''Why are so many people aggressive, rude, and hostile on the Internet? (Flaming or insulting in forums, blogs, etc.)''

we should be receptive to ideas and change Reply to this

I think you are right Mell, “Irony doesn’t travel across the internet”. Irony which of course is intimately linked to sarcasm and the fine line between its good self and wit; which can easily be lost in translation when one lacks the context of timing, tone, and expression. If I may add an anthropological perspective; the most difficult thing to learn about another culture is the humor, but once you have that down, you’re sorted (in theory).

Incidentally, I always find myself using ;-) more than I really like to leave the element of doubt hanging out there, because I often wonder that without it people may misconstrue the “ humor” or even not see it at all;-)

On the separate point of Monkeys and Spheres; I do agree somewhat with the “danger” of anonymity on the internet – or more academically, perhaps I’m afraid of the image we see looking back at us when we are able to see into people’s actions when they think they are performing them anonymously. I saw an advertisement on the television the other day about some fitness freak that spends his whole time in the gym and he said “You can judge a person by what he does when nobody else is watching”. I felt that was a pretty damning indictment - immediately thinking of the internet - since it seems nowadays every time I want to watch live sport on the internet (whilst I should be writing my thesis, I might add!) It doesn’t take long for the two “sides” to degenerate into some pretty disgusting sectarian vitriol.

I have often wondered why people talk to people on the net in ways that they would never consider talking to them face-to-face; which leads me to wonder (part of the theoretical framework for my own research is how people socially “perform” when interacting with one another) what people we meet daily really have going on inside their heads, behind the performance, or the "shackles" of face-to-face contact.

The Facebook friends/twitter thing is another phenomenon entirely; since it has exploded onto the scene so suddenly and with such force I think we are struggling to grapple with it fully as a social phenomena, and I am sure there are academics around the world from varying disciplines clambering to study it as we speak. I think the results will say something salient about who we are.

“I have never considered people I meet on the internet any differently to people I meet elsewhere. I have many friends who began as penfriends…” Anna.

I met my wife on the internet. Actually via Travelblog! (though I should add, we have met in person since we were married)

And, Anna - to your previous post about why people quite blogging, I think some of the answer to that may be discovered in the reasons people choose to start blogging in the first place.

Anyway I should get back to writing my thesis, oh and of course living my life vicariously through Charlie Sheen;-) < see!
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On the subject of Jenni Jen; she hasn't blogged herself since 2008. She attributes this to falling behind and never having the time to catch up; travel, travel, kid, travel, grad school, kid(s), travel, fieldwork, travel, grad school and kids will do that to you I guess. But come July it will just be travel, kids, travel!

Oh, and since she isn't here we'll keep the topic on topic, and on her, in saying that She (American) still doesn't fully appreciate my (British) humour, God bless us; think Ricky Gervais, Golden Globes! Reply to this

Ed, wouldn't you say that the cultural phenomenon that is the internet and the certain anonymity it engenders the individual does create more "aggressive" behavior online. Or is it that this is just a reflection of aggression in society more generally, and that people are rude and prone to arguments in real life are in fact 'out there' behaving accordingly. Or indeed that the internet provides a cathartic release to people with pent up aggression, more generally? Reply to this

Ha! I love it; envisioning you with a clipboard, "provoking" a "real life" discussion amongst a bunch of strangers to see if it might "turn out nasty"

Forget ethical approval, is that even legal;-) Reply to this

I wonder if it isn't the fact that there are many people who are aggressive on forum's, but that there are a few very vocal ones on each forum, posting most of the filth. The silent majority isn't heard much as most of us get severly turned off by the behaviour and just tend to move on and stop posting on the forums where it appears. Real life sees the same. If you would look at the news it would appear that there are a lot of bad people out there, whereas if you travel around you notice that there aren't. The bad apples always generate and get more attention. A prime example is Al Qaida which while representing only a tiny, tiny fraction of deluded individuals has managed to give a bad reputation to an entire religious group. Just a thought... Reply to this

I agree that anonymity can lend some hostility. Many of these people are probably not as hostile in real life, where such behavior can lead to getting physically hurt, sanctions, etc.

However, at the end of the day it all boils down that person's "breeding" and tendency to become argumentative even for the most unimportant reasons / topics. Then there are those who do it for the sheer delight of antagonizing someone. So, rude comments shouldn't be taken personally. The good thing about it is we can just close the browser and they no longer exist. 😊

(By the way, I previously thought that people from the site itself actually make hostile comments just to generate discussion. The more people talking, the more hits.)

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What an interesting debate 😊

I've always been an advocate of free speech and believe that we should have the freedom to say what we think and feel even if it is unpopular, as long as it is not derogatory, racist or discriminatory in any way. Each and every one of us will from time to time, find ourselves being rubbed up the wrong way by someone or other and personally, I think it is liberating to have the odd vent, something that I frequently do in my blogs!

I admit unequivocally, that I sometimes come across as being rather outspoken even to extent of being a tad abrasive, not that I deliberately intend to be inflammatory you understand, it's just my warped sense of humour. I have frequently come a cropper to misunderstandings and would second Jason's comment about 'Irony not travelling well across the Internet' which has led to me making a rather over excessive use of emoticons, the use of which seems to diffuse any comments made in a ironic or sarcastic fashion.

That said, I would surmise that there are many folks out there who are jealous of people like us and the Web gives them the perfect forum to vent their somewhat unwarranted anger anonymously.

Mind you, while I don't condone flaming, trolling or other forms of online insult, the Internet has become the bastion of many a self-obsessed, narcissist who seems to think that the Universe rotates around them. I suppose in my humility, I find this kind of self-aggrandisement to be rather vomit inducing and can certainly understand why some would choose to target these individuals in a less than amiable manner 😉 Reply to this

Studies have proven what all of you have pointed out about anonymity, irony and sarcasm being the cause of these communication issues on the internet.
My question is of a more personal level about your experiences-- when you have had an opportunity to respond to the angry individuals or seek clarity with a misunderstanding-- have they been responsive. Do they back down or continue with their hostility?

We don't mind criticism but some people are too cowardly to put an e-mail address so we can at least have a 'conversation' about what they have said.

In my limited experience this has been true. They really are not interested in engaging in a rational debate or exchange of ideas they just want to make the statement and run.

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I agree with those who say the ratio of nice and not so nice people online is similiar to that of offline.

I think, the big difference about online forum, public blog... communicaition compared with offline is how much we stand on stage. If somebody called us names and was generally insulting offline, many of us would avoid saying all but the essential in the company of that person and probably make effort to avoid them when reasonably possible. Online, we dont know what types are reading what we say. And, it is not only when we say it, that we risk bringing abuse in our direction, but for years to come. The internet keeps our opinions alive, long after our opinions mature and develop.

As well as that, we tend to tailor our offline conversation to those present. For example, we would likely not say the same things with out mother in law present, as we would alone with our partner or in a group of our friends. And, what would we remove from our communication, if we were addressing the entire offline community we live in. Reply to this