This is an entry from Schneier on the "Dog Poop Girl." You can find the links to various sites from the entry.
Social norms are niceties that make society run smoothly, but there are many places where a variance in opinion makes friction. By posting a blog with a picture for a slight transgression and forever branding the individual is ridiculous. Remember in this world of photo-phones, you could be posted as the ass of the day very easily. And the expectation of fairness or even truth on a blog just isn't there. Read the part about where people started requesting info on DPG and her relatives. Starts to sound dangerous to me.
That also leads to the topic of retaliation. If one posts a truly unreasonable blog entry that gets large levels of viewing, can you be sued? I'd guess that the answer is yes. There is no journalistic protections here. If the commentary is unreasonable or factually wanting, you are in for a libel suit. It wouldn't necessarily be about the amount of money you'd lose but just how much they can rip out of you for being unreasonable.
Oh, just a warning, don't photograph me in public. No matter the reason. I'm not a very understanding person.
Here's the basic story: A woman and her dog are riding the Seoul subways. The dog poops in the floor. The woman refuses to clean it up, despite being told to by other passangers. Someone takes a picture of her, posts it on the Internet, and she is publicly shamed -- and the story will live on the Internet forever. Then, the blogosphere debates the notion of the Internet as a social enforcement tool.The topic really comes down to the quoted discussion by Solove. Is the blogsphere a place for enforcement of social norms? I think that it can be [but probably shouldn't be]. First it must not violate the truth of the situation. Once you find a photo of the transgression, you should analyze the "digitally enhanced" finger being offered. Obviously, it was added to the photo. That's where I part company with this being appropriate.
Social norms are niceties that make society run smoothly, but there are many places where a variance in opinion makes friction. By posting a blog with a picture for a slight transgression and forever branding the individual is ridiculous. Remember in this world of photo-phones, you could be posted as the ass of the day very easily. And the expectation of fairness or even truth on a blog just isn't there. Read the part about where people started requesting info on DPG and her relatives. Starts to sound dangerous to me.
That also leads to the topic of retaliation. If one posts a truly unreasonable blog entry that gets large levels of viewing, can you be sued? I'd guess that the answer is yes. There is no journalistic protections here. If the commentary is unreasonable or factually wanting, you are in for a libel suit. It wouldn't necessarily be about the amount of money you'd lose but just how much they can rip out of you for being unreasonable.
Oh, just a warning, don't photograph me in public. No matter the reason. I'm not a very understanding person.
2 comments:
I think posting Dog Poop Girl is a wonderful idea. I hope the original didn't hide her face in any way. She wasn't ashamed to do what she did in front of all those nameless people on the subway, why should she be ashamed to have nameless people all over the world view it? What's the difference? She is, in theory, just as anonymous on the net as she was in the subway. If she is ashamed, good! But I have no sympathy for her. Maybe it will change her behavior. Maybe it will change the behavior of some of the internet viewers the next time they're contemplating doing something appalling in public. You don't want to be viewed by the public, don't do it.
Personally, given that it's South Korea and she's not likely to carry a gun, my gut reaction would be to grab a piece of paper, scoop up some poop and smear it on her. Good enough for us to walk on, good enough for her to wear. But that's just me. Actually, it's the kind of thing I can picture YOU actually doing. Whereas I would just kick myself for days afterward for not being confrontational enough to act on my thought.
And, I'd like to point out... I have pictures of you.
And they say women are the gentler side of humanity. Yeah right.
You sure you don't want to cut off a hand or something for punishment?
As to those pictures, just remember I'm watching you.
Post a Comment