4 ms·
online games aren’t the problem imo, it’s disposable identities and ~zero repercussions for bad actors.
by hipadev23 2y ago
online games aren’t the problem imo, it’s disposable identities and ~zero repercussions for bad actors.
- portaouflop 2y agoThe remedy is far worse than the problem
- hipadev23 2y agoYeah I don't know how you preserve much-needed anonymity, while also binding humans to their personas and holding them accountable for their actions.
- mrguyorama 2y agoWhy do you believe anonymity is "much-needed"? Human society was built for tens of thousands of years on "stay away from Ben because he has a bad habit of not paying back what you loan him" Anonymity is new and probably not something the human brain, which isn't meant to handle more than a few hundred familiar faces, can manage reasonably. If you want anonymity 200 years ago, you had to print your own pamphlets and hand them out on the corner in a costume and hope nobody recognized you. Then you would go to church on sunday where the entire community would gossip about everyone's "sins" after the service. Human history was radically more transparent about who was doing what, and who was saying what. Nobody standing on a sop-box ever wore a mask, and while most used pseudonyms or pen names, there were only so many printing presses in the colonies, but that didn't stop the American rebels from spreading their claims.
- growse 2y agoThe need for anonymity is in the face of enormously concentrated organised mass surveillance and power. So, yes, it's relatively new. But it's not the only thing that's new.
- teddyh 2y agoAnonymity is, in fact, quite crucial to a surprisingly wide range of people: <https://geekfeminism.fandom.com/wiki/Who_is_harmed_by_a_%22Real_Names%22_policy%3F https://geekfeminism.fandom.com/wiki/Who_is_harmed_by_a_%22R...>
- Manuel_D 2y agoThat page doesn't make a very compelling argument. Yes, bullying and harassment without an anonymous identity is potentially more damaging. But nowhere does it seem to consider that many of the bullies and harassers would only dare do so with an anonymous identity. Which has the better culture? 4chan, or professional settings and churches? Non-anonymous settings almost universally have better culture because people's behavior has an impact on their social standing in their community.
- portaouflop 2y agoHow do you define “better culture”? I wouldn’t say you can compare churches and 4chan - one is an online activity with millions of people around the world joining; the other is a highly intimate affair conducted in a small community.
- Manuel_D 2y agoExactly: the fact that people aren't anonymous and their behavior affects their standing in the community is a big part of why anti-social behavior isn't nearly as common as in anonymous spaces.
- teddyh 2y ago> But nowhere does it seem to consider that many of the bullies and harassers would only dare do so with an anonymous identity. Have you seen Facebook? Anonymity does not, in any way, preclude horrible behavior and harassment. Also, reducing the problem to “bullying and harassment” is frankly laughable, and gives rise to the suspicion that you at most only skimmed the page.