4 ms·

I'm sorry, but I do believe you misunderstood the article and perhaps my comments on it as well. The article clearly describes moderators watching videos flagg

by jrapdx3 11y ago

I'm sorry, but I do believe you misunderstood the article and perhaps my comments on it as well. The article clearly describes moderators watching videos flagged as offensive, and these videos included "amateur and profession pornography" and many that contained "child abuse, beatings, and animal cruelty". Furthermore the article discusses moderators having to deal with videos shot during the Iranian revolution in 2009, including the murder of a young woman, "a shaky cell-phone video captured her horrific last moments: in it, blood pours from her eyes, pooling beneath her." The article presents many more examples of the enormously disturbing tasks assigned to moderators. Based on tens of years in clinical practice I'd consider it likely that viewing such material, especially seeing it frequently, can precipitate acute and chronic stress disorders in vulnerable individuals. I understand the point this is only hypothetical in the absence of systematically collected data, call it a clinician's hunch if you want, but still I'd put money on it. Rereading the article confirms for me that it is an excellent piece of journalism, perhaps even exceptional in the current era. Moderators were exposed to far more than words, in a way similar to 911 operators suffering exposure to trauma without being at the scene. Forum moderation has very little in common with the subject of the article. You are severely underestimating the effects of this kind of experience on people in such positions. You should learn more about stress disorders, the complexity of which is bound up with the unique and highly variable attributes of individuals. Some people are much more resilient than others making it misleading to generalize about how people will respond to given situations. Most of all, I strong suggest you (re)read the story and if capable, allow yourself to empathize with the plight of the moderators.

mbrutsch 11y ago
> You should learn more about stress disorders Uh, why? Am I a counselor? > allow yourself to empathize with the plight of the moderators To what end? What possible constructive purpose is served by allowing myself to share (or wallow) in the negative emotions described by others? Does it stop "bad things" from happening? Does it lessen their pain? Does it lessen anyone's pain? Or does it increase the overall amount of suffering in the world? brb, going to voluntarily take a job that makes me feel bad, so I can cry about it on the internet...
- jacalata 11y ago
  Perhaps he addressed that comment to someone who seemed to feel they already knew enough to have an opinion on the topic, and meant to imply that you should learn more about this if you intend to have opinions on it
groovy2shoes 11y ago
Relatedly, I had a co-worker who'd once worked for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department doing data entry. He frequently had to review images or video footage (not all of which was produced by police, but sometimes collected as evidence) and classify it before entering it into their database. He didn't last long, only a few months before he quit, and he said that 10 years later he still sometimes had nightmares about the things he saw while on the job.

by jrapdx3 11y ago

mbrutsch 11y ago

> You should learn more about stress disorders Uh, why? Am I a counselor? > allow yourself to empathize with the plight of the moderators To what end? What possible constructive purpose is served by allowing myself to share (or wallow) in the negative emotions described by others? Does it stop "bad things" from happening? Does it lessen their pain? Does it lessen anyone's pain? Or does it increase the overall amount of suffering in the world? brb, going to voluntarily take a job that makes me feel bad, so I can cry about it on the internet...

jacalata 11y ago
Perhaps he addressed that comment to someone who seemed to feel they already knew enough to have an opinion on the topic, and meant to imply that you should learn more about this if you intend to have opinions on it

groovy2shoes 11y ago

Relatedly, I had a co-worker who'd once worked for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department doing data entry. He frequently had to review images or video footage (not all of which was produced by police, but sometimes collected as evidence) and classify it before entering it into their database. He didn't last long, only a few months before he quit, and he said that 10 years later he still sometimes had nightmares about the things he saw while on the job.