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sad_winslow · 11-14-2010, 05:20 PM

Well, on one hand, there's a place for everything. Internets is not entirely srs bsns; it's a big, big place with room for everybody and then some.

I get that, and I have fun out there, too, as well as using it for serious things. I can program in a few languages, I've built database-driven web services, I've spent countless hours reading and researching things for school and pleasure, I've journalled and blogged for probably fifteen years digitally in some form or another. I've made a lot of dick jokes and trolled some folks pretty hard, too. I'm no stranger to this place is what I'm saying.

I'm not planning on avoiding the net nor do I suspect I'm in danger of becoming some sort of neo-luddite; neither do I think it's a case of "just not getting that rap music kids like these days". I'm trying to get a vantage point that's beyond that timeless fear that the young will ruin everything if they aren't just like the old. For what it's worth, I think there's probably an element in that perspective that can help that keep sort of "fuddy-duddy"ism at bay - without sacrificing maturity.

There's some crazy and funny and wildly creative stuff out there. But there's also an awful lot of noise, an awful awful lot of crowd noise.

I worry that, in all the noise, something essential will be missed. the art of meaningful communication. We can't connect with every single soul out there, it's true; and we're not going to get along with 100% of the people 100% of the time, or anything like that. We're cruel and callous and funny and all sorts of other things, good and bad. There are times when a truthful and soulful response is appropriate and times when it doesn't matter so much and "LOL DONGS" will suffice.

It's not so much that I'm interested in "doing anything about it" or stopping anybody from doing the things they do, whether I agree with their actions or not - I'm just wondering about the effects that it has on our individual minds, and on our cultures as a whole. "Culture" itself is becoming difficult for me to define, too: do I mean "digital" culture or "real world" culture? Where are the lines, exactly?
Would you put on a goofy face at someone who is upset in the grocery store(or wherever) and say or shout "YOU MAD?" to them? Would you give a dollar and a nod to a street performer playing guitar? Would you give a dollar to the developer of a piece of freeware that you use regularly? Where are those lines and why have they formed there?

I wonder about social context, too and losing reference to "the real world". People say things here that they wouldn't *dream* of saying to someone in person. Racism, sexism and just plain offensive stuff. Some of it? Funny as hell, and carrying an inherent message, often laden with an irony and/or dark humor that's pointing out some hypocrisy in culture or society. Then it gets repeated, and repeated again and again - it does the forum/blog circuit and takes on a memetic life of its own, completely free of context - and that's where the damage potentially starts. Particularly when there is a very strong youth culture there, absorbing every word. How are we affecting ourselves, either positively and negatively, with this sort of accelerated memetic evolutionary process?

11-14-2010, 05:20 PM	#14
sad_winslow Big McLargeHuge Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: california, USA Posts: 203	Well, on one hand, there's a place for everything. Internets is not entirely srs bsns; it's a big, big place with room for everybody and then some. I get that, and I have fun out there, too, as well as using it for serious things. I can program in a few languages, I've built database-driven web services, I've spent countless hours reading and researching things for school and pleasure, I've journalled and blogged for probably fifteen years digitally in some form or another. I've made a lot of dick jokes and trolled some folks pretty hard, too. I'm no stranger to this place is what I'm saying. I'm not planning on avoiding the net nor do I suspect I'm in danger of becoming some sort of neo-luddite; neither do I think it's a case of "just not getting that rap music kids like these days". I'm trying to get a vantage point that's beyond that timeless fear that the young will ruin everything if they aren't just like the old. For what it's worth, I think there's probably an element in that perspective that can help that keep sort of "fuddy-duddy"ism at bay - without sacrificing maturity. There's some crazy and funny and wildly creative stuff out there. But there's also an awful lot of noise, an awful awful lot of crowd noise. I worry that, in all the noise, something essential will be missed. the art of meaningful communication. We can't connect with every single soul out there, it's true; and we're not going to get along with 100% of the people 100% of the time, or anything like that. We're cruel and callous and funny and all sorts of other things, good and bad. There are times when a truthful and soulful response is appropriate and times when it doesn't matter so much and "LOL DONGS" will suffice. It's not so much that I'm interested in "doing anything about it" or stopping anybody from doing the things they do, whether I agree with their actions or not - I'm just wondering about the effects that it has on our individual minds, and on our cultures as a whole. "Culture" itself is becoming difficult for me to define, too: do I mean "digital" culture or "real world" culture? Where are the lines, exactly? Would you put on a goofy face at someone who is upset in the grocery store(or wherever) and say or shout "YOU MAD?" to them? Would you give a dollar and a nod to a street performer playing guitar? Would you give a dollar to the developer of a piece of freeware that you use regularly? Where are those lines and why have they formed there? I wonder about social context, too and losing reference to "the real world". People say things here that they wouldn't dream of saying to someone in person. Racism, sexism and just plain offensive stuff. Some of it? Funny as hell, and carrying an inherent message, often laden with an irony and/or dark humor that's pointing out some hypocrisy in culture or society. Then it gets repeated, and repeated again and again - it does the forum/blog circuit and takes on a memetic life of its own, completely free of context - and that's where the damage potentially starts. Particularly when there is a very strong youth culture there, absorbing every word. How are we affecting ourselves, either positively and negatively, with this sort of accelerated memetic evolutionary process?