The 'Comment' Box

            In the first article by Matt Seitz, he talks about a specific video clip posted on YouTube that had collected some vicious comments by viewers. “Holy fuck was this gay,” wrote one commenter and the others sounded pretty much the same. Seitz makes a really good point when he states that people say things on the computer that they would never say face-to-face. This brings up the topic of how we should be representing ourselves even when no one is watching. If you are the type of person to act like a certain ‘someone’ in front of people but then go on the internet and talk differently than you would in person, you should revaluate yourself. Seitz talks about how some media outlets are looking to control what can be said in the ‘comment’ box. He shares viewpoints that agree and disagree with the idea of filtering the comments. On one hand, allowing people to write what they want without putting a name on it shows the real kind of species we are today and he actually states that the personality people have on the internet is more real than how they act when in front of others. However, Seitz shares with us that it would only take one simple step of requiring some sort of ID to filter what is said on the internet which can be hurtful and cruel. I believe he makes great points. Freedom of speech is huge and the internet is one way to vent your feelings but is the fact that you are not held accountable for what you say a good thing? And if you aren’t willing to put your name on it, are you sure you even really mean what you’re saying?

            Make Our Ugly Discourse Better: Join the Civilogue, takes a completely different look at what should be allowed on the internet. He protests that people are saying things on the internet that are ‘wrong’ and we should start something called the “Civilogues” in order to make people aware of this in a nice and polite way. I think one of the most interesting parts of this article deals with one simple comment “I allow for no exceptions, even for humor.” This is a huge step in eliminating what is on the internet. There are a lot of websites that are dedicated to making fun of stuff and creating humor out of bad situations. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If people were to go on and make comments about what people have already said, trying to prove to them that they are wrong, it will start ciaos and probably create even more ‘hate’ comments.