Words on the Internet!

Ok, folks, here we go!
Lets discuss people's behavior, words, tactics, or motives, on what happens the minute we sit behind a computer or piece of technology that allow us social networking or interaction World Wide.
This may seem like a simple subject but really when we get down to the nitty/gritty of it. We may learn a lot about ourselves.
About 11 years ago, my kids introduced John & I to "the internet". Sites, you could go visit, & gather information. There was emails that you could set up on different sites. You could write letters, send attachments, & poof...within minutes it was received! There were sites you could go to and actually "chat" to people. But low & behold all these places asked you to start up an ACCOUNT with a USERNAME & PASSWORD. Our kids informed us that we didn't have to use our real names all the time. Wow! John shrugged & started using his real name. Me? I'm a little bit more adventurous, so I picked my username of Willowcreek70633. I have always had issues with my given name & very few of my adult friends know it. LOL! But for all the newness/fear surrounding the "internet" back in the day, we wanted to keep other things like physical addresses, phone numbers, # of children, private. Hell that was easy, I'm a pretty private person naturally anyways! I could be Willowcreek70633 & unless I accepted your email account as a contact..or exchanged it with you face to face. As I said, I'm adventurous, outgoing, but I'm private, guarded so to speak, more so than John. How I conducted myself on this internet that could reach the world was of utmost importance to me. Gee, if I was going to meet, write, discuss, or chat to my friends or to friends of theirs, even a passing acquaintance. I must put my best foot forward. I always have before this new technology why change? I have morals. The right & wrong of things! Yep yep yep, I have values too: integrity, respect, & honor.
Along came viruses, worms, spams, etc. So we figured out that we couldn't be all trusting & knowing on the internet. Fine, as I said I'm a little guarded. But some of these people in some of these discussion sites were "rude" "ugly" "hateful" "horrific" "pompous" they were just down right....weird...there can't be that many "goofy idiots" out there. I lived in other states, countries, I've met a lot of people in my lifetime. But some of these people were just down right "out there". Maybe it was kids/teens that were unsupervised. Maybe they were pranksters.
Our kids informed us that people make up not only their USERNAMES, but their profiles also! Its to SHOCK. The new kick of the new century! Wow!
I decided to hunker down & concentrate on my games on some sites. I left the discussing & debating & the "strange" out of my life for awhile.
Its late I know.....but what are some of your views on your 1st experiences on the internet? Where are you now? Am I hitting close to home with some of you? Or am I way off base?

I started posting because I needed something to fill the time as I was starting a business.

I don't go in for the whole social media bit. I rarely fill out profiles except with the bare minimum.

It comes off as guarded, but I think it is part of the midwest culture. Never use a sentence when a syllable will do.

I hate filling out profiles beyond basic age/gender requirements, and will only fill out as much as I absolutely have to.

Its late I know.....but what are some of your views on your 1st experiences on the internet? Where are you now? Am I hitting close to home with some of you? Or am I way off base?
Is the Internet "freeing" or "confining" for you, personally? Why?
Are you "addicted" or dependent on the Internet?

Why is there so much non/ill-information floating around? Why do you think people jump on all the "band wagons"?

Should you take responsibility to stop the garbage that is floating around? If so, why?What cause some to be who they are not? Why?
What do you do with all the "trash/hater" talkers? Does it disturb you? What are your feeling on this?

What are you views on this?

The situation on Mommyish has escalated.

Someone posted some very hateful things under my name and got me banned. This same someone (or someones) has also continued to harass me.

I wonder if I can sue the moderators at Mommyish (and the individual poster(s)) for damages, and force them to un-ban me?

I started using the internet about 12 years ago, when my kids were little. I joined the Parent Soup section of iVillage. I met a bunch of people who, a few years ago, found each other again on FB. We used to have a great time chatting on there every night. However, we did encounter some people coming in that were really rude and nasty. I think the anonymity of the internet gives people a false sense of courage....the ability to say things that you are thinking without actually having to face the person. I think it's really sad and disturbing.....manners and honor and decency seem to have gone out the window. I try to ignore most rudeness....and try to mediate where I can. I really don't like fighting....stresses me out....even when I don't know the people having the disagreement!

I'm also a very private person....for the longest time, no one on the internet (except those that know me outside the internet) had any idea what state I even live in! I fill out only the bare minimum on my profiles for the most part. And, no, I'm not addicted to the internet.....I just have to go on it every single day!!! ROFL

wmdkitty???? How does one "do" these things? Posting under someone's name? If the site isn't wmdkitty friendly, why stay & put up with mess? I understand that sometimes we all don't have filters between our brains & our mouths er...fingertips! LOL! I can be accused of that on occasion. In the long run is it worth all the bs, attitudes, or stress directed toward you? Is all this "fighting" "arguing" "self destruction" worth your time or energy? To me some sites get the "Oh, lets stay away from that. Those people are not for me." stamp. I just don't go back. Sort of like watching TV, if you don't like what you see, change the channel (its so easy now a days..press a button).
Which brings me to all this "banning" or "judging" that happens on sites. I don't get it, where someone's comments are deleted or "removed" because of what they say. Its inappropriate. Fine, then let the masses view it & make there own decisions. I don't understand that kind of censorship at all. To me its insane. If this would happen "face to face" you can't censor someone in real life, you can ignore, you can confront, you can walk away. In real life, you can't just press a button & delete a person standing in front of you making wild accusations, or comments. Yes there are people out there that do not agree, or view life in a whole different mindset. Where do the "judgement" calls come from, some pin stripped "referee"? Does all this boil down to being "PC" (Politically correct)? Are we all in High school/College again of trying to run with the mostest, bestest, crowds? LOL! Yes, I went there.
Which brings me to: Its the internet, how do you refrain from going to certain sites? Does it need "cleaning up"? There are sites out there that I wouldn't go to if you paid me. And there are probably boo coo sites that I don't even know about & probably wouldn't want to know they even exist. But they are there never the less.

Beribee....hey hon! Hope all is well with you & yours. Missed ya. Miss Sensible! How is hubby? How are you? Its been a long time! Loved your post! Thank you.
You stated: I think the anonymity of the internet gives people a false sense of courage....the ability to say things that you are thinking without actually having to face the person. That could be right. But why? I wonder why this happens, Beribee? Really, who would you rather be, or want to be, if not just you? Is it really "courage" or is it more of a "coward" thing? Are we running up against the Dr. Jeykell/Hyde personalities? Why is it exactly that people post stuff that they wouldn't let come out of their mouths given any other time?
And all the strife, stress, rudeness does get me "down". I too don't like conflict, true. There are those out there who feed on it! But the kind of conflict on the internet or what wmdkitty is talking about are "attacks" actual "frontal engagements". That's what I don't understand. Is it the "shock" syndrome?
On a personal note: To me people now a days (this century) think that they know it all, seen it all, have lived through experiences that others don't have a clue. It is shown outwardly by these people be lewd, rude, hateful, dis respectful, actions, or words, because it gives them an audience, gets them noticed & it gives them power. They think!

Willowcreek70633 wrote:wmdkitty???? How does one "do" these things? Posting under someone's name?

Well, that man you married did say he got hacked on FB the other day...

I only ever posted under my own name. There is a separation that comes with anonymity. What I do and say I must own for my words and deeds are before the world always and only under my true name.

I have the arrogance that comes from a combination of power and duty. I am open in my Heathen identity, that those who would strike out at my community feed themselves to my steel, and those who would judge my community see a face that is about as far from the beloved hippy-anarchist or prison nazitru archetypes the mainstream media seeks to dismissively pigeonhole a community that is about as mainstream in every respect save military service, where we outshine the average citizens by a wide margin.

I also have an IT department in my own Heathen Freehold that can deal with any cyber foolishness, so I am pretty close to consequence free for being an open bannerman for my community.

Well, I don't post here under my own name, but I am open as to who I am and I am willing to friend pretty much everyone on the book of the face, so...
I think that I see this name -- sacrificialgoddess -- as much my name as my real one.
I am aware that there are others out there who feel differently and see pseudonyms as license to troll, however.

Great input gang! John T, you are truly one of a kind & most appreciated. I do agree with you when you say: "What I do and say I must own for my words and deeds are before the world always and only under my true name." There is a difference between "arrogance" & knowledge. Also a difference between "power" & predator. For your duty to yourself & your community outshines all! You have served well dear sir. A lot of people don't know the difference between serve & weak.

SacrificialGoddess, LOL! Well well, I do understand my dear hubby & his FB account...he's a "throwed off" anyways...& hell we DO know him. Don't we? (shakes head, softly chuckles) He's gettin old, shhh don't tell anyone.
I do agree with you on the name taking. Willowcreek is just as much a part of me as Dee! There was a lot of thought put into that name! And yes, some people think they have licence to do or say just about anything given an alias! But my question still looms: Why? Is it a "hide" "coward" "self esteem" thingy? LOL

What I don't understand is: How do complete strangers go from bantering back & forth, to out right "attacking" of others? Yes the heat of the moment, the emotion. Understood, I have done it intentionally or unintentionally. My stump is about vicious attacks. I have been around the block so to speak a few times. I have been bitchy, sarcastic, a royal pain in the ass, on some days, I have been rude, yes even out in public. Not as of late, it takes too much energy to be an ass! But when someone points out that I have overstepped my bounds, I put myself in check. I thought that was part of taking responsibility for ones self. Silly me. Yes we all have bad days. We all have not been pleasant with some type of etiquette or tact. None of us are "Saints" every days of our lives. But the people on some sites that are completely vicious to others really do get my goat. It actually turns my stomach. I'm like Beribee on that, I actually feel ill when someone wants to "brow beat me."Or make snide comments, or continue a debate even after I have said "Its ok, to disagree." Where does it say? "You have to think, act, do, say...exactly like me, or your the enemy." come from? Is it out right hate or is it just ignorance?
Just like John T pointed out above: "What I do and say I must own for my words and deeds are before the world always.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:Its late I know.....but what are some of your views on your 1st experiences on the internet? Where are you now? Am I hitting close to home with some of you? Or am I way off base?
Is the Internet "freeing" or "confining" for you, personally? Why?

I would have to say freeing. There was a time that RL was confining. That I felt trapped and that I had no where to turn. Then I first came to the various boards. That offered the little bit of a hole that I could enlarge in my barriers. I used to think that I had two personas. The one that I showed IRL, and the one that I had on the internet. What I've found in the last few years is that that is not true. The internet allowed me to free myself. To become who I am today.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:
Are you "addicted" or dependent on the Internet?

I don't know. If I have "vacation" or am otherwise engaged where I can't get to the internet, or it would be inconvenient to do so, I don't have "withdraws", but I don't know what would happen if I could not be on the boards for a prolonged period of time.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:

Why is there so much non/ill-information floating around? Why do you think people jump on all the "band wagons"?

I think that for the most part, people are lost. They try to find whatever it is they are looking for by whatever means they have at their disposal. They seem to confuse meanness with strength, and if not corrected, will continue.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:

Should you take responsibility to stop the garbage that is floating around? If so, why?W

I don't think we can. I will oppose all the garbage I see, and can do something about, but in the end, I don't think we can take responsibility to stop it.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:What cause some to be who they are not? Why?

Probably the same thing that caused me to first state my name anonymously. There was probably a time when I could have gone either way. There is something comforting about a pseudonym. It's freeing. Some people are lost, bitter, desperate individuals, (unfortunately it seems like most people are lost, bitter, desperate individuals) and it comes out in how they express themselves under the shelter of anonymity.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:
What do you do with all the "trash/hater" talkers?

I'll oppose them when I can.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:
Does it disturb you? What are your feeling on this?

Not really. I'm not invested in their opinion of me. Now, if say, John or SG would say some of the things they did (and I'm not saying you would) it would affect me greately.

all

sacrificialgoddess wrote:Well, I don't post here under my own name, but I am open as to who I am and I am willing to friend pretty much everyone on the book of the face, so...
I think that I see this name -- sacrificialgoddess -- as much my name as my real one.
I am aware that there are others out there who feel differently and see pseudonyms as license to troll, however.

It's kind of funny, isn't it? It starts out as anonymity, but becomes as much you as your own name.

All? All? All The Good Names Were Taken! Nope this is the best Name yet!
Thank you kind sir!

Ah, a username born out of frustration. It has now become synonymous with, me.

I've even seen some imitators out there on other sites.

Alright, call me stupid, but I've been viewing some "new" members on the memberlist. And what is this with all this "spam" "selling" "lurking" stuff? Some of the posts I can't read (too long) or they are wishy washy! What I'm asking I guess is: "How do y'all know whose real & whose fake? I know, I know, I've been healing mentally & physically....& I may seem "out of touch." but...Y'all have really lost me on this site. Another question, I've noticed some of the "regulars" haven't posted since last year. Is this a slow period or are people just bored/stagnant? Or am I just "looking" in the wrong threads?.....Gettin a little antsy cause I really like this site! Don't know whats going on here.

It's slowed down a great deal and some of the old posters haven't posted in a long time. I'm sorry about that. I wish it was a busy site but that's just the way it is right now. I'm happy that you are posting again.

Willowcreek70633 wrote:Beribee....hey hon! Hope all is well with you & yours. Missed ya. Miss Sensible! How is hubby? How are you? Its been a long time! Loved your post! Thank you.
You stated: I think the anonymity of the internet gives people a false sense of courage....the ability to say things that you are thinking without actually having to face the person. That could be right. But why? I wonder why this happens, Beribee? Really, who would you rather be, or want to be, if not just you? Is it really "courage" or is it more of a "coward" thing? Are we running up against the Dr. Jeykell/Hyde personalities? Why is it exactly that people post stuff that they wouldn't let come out of their mouths given any other time?

Hey Willow! Missed you, too! Hubby is doing really well...thank you for asking! Actually, we are all doing really well.....our twin sons earned the rank of Eagle Scout this past Thursday! I'm just so proud of them! I think the internet allows people to actually say the things they are thinking. We edit ourselves continually in RL.....think about how stressful it would be to just say what you're thinking right to someone's face without editing it! I personally like to just be me, but maybe there's lots of people out there that feel confined by their real lives...who can't express themselves freely....so they take it out on the internet. I don't know....I certainly don't have the answer!

Oh my goodness! That is wonderful. Congratulations to your sons!

I think that you are right, they are saying what they are thinking. It is an eye opener to me to see how many mean unhappy people there are though who are bigots. I guess I liked thinking most people were good.

Still I remind myself that some of these people who say such terrible things are mentally ill and others are so unhappy that they lash out at other people. Sometimes it reminds me how lucky I am to have loving people in my life and to be happy myself.

I'm just disappointed in humanity, anymore. I'm no longer surprised at the amount of sheer hate and idiocy on the internet -- I expect it -- but it still makes me kinda sad.

On the internet? That crap is out there in the real world too. It's just not as easy to ignore what is on your computer screen in your home.

I still come here when I can. I don't start as many discussions as I used to, but I don't start discussions at all.

I'll try to be more productive, but am looking at the possibility of a new job, that will take more time away from the keyboard, but pay more money. I don't know what I'll end up being able to do.

Oohh! A good job? One you'll be happy doing?