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An interesting article in Time this week. I have included the link and a portion of the article below.

 

Definitely applies to small hobby oriented sites like this community. :(

 

-Paul

 

 

How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet | TIME

 

This story is not a good idea. Not for society and certainly not for me. Because what trolls feed on is attention. And this little bit–these several thousand words–is like leaving bears a pan of baklava.

 

It would be smarter to be cautious, because the Internet’s personality has changed. Once it was a geek with lofty ideals about the free flow of information. Now, if you need help improving your upload speeds the web is eager to help with technical details, but if you tell it you’re struggling with depression it will try to goad you into killing yourself. Psychologists call this the online disinhibition effect, in which factors like anonymity, invisibility, a lack of authority and not communicating in real time strip away the mores society spent millennia building. And it’s seeping from our smartphones into every aspect of our lives.

 

The people who relish this online freedom are called trolls, a term that originally came from a fishing method online thieves use to find victims. It quickly morphed to refer to the monsters who hide in darkness and threaten people. Internet trolls have a manifesto of sorts, which states they are doing it for the “lulz,” or laughs. What trolls do for the lulz ranges from clever pranks to harassment to violent threats. There’s also doxxing–publishing personal data, such as Social Security numbers and bank accounts–and swatting, calling in an emergency to a victim’s house so the SWAT team busts in. When victims do not experience lulz, trolls tell them they have no sense of humor. Trolls are turning social media and comment boards into a giant locker room in a teen movie, with towel-snapping racial epithets and misogyny.

 

They’ve been steadily upping their game. In 2011, trolls descended on Facebook memorial pages of recently deceased users to mock their deaths. In 2012, after feminist Anita Sarkeesian started a Kickstarter campaign to fund a series of YouTube videos chronicling misogyny in video games, she received bomb threats at speaking engagements, doxxing threats, rape threats and an unwanted starring role in a video game called Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian. In June of this year, Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor of the New York Times, quit Twitter, on which he had nearly 35,000 followers, after a barrage of anti-Semitic messages. At the end of July, feminist writer Jessica Valenti said she was leaving social media after receiving a rape threat against her daughter, who is 5 years old.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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Well, I haven't seen anti-Semitic or rape threats around here, fortunately.

Besides anonymity, these phenomena are the result of forums and social media being uncurated. Pre-internet, there was always some kind of "editor" in the background to limit outrageousness.

 

In addition, the proliferarion of all types of media sites, means even so called "respectable" media is dependent today on some kind or "click bait" or the like to "get eyes" (ratings). So standards of civility have eroded, as they don't help the bottom line.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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Just wondering if we could have a "Barf On Your Fellow Forum Members" sub-forum for these sorts of threads.... (I know Chris has provided an OT forum, but no one uses it for this stuff, or much of anything.)

 

That giant flushing sound you hear is another thread going down the commode.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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This is exactly the point Chris or a appointed moderator should have stepped in, deleted the off topic attacks with a warning that this is not a sandbox or a political pulpit. We've had way to much of that here on CA

"The gullibility of audiophiles is what astonishes me the most, even after all these years. How is it possible, how did it ever happen, that they trust fairy-tale purveyors and mystic gurus more than reliable sources of scientific information?"

Peter Aczel - The Audio Critic

nomqa.webp.aa713f2bb9e304522011cdb2d2ca907d.webp  R.I.P. MQA 2014-2023: Hyped product thanks to uneducated, uncritical advocates & captured press.

 

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Hi @Sal1950 - It never hurts to use the "report" feature when you see some comments ruining a thread :~)

 

Okay, I'll take the hint. Next time a thread starts going that way, I'll report it instead of responding.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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Interesting. Much worse behavior by Bill Clinton led his admirers to admire him even more. Interesting how different sects of Americans accept deplorable behavior based on their rationalized belief systems.

 

Perhaps you haven't noticed that Chris has pruned this thread to remove posts like this...

Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby
Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley
Through the middle of my skull

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It is said man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of [moderators] to govern him?

 

It is the foundational principle of democracy. But democracy was dreamt up in an age where you knew just who was saying what and that allowed you (and everyone else) to filter and put words in context. The Internet largely deprives us of that context.

 

Nonetheless, frequent visitors here have, over time, been able to build that context about other frequent vistors in a way that allows a functioning CA community to develop. It makes it easy to ignore outbursts from those we know have them, to classify as humor posts from those who enjoy making fun, and to filter the voices of those who consistently espouse particular beliefs.

 

I wish that were true for the broader Internet, or politics or the world in general...unfortunately we increasingly live in a world where there is so much to know that the average person relies far, far more on a system of "Belief" than a system of "Knowledge."

 

Belief and Knowledge are both filters for experience. The less actual experience we have, the more we cling to belief. The more experience we have, the closer we can approach knowledge. But, in a world that drowns us with too much information, more and more of us cling to beliefs even in the face of knowledge to the contrary.

 

He who fixes that problem, fixes a problem far worse than just "trolls."

Synology NAS>i7-6700/32GB/NVIDIA QUADRO P4000 Win10>Qobuz+Tidal>Roon>HQPlayer>DSD512> Fiber Switch>Ultrarendu (NAA)>Holo Audio May KTE DAC> Bryston SP3 pre>Levinson No. 432 amps>Magnepan (MG20.1x2, CCR and MMC2x6)

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Just wondering if we could have a "Barf On Your Fellow Forum Members" sub-forum for these sorts of threads.... (I know Chris has provided an OT forum, but no one uses it for this stuff, or much of anything.)

 

That giant flushing sound you hear is another thread going down the commode.

 

Just to be clear, I did not post this as a "Barf on" anybody thread. And since it is a problem that appears to be widespread and threatening to this community, it seemed on topic to me and appropriate to post it publicly. Perhaps I was wrong.

 

You are welcome to disagree, but I do think CA is a community as well as a publication. A very diverse community tied together around our shared hobby.

 

I thought perhaps if people read the linked article, just perhaps we might think twice before posting hostile nonsense. Especially in response to posts that are neither hostile nor inflammatory, but merely take a minimum effort and a tiny amount of empathy to understand.

 

You can see a few instances of that kind of understanding in some of the posts here already, and the examples of the other end of the spectrum have been trimmed back. With just a tiny bit of restraint - hopefully not to occur here again.

 

I believe people here should feel safe to speak, unlike at other places on the net. Say the gas bag forums or at certain other publication related forums where even the merest disagreement results in insane attacks, up to and including death threats. As noted, not even the dead are safe from ridicule in some places.

 

This internet borne disease seems to have spread to a lot of our society. I suppose that freedom is a hard thing for people to handle, since along with that freedom comes the need for great individual responsibility. I would question how we engender and encourage that freedom and responsibility here.

 

Honestly? I agonized over whether or not to report the out of line personal attack that was posted here - and had decided to do so this morning when I discovered corrective action had already been taken. I would hope Tom reads this and decides to remain a part of the community. It would be a double dog shame to loose him.

 

(Typed on my iPhone. Typos courtesy of my fat fingers...)

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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Just to be clear, I did not post this as a "Barf on" anybody thread. And since it is a problem that appears to be widespread and threatening to this community, it seemed on topic to me and appropriate to post it publicly. Perhaps I was wrong.

 

You are welcome to disagree, but I do think CA is a community as well as a publication. A very diverse community tied together around our shared hobby.

 

I thought perhaps if people read the linked article, just perhaps we might think twice before posting hostile nonsense. Especially in response to posts that are neither hostile nor inflammatory, but merely take a minimum effort and a tiny amount of empathy to understand.

 

 

It was the hostile posts I was speaking of, not your original.

 

I would hope Tom reads this and decides to remain a part of the community. It would be a double dog shame to loose him.

 

 

Agreed.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Okay, I'll take the hint. Next time a thread starts going that way, I'll report it instead of responding.

 

That would be lovely :~)

 

I'll try the same, but will confess some skepticism as to whether action will be taken based on past experience here with one particular member.

 

If one has the sense that a moderator, for reasons one doesn't understand, tolerates reportable posts by a member who can quite reasonably be seen as a frequent offender, one loses motivation to report, and has to decide to ignore offensive posts, or to respond promptly.

 

Further, it seems reasonable that at some point after 1) trying for a long time to tactfully and politely respond to reportable posts from a member who exhibits 2) ongoing aggressive behavior toward numerous members, many of whom complain, 3) then receive back rather rude responses to civil attempts at intervention, and that 4) the moderator does nothing visible to this individual and only corrects the entire group that post on a thread gone bad (and this has happened repeatedly), it is then reasonable to make stronger replies to an unremitting and incalcitrant member who probably will only respond to the correction of the moderator (if that), and this corrective response is not forthcoming. And to be clear, this has unfolded over a long period of time.

 

Of course, this is just my opinion. However, if I see ongoing abusive posts by a member over a long period of time, and see no moderation of this, I'm not just going to watch it happen or try to ignore it. Doesn't matter that "it's only an audio forum".

 

It seems to me ironic that I feel challenged to write this response in a thread with trolling (and in particular political trolling) as its topic.

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I'll try the same, but will confess some skepticism as to whether action will be taken based on past experience ... [lots of good thoughts clipped for space]

 

Judging by this thread, it would seem that appropriate levels of moderation are applied on an ongoing basis. At least in cases where self-moderation fails. ;)

 

From experience, I can say that in threads where tech info is debated hard and fast, even with a lot of heat, it is much more troublesome to moderate. Instead of being seen as enforcing fair and equal rules, moderation in that kind of situation can be seen as endorsing a particular technology, product, or company.

 

Such is not the case in a thread like this, where self moderation is far more important.

 

How can we encourage that practice here?

 

 

-Paul

Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC.

Robert A. Heinlein

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From experience, I can say that in threads where tech info is debated hard and fast, even with a lot of heat, it is much more troublesome to moderate. Instead of being seen as enforcing fair and equal rules, moderation in that kind of situation can be seen as endorsing a particular technology, product, or company.

+1

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