In the not so distant past I had a stroke and let me tell you it was not fun, except for the part where I thought I was speaking English but everyone else said it was Klingon. Once I recovered I found myself in a self-imposed isolation that lasted for about six or seven years.
Concerned as my doctor was he suggested that I join the local Senior Center. Senior Center?! Why would I want to join something that was full of the people I went to high school with? I didn't like them then, why would I like them now? So I went hunting for something else.
One day, while at the CNN site, I scrolled down the page and saw a story from SI, clicked on it and found FanNation. I thought, 'Hey, this looks interesting. I like football, especially the Patriots.' So I read the story, clicked on the comments and started reading. Page after page filled with comments on every topic under the sun. It was like eavesdropping on someone else's family reunion. I wanted to be a part of it so I chose an avatar and a screen name and started to post.
At first there were some initiation rituals to get through before I was accepted into the group but I respected the pecking order and was allowed to stay.
After a while things started to change. It seemed people were logging on for the sole purpose of inciting arguements with the regulars in an effort to see, in my opinion, how many of us 'they' could get banned from FN. This effort included the formation of fraudulent accounts and misinformation that was hurtful to most of the nicest people you would want to know.
As a result of this campaign of hate, we did lose some regulars who left voluntarily because they could no longer accept the hatred that was spewing forth. Word came down from high above to cease and desist, to stop reacting to these instigators and not to discuss inflammatory topics on public pages. We agreed. This has resulted in a few of our old friends coming back.
On a recent Saturday, with plenty of time on my hands, I explored areas of FN that I hadn't before, namely the Community Page. I clicked on one comment and found myself on a Throwdown page.
I read the arguements on both sides along with the comments below. The comments seemed to go on forever until I read the most recent one and saw that the people were having a real-time conversation so I stayed and I read. What I saw was, to me at least, disturbing.
One person with a female avatar and screen name was posting a personal attack on someone with a female screen name but is, as it turns out, a male. My first reaction was a big So What? My next reaction was to check this person's profile and I did. What I found there on the profile page comments made me think, 'What is this, Middle School'?
'I wanted to be your friend but since you're not what you tell us you are I don't anymore'. and 'You've been outed, try talking your way out of this one queer'. There were other comments left about transvestites and the like but I'm sure you get the idea.
Now I'm left in a quandry. In just one short month as a FanNation member I have seen/read more hatefilled comments than I did during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War combined. Do I stay? Do I go? I don't know.
What I do know is, these personal attacks have got to stop on the entire FanNation website or it will disappear and that would be a shame. I really don't want to join the Senior Center.
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Comments (24)
Nothing says you have to read the hate comments. I don't need any more reasons for my blood pressure to rise, so I just choose to skip over them.
Red Zone | 03/16/08, 09:27 AM
Report Offensive CommentSo, you are not a Klingon? Dang it...
Greco-Roman | 03/17/08, 10:16 AM
Report Offensive CommentAll I can say is that in any large group of people, there are going to be people who don't get along. There will be people who don't play well with others, and there will be people who enjoy or thrive on belittling or insulting others. Its just a fact of life. Its no different than a corporate environment, a high school or a college. Plenty of backstabbing goes on in the workplace, there are bullies in middle schools and high schools, there are fraternities and sororities on campuses that are just older versions of the high school cliques..
No way can you get a bunch of people together in the same place at the same time and not have personality conflicts, troublemakers and bullies.
KPKahder | 03/17/08, 10:19 AM
Report Offensive CommentMs. Peasy,
The hate-filled activity you've witnessed here isn't limited to FanNation alone. Trolling and cyber-bullying have unfortunately been a prevelant part of the online subculture since the birth of bulletin boards in general. Social networking sites such as Friendster, Myspace, and Facebook have really kicked the problem into high gear however, as local personal hatreds cross over into the world-wide web, where they amplify and gain the blind support of millions of online strangers who have nothing better to do than to exacerbate situations with their own anonymous injections of venom.
People make the assumption that the anonymity of being behind an avatar gives them free reign to tear other people down with impunity, when such is not the case. Aside from forum mods and admin taking action on their respective sites, the individuals engaging in this behavior should really take into consideration how naive they are to believe there is total anonymity here. All it takes is is the wrong people to get a hold of your IP and/or email address and the rest can be unearthed from there.
People assume that e-bullying and trolling are impersonal and have little consequence other than to ruffle some feathers, but that is not always the case. There needs to be the realization that there is always the potential for real-world consequences that stem from these actions. I'm certain by now many have heard the tragic tale of the young girl who committed suicide after reading hateful messages left on her MySpace by a "boy" she had thought she befriended who turned out to be a bogus profile set up by an ex-friend's mother.
I'll admit I have been guilty of retaliatory e-bullying in the past, It's a poor and graceless habit and, for one with a short temper and hair trigger such as myself, one that's been difficult to break. Then again, there's people that just don't want to break the habit.
Homey D | 03/17/08, 12:07 PM
Report Offensive CommentThere are still good people here. Don't feel discouraged.
*hugs*
Homey D | 03/17/08, 12:21 PM
Report Offensive CommentNo way can you get a bunch of people together in the same place at the same time and not have personality conflicts, troublemakers and bullies.
KPKahder | 03/17/08, 10:19 AM
Your statements hold true even moreso because this is the Internet.
On the WWW you can have relative anonymity and do what you will with little fear of reprocussions for your actions.
It takes something very severe in order for authorities or anyone else to have any tangible, real life reaction to what you do.
So of course there are going to be people who will take potshots and revel in the joy of manipulating and insulting people.
Oso on Vacation | 03/17/08, 12:41 PM
Report Offensive CommentSo of course there are going to be people who will take potshots and revel in the joy of manipulating and insulting people.
Oso 214* BS-CB NMI | 03/17/08, 12:41 PM
You make it sound like the internet inadvertently helps people get in touch with their inner sociopath. Unfortunately, that's exactly what it does. :(
Homey D | 03/17/08, 01:08 PM
Report Offensive CommentI agree with every thing you said here, lady P. The comments preceding wrap up my thoughts on the subject. Your observation here is really just a study on the human condition.
I haven't been on Fannation long, but I find it truly fun to just cruise through and enjoy the good-natured ones, discarding the hateful ones.
The Driver | 03/17/08, 01:38 PM
Report Offensive Commentit seems that one mildly motivated idiot can wreak a bit of havoc at any given time or place.
fortunately, they seem to be easy to spot.
not so easy to ignore sometimes...
Houston Asteroids | 03/17/08, 01:38 PM
Exactly, Houston. It reminds me of a Star Trek line: "It is easier for a civilized man to assimilate into barbarism, than for a barbarian to assimilate into civility."
Or something like that.
The Driver | 03/17/08, 01:41 PM
Report Offensive Comment*i need an aspirin* good blog. i agree peasalot...
Anthony E.-The End is here.... | 03/17/08, 01:43 PM
Report Offensive CommentGood blog Lady Peasalot. I totally agree.
LoveItHateIt | 03/17/08, 02:16 PM
Report Offensive CommentI think the question that should come from this is how should one person react when he or she finds themself the target of personal attacks and other unacceptable behavoir?
Regardless of who instigates an event such as what you have outlined for us, what is an acceptable response to someone insulting or making written jabs at another?
Should a person just ignore the comments about oneself or a fellow user?
Should a person try to reason with the instigator?
Or should someone in authority be contacted?
It seems like all three of these are not viable options, as ignoring rarely extinguishes the rants, retorts and rejoinders only exacerbate the situation, and the moderators and administrators here are often overloaded with the activity of so many members.
So what can be done about situations like this where bad blood arises between two or more members?
Oso on Vacation | 03/17/08, 02:27 PM
Report Offensive CommentGood blog Lady Peas. There has always been fighting and "rivalries" between certain members, but as of late things have gotten nasty, I agree. Unfortunately, it has been the trend. Hopefully that is all it is, a trend, which will eventually give way to something else, and I hope that "something else" isn't something as disturbing as this.
I urge you to stick around. This site can be alot of fun. The longer you stay, the more you will understand.
Thugmeister | 03/17/08, 02:38 PM
Report Offensive CommentThe best way to resolve these kind of personal attacks, if you are a victim or just an observer; contact me. I will do what I can to resolve it as quick as possible. If you have any concerns, please FanMail me. If there is an immediate issue, email me: themoderator@fannation.com
I try to keep as many eyes on the site as possible, but in a growing community there are many times that something will slip by my attention. Sometimes, I need users to point me in the right direction with a simple heads up.
G.I. Joe was right, "Knowing is half the battle".
The Moderator | 03/17/08, 09:22 PM
Report Offensive CommentWell, I'll add my 2 Cents here,
I LOVE this site, I even have Raiders fans here that I enjoy talking with (looking at you Thugmeister), there really are some great sports minds here and some just good people in general.
Of course people will get angry and things will get out of hand, if you are in any way offended tell the mods, they are very good at resolving these issues.
Also in my time here I have tried to stay away from all of these issues, they come and go. In a few weeks it will all be forgotten. So I wouldn't write the site off just yet.
BSchwartz07 | 03/17/08, 09:50 PM
Report Offensive CommentG.I. Joe was right, "Knowing is half the battle".
The Moderator | 03/17/08,
and Barbie was right in saying,. "my what big pecs you have Joe"....
eh.. never mind..
lady, don't worry about it.. FN does a great job weeding out troublemakers but like I said, if you think you can get a group of people together in one place with different views, especially in sports, politics or religion, and have them all get along, then Im gonna join that senior center with ya... I might be too young but I'm betting I can beat them in scrabble !
KPKahder | 03/17/08, 09:59 PM
Report Offensive CommentYou have to stay my fair lady. Don't let the whippersnappers on here scare you off.
i B4 e: Hide and seek | 03/19/08, 05:04 PM
Report Offensive CommentI'm a little late on getting on this thread, but I'm glad I found it. I'm a middle school teacher, and I spent a lot of time this fall trying to talk to kids about the consequences of what they post on the internet. This is an environment where anybody in the world reads what you say, and the words can really never be completely erased. I try to reassure them that the internet is not evil, just often missused and my students should be smart enough to take advantage of the positive aspects of electronic culture.
Well, lo and behold, surfing the web one day I completely randomly stumble across this site and find also that one of my students was writing incredible blogs on it that made me proud to be his teacher. Shortly thereafter, I found several more of my guys on here blogging away about sports, school, and everything else in between, and the interactions were wholly and overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.
In short, this site managed to remind me of the good things the net is capable of by allowing me to see the brilliance of my students in an environment where they don't need to worry about grades. Don't let a few bad apples ruin an otherwise incredible bunch.
Where Are You Conine? | 04/12/08, 11:45 AM
Report Offensive CommentGood blog Lady,this was a good way to get down to the point.
"Cincy" hurts less | 04/25/08, 08:33 PM
Report Offensive Comment"non carborundum illegitimati!" (dont let the **** get you down!)..........
privateer | 05/04/08, 10:31 AM
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