Internet-fail 2009
Apr. 13th, 2009 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swehI wonder if the last few years of 200x will become known as "the time of internet outrage". It seems that every other week there's something new happening for people to get outraged about, whether it's LJ against breastfeeding icons, Harry Potter slash, strikethrough, the open-source boob project, race-fail or the current #amazonfail...
People have always got angry about things (letter writing campaigns; Mary Whitehouse and her so-called Moral Majority; the Daily Mail crusades against whateverthefuck) but now the internet, through blogging and LJ-like tools, allows people to express their anger and for like-minded people to rally around the flag
What I find most annoying about this trend is that people are knee-jerking in support. We had a mass exodus from LJ because of previous "fails". Mass self-flagellation over race issues. Screams of censorship when communities hosting blatantly illegal content were shut down. Currently, I've seen a number of sites where the site owner has removed links to Amazon without even waiting to find out the what/why/how. Otherwise rational people are acting according to mob psychology.
I'm beginning to believe that phrases such as "foo-fail" are just a code for "time to go down the pub while people get outraged... again". Except I'm not sure my liver would survive!
People have always got angry about things (letter writing campaigns; Mary Whitehouse and her so-called Moral Majority; the Daily Mail crusades against whateverthefuck) but now the internet, through blogging and LJ-like tools, allows people to express their anger and for like-minded people to rally around the flag
What I find most annoying about this trend is that people are knee-jerking in support. We had a mass exodus from LJ because of previous "fails". Mass self-flagellation over race issues. Screams of censorship when communities hosting blatantly illegal content were shut down. Currently, I've seen a number of sites where the site owner has removed links to Amazon without even waiting to find out the what/why/how. Otherwise rational people are acting according to mob psychology.
I'm beginning to believe that phrases such as "foo-fail" are just a code for "time to go down the pub while people get outraged... again". Except I'm not sure my liver would survive!
