Vindictiveness
12/10/2004
Anil Dash is talking about "blogger-mobs" at the moment and how there is a sense of vindictiveness in the blog-sphere and the internet as a whole and it's made me think. Yes, there is a nasty intolerant culture growing up on the internet. I see it in WD1 all the time, worse I'm an active participant in it. We owe to the net and its future to be tolerant and helpful people. One of the nastiest words on the net is "No0bs" (or newbies, n00bs, nubes, nubies etc) it's said in anger and has come to be associated with stupidity. BUT it shouldn't be, what's wrong with being new? Nothing. Who hasn't been new at something? No one. I remember when I was new to web design and I had a really rough ride at the hands of those who are now my peers. I survived to become a member of this odd community called the "www" but it was a pretty close run thing, I could easily have given up and done something else. What concerns me is that the treatment I see dished out (and to my shame have helped dish out) is worse than what I went through. We may well be alienating (or at the least disillusioning) the next generation of Zeldman's and Meyer's. At best the next generation in our communities will be bitter and cynical and at worst they won't be there at all. Yes I understand that there are people out there who are ignorant and stupid and that it's these people that have conditioned our responses; that in our own defence we have become nastier to those we speak to on the web. But surely it would be to our credit if we dealt with these people with restraint? Maybe we'd even find that some of those who aggravate us aren't quite as bad as we believed? I guess all I'm saying in the end is that it would be a good thing for our various communities and sites if we were more understanding and tolerant in the ways we conduct ourselves. Basically let's blog unto others as we would have blogged unto ourselves. :p
Mad

Back to the main blog

Have your say

Name *

Comment *

Email *

URL

Add comment