In campus debates over Internet freedom, students normally take the side of openness and access. This time, however, student leaders, newspaper editorials and posters on the site are fighting back - with some even asking administrators to ban JuicyCampus. It's a kind of plea to save the students, or at least their reputations, from themselves.
Is there a better way than banning? I would think that an organized campaign to convince JuicyCampus to institute a privacy policy, one that would allow individuals to have information about themselves removed, would be more likely to achieve success.
4 comments:
It's just a more organized form of cyber bullying. You can do the same thing by posting malicious gossip on your facebook wall or your myspace page. In fact my daughter is dealing with a very scary room mate who only communicates via her facebook wall-and has launched some sly threats and vicious slander in the meantime. There is no technology that will make us better people, we will be the same people with better means to do whatever it is that we do.
The problem with these sites is that there's no accountabililty for what you say. My school recently had a racist incedent, which was only exacerbated by the anonymous racist discourse that followed on the Daily Jolt. People are free to say whatever they want, even hurtful and discriminating things, but if they're too chicken sh** to put their name next to it, they really shouldn't be saying it at all.
I agree. But what's the correct way to address once these chickens *do* make their anonymous comments?
I think that once you take away the covering of anonymity, the number of snide comments on these sites will shrink. The site should require you to sign up with a valid email address in order to make a comment.
When the racist incident I mentioned earlier happened at my school, someone also started a facebook group. Since your name and picture appear right next to the comment you make on facebook, the dialogue was a lot more civil and productive.
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