson 11y ago
Author here. I'm not sure it's directly a sense of entitlement, though you could certainly argue that it's in play whether or not the author seems to notice. There's a sense that you found out the truth, and people want to know the truth. That's where Gawker got stuck; when one of your mottos/mantras is something like "we put truths on the internet," you feel like it's your job to go through with it. You feel like people are entitled to know. This is certainly borderline, and I feel like I could have defended either call, but I think we made the right decision.
- biot 11y ago
  I think some people get a high/rush/satisfaction [0] from revealing privileged information. Others get the same feeling from guarding privileged information and being one of the trusted few to know. [0] I'm sure there's a nice, concise word that fits what I'm unable to articulate here.
  - uxp 11y ago
    Isn't that the same feeling that comes when one believes what is popularly construed as a conspiracy theory? I mean, you have this bit of information that the entire world doesn't know (or doesn't care or believes differently), and you _know_ that it's correct. Granted, one like this story is factual information where as conspiracy theories are theoretical (obviously), but the sense of responsibility of knowing that information makes people want to share it as wide and as far as they can muster so they can be the leader or originator of a movement changing the status quo.

4 ms·

Props for not going through with the outing. There's a weird sense of entitlement that people have, that they have the right to unmask someone doing nothing wro

by tsieling 11y ago

joshdickson 11y ago
Author here. I'm not sure it's directly a sense of entitlement, though you could certainly argue that it's in play whether or not the author seems to notice. There's a sense that you found out the truth, and people want to know the truth. That's where Gawker got stuck; when one of your mottos/mantras is something like "we put truths on the internet," you feel like it's your job to go through with it. You feel like people are entitled to know. This is certainly borderline, and I feel like I could have defended either call, but I think we made the right decision.
- biot 11y ago
  I think some people get a high/rush/satisfaction [0] from revealing privileged information. Others get the same feeling from guarding privileged information and being one of the trusted few to know. [0] I'm sure there's a nice, concise word that fits what I'm unable to articulate here.
  - uxp 11y ago
    Isn't that the same feeling that comes when one believes what is popularly construed as a conspiracy theory? I mean, you have this bit of information that the entire world doesn't know (or doesn't care or believes differently), and you _know_ that it's correct. Granted, one like this story is factual information where as conspiracy theories are theoretical (obviously), but the sense of responsibility of knowing that information makes people want to share it as wide and as far as they can muster so they can be the leader or originator of a movement changing the status quo.