5 ms·

So many commenters are missing the point or actively trying to misread the article. The point is that when you're young you're going to do things that seem corr

by devdad 9y ago

So many commenters are missing the point or actively trying to misread the article. The point is that when you're young you're going to do things that seem correct and thought through at the time, but might not be when you've aged. For those of us that were able to make these mistakes before social media, we got the time to reflect and correct / adapt out behavior. We now strip the young of this moment of reflection when the web can explode over night over non-issues, effectively creating a situation where a simple Google on a twenty year old might bring up a wall of discussion about the bad behavior. I'm in my mid thirties and am not as angry with social issues as I were in my teens. The things I did and the things that shaped me were discussed and corrected by a small group of people, not an angry mob on the internet that didn't really know me. I'm grateful for that.

PeterStuer 9y ago
Hear hear! Even here on HN, e.g. discussions that come within a 200 mile radius of identity politics can immediately expect to be mobbed. I'm still trying to figure out whether these misrepresentations are deliberate, or just the result of an extremely biased or myopic world view. Communication by nature only works if the parties involved are trying to understand each other. Deliberately trying to polarize or frame each sentence doesn't serve any purpose other than to fuel division.
- Clubber 9y ago
  I read a comment on here I believe where someone surmised this is an effect of the anti-bully movement that happened about 10 years ago. Now we not only have bullies (in the traditional term) but we have mobs of people who are eager to bully a perceived bully and have zero tolerance for anything other than their subscribed world view. The antidote is the same it's been since before the internet: don't put much value in what people think about you.
- indubitable 9y ago
  In many things in life when people decide a 'side' it's most often an entirely subjective decision. This is by itself not immediately terrible - take a side and then adjust as you find a view more, or less, defensible or reasonable. The problem is when people get into situations where they consider the alternative absolutely unthinkable. How can they respond to views that challenge their own in this case? I think this is why you see 95% of "discussion" in contentious topics end up as being loaded with little more than straw men, ad hominem, and all the other fun products of internet "discussion." Of course the problem is people thinking anything ought be unthinkable. The domain of the faithful is one I'd rather never rejoin again -- perhaps a personal voyage too few have been given the opportunity to undertake in today's society.
fredgrott 9y ago
no we have not...social media is a volunteer activity same with using the phone posting letter to the editor of a newspaper etc...everyone has a choice to turn it off and not post... you seek to make the young avoid ownership for their actions..something out fuck of a President does daily...No-fucking way sir or mam! Taking ownership of one's voluntary actions is called...wait for it..wait for it...LEADERSHIP.... Rather than feed the young to disaster and no-sense of ownership let's lead the young to owning every voluntary action they may take..its a better and more pleasing future..
- jojopotato 9y ago
  It’s not always a volunteer activity in social situations, unless you want to go around telling other people to not take any photos of you.
- pizza 9y ago
  people don't tend to spread rumors talking shit about themselves online. but they are vulnerable to their many acquaintances.
- intopieces 9y ago
  Can you explain how I have the option to have people not talk about me online? I would like to sign up for this service immediately.
- meowfly 9y ago
  I've really struggled to understand where this mindset comes from and it seems to be pervasive enough to be the majority opinion for most internet commentators. Where does mercy fit into all of this? Should a person who tries to change their life still be beholden to a recording of bad behavior from the past? My experience is that executives are often extremely image conscious and if a google search brought up anything unsavory about a hire it could be career limiting. Given that it is almost impossible to know that an honest change-of-heart had occurred, it would be much easier to employ candidates who won't bring any baggage.
dhimes 9y ago
Indeed. Wisdom is a thing.
RubenSandwich 9y ago
Agreed. We need to find a balance of forgetting things online: "I don't know if they did this in Germany, but in our elementary schools in America, if we did something particularly heinous, they had a special way of threatening you. They would say: "This is going on your permanent record". It was pretty scary. I had never seen a permanent record, but I knew exactly what it must look like. It was bright red, thick, tied with twine. Full of official stamps. The permanent record would follow you through life, and whenever you changed schools, or looked for a job or moved to a new house, people would see the shameful things you had done in fifth grade. How wonderful it felt when I first realized the permanent record didn't exist. They were bluffing! Nothing I did was going to matter! We were free! And then when I grew up, I helped build it for real."[0] [0] http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm Edit: Removed code quotes for quote.
- davemp 9y ago
  Please don’t quote with code snippets, it’s unreadable on mobile.
  - theoh 9y ago
    Here is the above text: I don't know if they did this in Germany, but in our elementary schools in America, if we did something particularly heinous, they had a special way of threatening you. They would say: "This is going on your permanent record". It was pretty scary. I had never seen a permanent record, but I knew exactly what it must look like. It was bright red, thick, tied with twine. Full of official stamps. The permanent record would follow you through life, and whenever you changed schools, or looked for a job or moved to a new house, people would see the shameful things you had done in fifth grade. How wonderful it felt when I first realized the permanent record didn't exist. They were bluffing! Nothing I did was going to matter! We were free! And then when I grew up, I helped build it for real.[0]
  - RubenSandwich 9y ago
    Sorry about that, it's fixed now.

by devdad 9y ago

PeterStuer 9y ago

Hear hear! Even here on HN, e.g. discussions that come within a 200 mile radius of identity politics can immediately expect to be mobbed. I'm still trying to figure out whether these misrepresentations are deliberate, or just the result of an extremely biased or myopic world view. Communication by nature only works if the parties involved are trying to understand each other. Deliberately trying to polarize or frame each sentence doesn't serve any purpose other than to fuel division.

Clubber 9y ago
I read a comment on here I believe where someone surmised this is an effect of the anti-bully movement that happened about 10 years ago. Now we not only have bullies (in the traditional term) but we have mobs of people who are eager to bully a perceived bully and have zero tolerance for anything other than their subscribed world view. The antidote is the same it's been since before the internet: don't put much value in what people think about you.
indubitable 9y ago
In many things in life when people decide a 'side' it's most often an entirely subjective decision. This is by itself not immediately terrible - take a side and then adjust as you find a view more, or less, defensible or reasonable. The problem is when people get into situations where they consider the alternative absolutely unthinkable. How can they respond to views that challenge their own in this case? I think this is why you see 95% of "discussion" in contentious topics end up as being loaded with little more than straw men, ad hominem, and all the other fun products of internet "discussion." Of course the problem is people thinking anything ought be unthinkable. The domain of the faithful is one I'd rather never rejoin again -- perhaps a personal voyage too few have been given the opportunity to undertake in today's society.

fredgrott 9y ago

no we have not...social media is a volunteer activity same with using the phone posting letter to the editor of a newspaper etc...everyone has a choice to turn it off and not post... you seek to make the young avoid ownership for their actions..something out fuck of a President does daily...No-fucking way sir or mam! Taking ownership of one's voluntary actions is called...wait for it..wait for it...LEADERSHIP.... Rather than feed the young to disaster and no-sense of ownership let's lead the young to owning every voluntary action they may take..its a better and more pleasing future..

jojopotato 9y ago
It’s not always a volunteer activity in social situations, unless you want to go around telling other people to not take any photos of you.
pizza 9y ago
people don't tend to spread rumors talking shit about themselves online. but they are vulnerable to their many acquaintances.
intopieces 9y ago
Can you explain how I have the option to have people not talk about me online? I would like to sign up for this service immediately.
meowfly 9y ago
I've really struggled to understand where this mindset comes from and it seems to be pervasive enough to be the majority opinion for most internet commentators. Where does mercy fit into all of this? Should a person who tries to change their life still be beholden to a recording of bad behavior from the past? My experience is that executives are often extremely image conscious and if a google search brought up anything unsavory about a hire it could be career limiting. Given that it is almost impossible to know that an honest change-of-heart had occurred, it would be much easier to employ candidates who won't bring any baggage.

dhimes 9y ago

Indeed. Wisdom is a thing.

RubenSandwich 9y ago

Agreed. We need to find a balance of forgetting things online: "I don't know if they did this in Germany, but in our elementary schools in America, if we did something particularly heinous, they had a special way of threatening you. They would say: "This is going on your permanent record". It was pretty scary. I had never seen a permanent record, but I knew exactly what it must look like. It was bright red, thick, tied with twine. Full of official stamps. The permanent record would follow you through life, and whenever you changed schools, or looked for a job or moved to a new house, people would see the shameful things you had done in fifth grade. How wonderful it felt when I first realized the permanent record didn't exist. They were bluffing! Nothing I did was going to matter! We were free! And then when I grew up, I helped build it for real."[0] [0] http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm Edit: Removed code quotes for quote.

davemp 9y ago
Please don’t quote with code snippets, it’s unreadable on mobile.
- theoh 9y ago
  Here is the above text: I don't know if they did this in Germany, but in our elementary schools in America, if we did something particularly heinous, they had a special way of threatening you. They would say: "This is going on your permanent record". It was pretty scary. I had never seen a permanent record, but I knew exactly what it must look like. It was bright red, thick, tied with twine. Full of official stamps. The permanent record would follow you through life, and whenever you changed schools, or looked for a job or moved to a new house, people would see the shameful things you had done in fifth grade. How wonderful it felt when I first realized the permanent record didn't exist. They were bluffing! Nothing I did was going to matter! We were free! And then when I grew up, I helped build it for real.[0]
- RubenSandwich 9y ago
  Sorry about that, it's fixed now.