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Hi internet vigilantes lets have a chat, I know this lawyer has done something we think is both morally wrong, legally dubious, and unintelligent. However the

by dkhenry 14y ago

Hi internet vigilantes lets have a chat, I know this lawyer has done something we think is both morally wrong, legally dubious, and unintelligent. However the real life harassing of this individual is not something a civil society should condone. I would hope that at least the mob of individuals who frequent this web site would be a little classier then both Matthew Inman ,and the internet at larges response. Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob ?

Symmetry 14y ago
The people on the internet have more modes than that, but only the people who fall into one of those modes bother to write email.
swalsh 14y ago
I find the phenomenon of internet lynch mobs both fascinating and deeply disturbing.
Silhouette 14y ago
I would hope that at least the mob of individuals who frequent this web site would be a little classier then both Matthew Inman Matthew Inman's response to this whole sorry affair seems to be primarily that he wants to write comics and not play at being a lawyer, and he'd prefer it if people just let him get on with that and enjoy the results. Given the flagrant copyright violation of the other site involved here, and the nature of the lawyer who is chasing Inman right now, I think he's been remarkably classy. I suspect a lot of people in his position would instead have lawyered up, gone after the other site for a retirement-level scale of statutory damages, and gone after the other lawyer personally with the intent of ending his career. Frankly, I wouldn't blame them, and I almost wish Inman would do that as a matter of principle. However, I have to admire his focus on doing the work he wants to do and his choice to do something socially useful to make his point instead.
- dkhenry 14y ago
  I don't mean what he said I mean how he said it. The picture of the bear is petty and juvenile.
  - hobin 14y ago
    ... Then perhaps you shouldn't visit the Oatmeal. His site is full of that kind of thing. Some people like it, some people don't. You're apparently in the second group. ;)
  - davegauer 14y ago
    The picture of the bear is reasonable and appropriate, given the circumstances. Mature, even.
  - earl 14y ago
    oh no -- don't hurt the extortionist's fee fees
  - InclinedPlane 14y ago
    Abusing the legal system is more than petty and juvenile, it degrades the fabric of all of civil society. It should be met with strong opposition, including petty and juvenile insults. But not real-world harassment or intimidation of course.
  - engtech 14y ago
    The picture of the bear is substandard to the other work on his site. It is intentionally petty and juvenile to draw the comparison that the letter from FunnyJunk's lawyer is petty and juvenile.
pnathan 14y ago
The internet is a mass of people, in which case you will see mob psychology & mentalities arise very quickly. Mobs aren't noted for their nuanced and leisurely views on the situation.
megablast 14y ago
The armory that this lawyer has is sending out these letters, going to court, suing people. The armory that the internet dweller has harassment. Both are defending what they believe in, with the powers that they have. There is a case to be made that this legal harassment is destroying our society, and the internet dwellers are fighting against this the only way they know how.
drivebyacct2 14y ago
I hope and doubt that Internet Vigilantes who are going to be sending threatening emails are not here.
ereckers 14y ago
Lynch mobs are real things and have a real history. Lynch mobs as defined, always results in the death of a person or persons at the hands of a mob. An attorney who bit off more than he can chew and as a result received a number of nasty emails is not the victim of a lynch mob.
- freehunter 14y ago
  Though it could be argued that a digital lynch mob could be defined as a group who "kills" someone online. If this gets any more out of hand, how much business or reputation do you think this lawyer would have left? A digital lynch mob killed HB Gary Federal. It's happened before. ++edit++ guys, I wasn't arguing that this guy deserves reputation or has a right to do whatever he wants. I was arguing that a "lynch mob" can and does exist on the Internet. Like the parent said, lynch mobs harass and sometimes kill people. Digital equivalents to lynch mobs exist.
  - ansible 14y ago
    > If this gets any more out of hand, how much business or reputation do you think this lawyer would have left? And what makes this lawyer deserve a good reputation? It was his responsibility to investigate the case, and apply his best judgement as to if FJ had any legal ground to stand on. From what is publicly known, FJ has no basis for their threat of legal action, and the situation appears so cut-n-dried that I doubt the existence of any hidden facts which could change this. The lawyer had a choice to inform his client of the legal situation. The lawyer had a choice whether or not to represent FJ. And the lawyer is now paying for the consequences.
    - freehunter 14y ago
      And what makes this lawyer deserve a good reputation? Never made this claim. That was a hypothetical situation that I used to back up my argument of "Though it could be argued that a digital lynch mob could be defined as a group who "kills" someone online."
  - chc 14y ago
chc 14y ago
"Vigilantes"? People who express strong disapproval via email are vigilantes now? My goodness, back in my day that term meant something a bit stronger than vocal disagreement. So what do we now call people who engage in the sort of violent behavior that used to be called vigilantism?
- jcc80 14y ago
  We call them terrorists. And the rest of the world has picked up on this new vocabulary too. "Syria is at war against armed groups that choose terrorism." -Bashar al-Assad
  - ericd 14y ago
    That used to mean something more specific, though...
- dkhenry 14y ago
  The people calling for his website to be hacked are the specific vigilantes I am speaking to.
mistercow 14y ago
>Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob ? Because the majority set of modes which fall under the broad umbrella of "general apathy" isn't very noticeable.
irahul 14y ago
> However the real life harassing of this individual is not something a civil society should condone. The real life harassing of an individual making web comics by stealing and re-branding his content when all he asked was not to photoshop out his brandings at the bottom, trying to incite people to go after him(funnyjunk's mail to its userbase), then threatening him with lawsuit unless he pays up when he is done nothing wrong is also not something a civil society should condone. > internet vigilantes All people are doing is making some noise in their blogs and other social media outlets, and sending the lawyer mails. > I know this lawyer has done something we think is both morally wrong, legally dubious, I have a problem with both morally wrong and legally dubious. I am just a lawyer for my client shouldn't get you off the hook. I am just doing my job has got to be the most irritating and weakest excuse in the history of mankind. From where I see, the lawyer shouldn't have difficulty in comprehending funnyjunk, and not oatmeal is the one stealing ; and there is 0 sense in harassing the oatmeal over it, yet he is doing it. I don't see why the lawyer deserves my considerations. I believe there are provisions to get a lawyer debarred for frivolous law-suits, but they are difficult in practice, and take a lot of time and money. Matthew Inman happens to have the money and the following to stand up to this bullying; there isn't much a smaller web comic creator would have done. The lawyer's situation is much, much more pleasant that what theoatmeal's would have been, had he lacked the money or the resources to fight back. This lawyer, or funnyjunk, doesn't deserve my sympathy. If you think otherwise, we must agree to disagree. > I would hope that at least the mob of individuals who frequent this web site would be a little classier then both Matthew Inman ,and the internet at larges response. But while you are disagreeing, please get off your high horse.
- dkhenry 14y ago
  I totally agree I am on a high horse. Thats my point instead of being the bigger man and handling this like an adult it appears we are content to fight about it like children "Well he started it ....". Yes I know he is a bad person and did bad things, that doesn't mean we have the moral authority to phone bomb him, and hack his websites ( both of which have been called for in this thread )
  - irahul 14y ago
zem 14y ago
here's a question - why does what the funnyjunk lawyer did not count as real-life harassing of the oatmeal dude?
- danielweber 14y ago
  Maybe it should. Do two wrongs make a right? It's possible for both sides in an argument to be assholes.
  - jack-r-abbit 14y ago
    In many cases I'm willing to give a person defending themselves a little bit of a pass if they are being an asshole. Particularly if they are not more of an asshole than the asshole they are defending themselves from. And even more still if they do it in glorious fashion like he did. I mean, a picture of the dudes mom trying to get some bear love... gold! And the charity thing? Brilliant! We need more "assholes" like him, IMO.
  - emiliobumachar 14y ago
    I don't think that complaining publicly makes you responsible for how people who hear you react. Did the Oatmeal instigate the hate mail?
  - zem 14y ago
    well, he has been attacked. the question is now how to defend himself - if he goes the legal route, he has let the attacker set the terms of the engagement. instead he chose to hold his harassment up to the light of publicity.
theorique 14y ago
Anonymous can be: "none of us is as cruel as all of us" OR "aww, a box of kittens snuggling a fuzzy duckling"
Kronopath 14y ago
Because the people who fit into both of those categories make themselves a lot louder and more visible than the moderates.
wmeredith 14y ago
>>Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob ? There's a lot going on in between, but it's not news-worthy.
vacri 14y ago
Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob It doesn't, really. It's just that those are the two vocal modes - moderates and people who don't care aren't going to raise their voices to be heard about the issue.
lwat 14y ago
Sending an email voicing your disapproval is not really 'lynching' now is it?
darkarmani 14y ago
What's really worse? A bunch of emails or thousands of dollars of legal fees? Does anyone really care that this lawyer was on a receiving end of an attack that isn't part of his profession? Maybe he should keep a PR guy on retainer and pay per hour to help out his reputation.

by dkhenry 14y ago

Symmetry 14y ago

The people on the internet have more modes than that, but only the people who fall into one of those modes bother to write email.

swalsh 14y ago

I find the phenomenon of internet lynch mobs both fascinating and deeply disturbing.

Silhouette 14y ago

I would hope that at least the mob of individuals who frequent this web site would be a little classier then both Matthew Inman Matthew Inman's response to this whole sorry affair seems to be primarily that he wants to write comics and not play at being a lawyer, and he'd prefer it if people just let him get on with that and enjoy the results. Given the flagrant copyright violation of the other site involved here, and the nature of the lawyer who is chasing Inman right now, I think he's been remarkably classy. I suspect a lot of people in his position would instead have lawyered up, gone after the other site for a retirement-level scale of statutory damages, and gone after the other lawyer personally with the intent of ending his career. Frankly, I wouldn't blame them, and I almost wish Inman would do that as a matter of principle. However, I have to admire his focus on doing the work he wants to do and his choice to do something socially useful to make his point instead.

dkhenry 14y ago
I don't mean what he said I mean how he said it. The picture of the bear is petty and juvenile.
- hobin 14y ago
  ... Then perhaps you shouldn't visit the Oatmeal. His site is full of that kind of thing. Some people like it, some people don't. You're apparently in the second group. ;)
- davegauer 14y ago
  The picture of the bear is reasonable and appropriate, given the circumstances. Mature, even.
- earl 14y ago
  oh no -- don't hurt the extortionist's fee fees
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  Abusing the legal system is more than petty and juvenile, it degrades the fabric of all of civil society. It should be met with strong opposition, including petty and juvenile insults. But not real-world harassment or intimidation of course.
- engtech 14y ago
  The picture of the bear is substandard to the other work on his site. It is intentionally petty and juvenile to draw the comparison that the letter from FunnyJunk's lawyer is petty and juvenile.

pnathan 14y ago

The internet is a mass of people, in which case you will see mob psychology & mentalities arise very quickly. Mobs aren't noted for their nuanced and leisurely views on the situation.

megablast 14y ago

The armory that this lawyer has is sending out these letters, going to court, suing people. The armory that the internet dweller has harassment. Both are defending what they believe in, with the powers that they have. There is a case to be made that this legal harassment is destroying our society, and the internet dwellers are fighting against this the only way they know how.

drivebyacct2 14y ago

I hope and doubt that Internet Vigilantes who are going to be sending threatening emails are not here.

ereckers 14y ago

Lynch mobs are real things and have a real history. Lynch mobs as defined, always results in the death of a person or persons at the hands of a mob. An attorney who bit off more than he can chew and as a result received a number of nasty emails is not the victim of a lynch mob.

freehunter 14y ago
Though it could be argued that a digital lynch mob could be defined as a group who "kills" someone online. If this gets any more out of hand, how much business or reputation do you think this lawyer would have left? A digital lynch mob killed HB Gary Federal. It's happened before. ++edit++ guys, I wasn't arguing that this guy deserves reputation or has a right to do whatever he wants. I was arguing that a "lynch mob" can and does exist on the Internet. Like the parent said, lynch mobs harass and sometimes kill people. Digital equivalents to lynch mobs exist.
- ansible 14y ago
  > If this gets any more out of hand, how much business or reputation do you think this lawyer would have left? And what makes this lawyer deserve a good reputation? It was his responsibility to investigate the case, and apply his best judgement as to if FJ had any legal ground to stand on. From what is publicly known, FJ has no basis for their threat of legal action, and the situation appears so cut-n-dried that I doubt the existence of any hidden facts which could change this. The lawyer had a choice to inform his client of the legal situation. The lawyer had a choice whether or not to represent FJ. And the lawyer is now paying for the consequences.
  - freehunter 14y ago
    And what makes this lawyer deserve a good reputation? Never made this claim. That was a hypothetical situation that I used to back up my argument of "Though it could be argued that a digital lynch mob could be defined as a group who "kills" someone online."
- chc 14y ago

chc 14y ago

"Vigilantes"? People who express strong disapproval via email are vigilantes now? My goodness, back in my day that term meant something a bit stronger than vocal disagreement. So what do we now call people who engage in the sort of violent behavior that used to be called vigilantism?

jcc80 14y ago
We call them terrorists. And the rest of the world has picked up on this new vocabulary too. "Syria is at war against armed groups that choose terrorism." -Bashar al-Assad
- ericd 14y ago
  That used to mean something more specific, though...
dkhenry 14y ago
The people calling for his website to be hacked are the specific vigilantes I am speaking to.

mistercow 14y ago

>Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob ? Because the majority set of modes which fall under the broad umbrella of "general apathy" isn't very noticeable.

irahul 14y ago

> However the real life harassing of this individual is not something a civil society should condone. The real life harassing of an individual making web comics by stealing and re-branding his content when all he asked was not to photoshop out his brandings at the bottom, trying to incite people to go after him(funnyjunk's mail to its userbase), then threatening him with lawsuit unless he pays up when he is done nothing wrong is also not something a civil society should condone. > internet vigilantes All people are doing is making some noise in their blogs and other social media outlets, and sending the lawyer mails. > I know this lawyer has done something we think is both morally wrong, legally dubious, I have a problem with both morally wrong and legally dubious. I am just a lawyer for my client shouldn't get you off the hook. I am just doing my job has got to be the most irritating and weakest excuse in the history of mankind. From where I see, the lawyer shouldn't have difficulty in comprehending funnyjunk, and not oatmeal is the one stealing ; and there is 0 sense in harassing the oatmeal over it, yet he is doing it. I don't see why the lawyer deserves my considerations. I believe there are provisions to get a lawyer debarred for frivolous law-suits, but they are difficult in practice, and take a lot of time and money. Matthew Inman happens to have the money and the following to stand up to this bullying; there isn't much a smaller web comic creator would have done. The lawyer's situation is much, much more pleasant that what theoatmeal's would have been, had he lacked the money or the resources to fight back. This lawyer, or funnyjunk, doesn't deserve my sympathy. If you think otherwise, we must agree to disagree. > I would hope that at least the mob of individuals who frequent this web site would be a little classier then both Matthew Inman ,and the internet at larges response. But while you are disagreeing, please get off your high horse.

dkhenry 14y ago
I totally agree I am on a high horse. Thats my point instead of being the bigger man and handling this like an adult it appears we are content to fight about it like children "Well he started it ....". Yes I know he is a bad person and did bad things, that doesn't mean we have the moral authority to phone bomb him, and hack his websites ( both of which have been called for in this thread )
- irahul 14y ago

zem 14y ago

here's a question - why does what the funnyjunk lawyer did not count as real-life harassing of the oatmeal dude?

danielweber 14y ago
Maybe it should. Do two wrongs make a right? It's possible for both sides in an argument to be assholes.
- jack-r-abbit 14y ago
  In many cases I'm willing to give a person defending themselves a little bit of a pass if they are being an asshole. Particularly if they are not more of an asshole than the asshole they are defending themselves from. And even more still if they do it in glorious fashion like he did. I mean, a picture of the dudes mom trying to get some bear love... gold! And the charity thing? Brilliant! We need more "assholes" like him, IMO.
- emiliobumachar 14y ago
  I don't think that complaining publicly makes you responsible for how people who hear you react. Did the Oatmeal instigate the hate mail?
- zem 14y ago
  well, he has been attacked. the question is now how to defend himself - if he goes the legal route, he has let the attacker set the terms of the engagement. instead he chose to hold his harassment up to the light of publicity.

theorique 14y ago

Anonymous can be: "none of us is as cruel as all of us" OR "aww, a box of kittens snuggling a fuzzy duckling"

Kronopath 14y ago

Because the people who fit into both of those categories make themselves a lot louder and more visible than the moderates.

wmeredith 14y ago

>>Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob ? There's a lot going on in between, but it's not news-worthy.

vacri 14y ago

Why does it appear the internet only has two modes, Blind Adoration and Violent Lynch Mob It doesn't, really. It's just that those are the two vocal modes - moderates and people who don't care aren't going to raise their voices to be heard about the issue.

lwat 14y ago

Sending an email voicing your disapproval is not really 'lynching' now is it?

darkarmani 14y ago

What's really worse? A bunch of emails or thousands of dollars of legal fees? Does anyone really care that this lawyer was on a receiving end of an attack that isn't part of his profession? Maybe he should keep a PR guy on retainer and pay per hour to help out his reputation.