5 ms·

> despite being a male and despite being an adult I think there's your answer. I'm also male and adult, but I've been online long enough to know what the dark

> despite being a male and despite being an adult I think there's your answer. I'm also male and adult, but I've been online long enough to know what the dark side of the internet is like. Like you, I also don't take these things as personally. But why should be only accept the lowest common denominator of "inevitability"? Why should me being okay with something mean that everyone should be okay with it?

sickbeard 10y ago
Just like fame, harassment is inevitable for public figures. What the OP is trying to say that it's not just a female thing, it happens to males just as much. It reminds me of this bodybuilder on Youtube, i believe Scooby was his name, about as tall and muscular as they come and he still got harassed to the point where he had to leave his house.
- peterbonney 10y ago
  > it happens to males just as much This, sadly, is just not true. One anecdote does not a pattern make.
  - tombert 10y ago
    I don't think it happens quite as much to males, but it certainly does happen to males still.
    - peterbonney 10y ago
      Of course - I would never dispute that. I'm talking about the relative frequency (and severity).
  - douche 10y ago
    A lot of male cultures are heavily centered around ball-busting and giving each other shit. You grow up in that, a lot of what is characterized as low-grade internet harassment doesn't even register.
    - peterbonney 10y ago
      I'm a male, and I grew up with ball-busting, and some of the "low-grade internet harassment" I've seen women subjected to most definitely does register with me.
  - oldmanjay 10y ago
    One assertion does not a fact make, even when it's repeated all the time
    - peterbonney 10y ago
      http://time.com/3305466/male-female-harassment-online/ http://time.com/3305466/male-female-harassment-online/ http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/gender-society/internet-harassment-online-threats-targeting-women-research-review http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/gender-societ... http://www.refinery29.com/2014/10/76682/women-internet-harassment http://www.refinery29.com/2014/10/76682/women-internet-haras... http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-about-online-harassment/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-abou...
tombert 10y ago
I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting downvotes for this, but I guess I've had a knack for that in the last couple days. With any luck I'll lose my downvoting privileges soon. I didn't say we should "accept" anything, and I don't endorse harassment of anyone, and I'd greatly prefer people didn't tell to go "kill themselves" (a commonly cited case of harassment). That said, it's not like it's a big secret that jerks exist on the internet. Anyone who posts something publicly should expect some hate. I'm not saying it's right, I'm not saying it's fair, and I'm not saying I agree with it, but you'd have to be insane to deny it happens.
- MrZongle2 10y ago
  I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting downvotes for this Because you didn't kowtow sufficiently for some people. One might think that an unambiguous start like "While I don't support harassment in any way" would be enough to defuse the emotional downvoters, but apparently not. This is why I generally don't upvote gender or sexuality-related stories on HN, even if I agree with the author or think the premise is important: time and again contrary (politically incorrect or insufficiently supportive) opinions are punished and rational discourse goes out the window. The Brendan Eich kerfluffle is an excellent example. The fact that you had to even start your post with a disclaimer saying that you disapprove of behavior that a typical person would disapprove of anyway should be an indicator of how irrational HN can be at times. It should have gone without saying, yet here it wasn't even good enough.
- oldmanjay 10y ago
  It is politically convenient to pretend that anyone who has a realistic view of the internet re: the deep shittiness of some denizens must also be complicit in such shittiness. This facilitates emotional resonance when discussing said shittiness which allows those in positions of leadership to gain some form of power over people who are vulnerable to the emotional manipulation It's not a good idea to talk about this sort of thing. Those who use it tend to have no compunction using the accrued power for vigilantism

sickbeard 10y ago

Just like fame, harassment is inevitable for public figures. What the OP is trying to say that it's not just a female thing, it happens to males just as much. It reminds me of this bodybuilder on Youtube, i believe Scooby was his name, about as tall and muscular as they come and he still got harassed to the point where he had to leave his house.

peterbonney 10y ago
> it happens to males just as much This, sadly, is just not true. One anecdote does not a pattern make.
- tombert 10y ago
  I don't think it happens quite as much to males, but it certainly does happen to males still.
  - peterbonney 10y ago
    Of course - I would never dispute that. I'm talking about the relative frequency (and severity).
- douche 10y ago
  A lot of male cultures are heavily centered around ball-busting and giving each other shit. You grow up in that, a lot of what is characterized as low-grade internet harassment doesn't even register.
  - peterbonney 10y ago
    I'm a male, and I grew up with ball-busting, and some of the "low-grade internet harassment" I've seen women subjected to most definitely does register with me.
- oldmanjay 10y ago
  One assertion does not a fact make, even when it's repeated all the time
  - peterbonney 10y ago
    http://time.com/3305466/male-female-harassment-online/ http://time.com/3305466/male-female-harassment-online/ http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/gender-society/internet-harassment-online-threats-targeting-women-research-review http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/gender-societ... http://www.refinery29.com/2014/10/76682/women-internet-harassment http://www.refinery29.com/2014/10/76682/women-internet-haras... http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-about-online-harassment/ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-abou...

tombert 10y ago

I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting downvotes for this, but I guess I've had a knack for that in the last couple days. With any luck I'll lose my downvoting privileges soon. I didn't say we should "accept" anything, and I don't endorse harassment of anyone, and I'd greatly prefer people didn't tell to go "kill themselves" (a commonly cited case of harassment). That said, it's not like it's a big secret that jerks exist on the internet. Anyone who posts something publicly should expect some hate. I'm not saying it's right, I'm not saying it's fair, and I'm not saying I agree with it, but you'd have to be insane to deny it happens.

MrZongle2 10y ago
I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting downvotes for this Because you didn't kowtow sufficiently for some people. One might think that an unambiguous start like "While I don't support harassment in any way" would be enough to defuse the emotional downvoters, but apparently not. This is why I generally don't upvote gender or sexuality-related stories on HN, even if I agree with the author or think the premise is important: time and again contrary (politically incorrect or insufficiently supportive) opinions are punished and rational discourse goes out the window. The Brendan Eich kerfluffle is an excellent example. The fact that you had to even start your post with a disclaimer saying that you disapprove of behavior that a typical person would disapprove of anyway should be an indicator of how irrational HN can be at times. It should have gone without saying, yet here it wasn't even good enough.
oldmanjay 10y ago
It is politically convenient to pretend that anyone who has a realistic view of the internet re: the deep shittiness of some denizens must also be complicit in such shittiness. This facilitates emotional resonance when discussing said shittiness which allows those in positions of leadership to gain some form of power over people who are vulnerable to the emotional manipulation It's not a good idea to talk about this sort of thing. Those who use it tend to have no compunction using the accrued power for vigilantism