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This attitude still annoys me. Yes, there were a couple of users that may have jumped to conclusions - but so what. Overall, the Boston Bombing coverage throu
by l33tbro 13y ago
This attitude still annoys me. Yes, there were a couple of users that may have jumped to conclusions - but so what. Overall, the Boston Bombing coverage through Reddit was an amazing, breakthrough experience in the realm of how we can experience a media event. It represented the first time people could experience the combination of a) freely available police radio signal b) satellite imagery c) a mass man-hunt - which resulted in an incredible, absolutely breakthtaking and adreniline inducing media experience. The mainstream media? Hours upon hours behind what we were experiencing. Now - that is now being repeated - to a lesser degree - with flight 370. It's a shame that a few trolls have obscured this event for what it was. So please don't tarnish all Reddit users with the title of "Reddit". Isn't that just the same as talking about "all those Muslims", or, conversely, the jihadist talking about "America"?
- bhrgunatha 13y agoWhile I agree with you, I think it's important to note that part of the difference ni the experience is that anyone can post whatever they like in a forum thread, leading to trolling and worse. Not everyone has the ability to broadcast news from a news outlet, and certainly the more reputable ones, which are hours behind, are behind because they also have habits from more traditional journalism, things like fact checking and avoiding pure speculation. > Yes, there were a couple of users that may have jumped to conclusions - but so what You cannot seriously be blind to the implications or consequences can you?
- svenkatesh 13y ago>You cannot seriously be blind to the implications or consequences can you? There seems to be a serious lack of empathy on the parts of many of the users on HN who are commenting. They're forgetting that Sunil was a person, and that he had family and friends. They're forgetting that baseless accusations actually hurt others.
- l33tbro 13y agoSure - while the sense of responsibility within the fourth estate has diluted with 24/7 news cycle - I agree that the buffer to reporting news (after fact-checking) remains important. I'm simply highlighting that the last 5 years has birthed exciting new means of experiencing mass events. Re: "so what" - well ... do I get upset a few about racist/homophobic Youtube commentors? No, because I know that by engaging in this platform (and the whole interent FTM) I am going to be exposed to a raft of idiots/trolls who carelessly ruin lives. That is simply the rules of engagement on the internet, so I thicken my hide and continue on. So I'm not blind to the consequences, as you put it - I just accept that I cannot control the actions of a speculative, idiot minority that trolled that missing kid.
- nicpottier 13y agoI think you vastly overestimate Reddit's influence there, it might be the largest ever, but certainly not the first. I still remember the /. threads during 9/11, now that felt like the first time that an internet forum really reacted in mass to an event. (queue someone "get off my lawn" comment about BBS's and Kennedy or something)
- l33tbro 13y agoThey're not really comparable events. I'm old enough to have been around for both - and Boston was a far more immersive online expercience. 2001 we didn't have Streetview and u-stream. Also, 9/11 was not a man-hunt. My online memories of 9/11 only recall speculation about the sky falling in - after the fact. What made Boston special (sic) was that it was in real-time - and you were effectively on the ground with the five-0 in that locked down suburb.
- haukilup 13y agoI agree with most of your points, but saying it was only a couple of users that may have jumped to conclusions is a gross understatement.