Does the anonymity of social networks allow rudeness

i just read a few topics on the message board, and i see that people are very blunt with their comments, one girl was clearly upset by comments and wanted people to stop commenting, and people were acting rude, border line harrasment. now many say if she didnt want comments she shouldnt have posted, but is a post an invitation to harrasment, and is her comment "stop commenting" not a closure to that invitation. And is she to be held accountable for everyones word vomit.
i can bet if it was face to face communication most of the same people would not have made the comments they did, the word coward comes to mind. i would equate it to road rage, the polite, upstanding looking guy yelling out xyz, is only doing it because he can drive away in a flash, not face consequences and he will forever remain anonymous.

Being miserable and treating other people like dirt is every MFP members God-given right. (yay Ghostbusters quote) Especially when they deserve it! like most people do! its called a reality check.. no storybook....candy coated...lets use lube ... easy does it time when someone is being dumb! Do your research and maybe you wont have to sound stupid and be told about it!

i'll just answer the thread's question: yes. i don't abide by rudeness, but i can tell you that a lot of people "hide behind their keyboards" and fire away the insults or snarky remarks that many of them wouldn't try in person. that's not to say that there aren't people who would be the same way in person or that everyone is like this. au contraire, lots of nice people exist on the internet who are as nice or nicer in person. but i definitely believe that the anonymity factor allows people to behave differently.

I dont act differently anywhere. Hiding behind a computer or face to face.. I will say whatever i feel like.. whenever i feel like! If you dont your just a fake!

I am the same in real life as I am on the internet. Nice for the most part, but I have no patience for stupidity and if someone is being a b*tch, I will be a bigger b*tch.

That being said, if someone called me a name on the internet I would forget it within a minute, but in real life it might actually hurt my feelings.

this.

The OP does have a point. In real life I would never walk up to you and say I sure wish I was that camel. But on here,

i just read a few topics on the message board, and i see that people are very blunt with their comments, one girl was clearly upset by comments and wanted people to stop commenting, and people were acting rude, border line harrasment. now many say if she didnt want comments she shouldnt have posted, but is a post an invitation to harrasment, and is her comment "stop commenting" not a closure to that invitation. And is she to be held accountable for everyones word vomit.
i can bet if it was face to face communication most of the same people would not have made the comments they did, the word coward comes to mind. i would equate it to road rage, the polite, upstanding looking guy yelling out xyz, is only doing it because he can drive away in a flash, not face consequences and he will forever remain anonymous.

I am me here, there, and every where. If I were hiding behind a computer screen I'd put someone else's mug up as my avatar or nothing at all and leave it as the mfp default blue man.

Through the safety and anonymity of a keyboard, I have met some tough, rough and tumble people.
Such puny ones are to be pitied. I look at people who act out as pathetic losers who are crying for help.
Think of it this way.
We can ignore a troll. They can't ignore themselves, and they have to live with their misery day after anguished day.
And the worse thing you can do is NOT RESPOND!
To ignore a troll is absolutely the most damaging thing you can do, because they crave reaction.
It's the ONLY time they get in life to feel important.

People can say whatever they want these days wether its online or in person. We live in a society now the nerds are the bullies because we can punch them in the face anymore. It sucks and I miss the old days. You wouldn't believe how many times some stupid nerds or hipsters would just walk up to me and say something rude or attack me about what im eating or drinking.. The women back home would just walk up to strangers and say "ugh, you are so fat and not pleasing to the eye, go back to your cave and eat yourself to death." I had a dude come up to me the other day and said "ugh, why do put that poison in your body?" I told him if he didn't leave me alone that I would shove my beer bottle up his hipster *kitten*. People need to respect others and stop being rude because one day they will get hurt. You just cant keep attacking others and get away with it.

People can say whatever they want these days wether its online or in person. We live in a society now the nerds are the bullies because we can punch them in the face anymore. It sucks and I miss the old days. You wouldn't believe how many times some stupid nerds or hipsters would just walk up to me and say something rude or attack me about what im eating or drinking.. The women back home would just walk up to strangers and say "ugh, you are so fat and not pleasing to the eye, go back to your cave and eat yourself to death." I had a dude come up to me the other day and said "ugh, why do put that poison in your body?" I told him if he didn't leave me alone that I would shove my beer bottle up his hipster *kitten*. People need to respect others and stop being rude because one day they will get hurt. You just cant keep attacking others and get away with it.

I'm all for free speech, but this desire to judge others is getting annoying.
Hipsters = over-inflated ego

absolutely. A person can express what they are truly thinking without having to deal with any consequences. People will post things they would never say in person or on the phone. Think about it. You are at a restaurant and get crappy service. Some people (myself included) would politely complain to the manager about the level of service and hopefully arrange some sort of compromise/compensation. Others will pay the bill, short them on a tip, and leave a nasty review online. Just my opinion.

Couldn't agree more. Lots of people hide behind their screens and keyboards and say things that they would never ever have the guts to say in 'real life'. Think its a bit sad really

What are you a jerk?

Do you know what else is cowardly? Creating new accounts for the purpose of using said internet anonymity so that you can call others out.

Well that would just be weird and pathetic. Why would anyone do that?

I'm slowly learning I should be polite on the internet... interacting as if I were face to face with a person.. I'm not good at it yet, but getting better. but i still tend to be radically sarcastic

The problem with sarcasm in text is that it doesn't tend to translate perfectly. Without the inflection in your voice (which you hear in your own head when you think it, but they can't hear in the words when they read them) or facial expression cues, it's very hard for the person on the other end to detect sarcasm. You have to make it painfully obvious, and even then it sometimes falls flat.

I can only hope that when I said the FLOTUS was practicing hoodoo in the nuclear bunker built under the white house, NO ONE would take me seriously...without emoticons

Safety of any kind gives some people the feeling of power and thus they will abuse it. A perfect example of what this false power does on the internet is the site 4chan with their random or /b/ board. People spanning from teens to adults sit in there and will make racist, sexist, offensive remarks and demand gore, porn, pedophelia-related material and various other things that would make normal people retch. Offline, many of them are those people that would retch. Online, you can be whoever you want to and act out just about anything and then log off and basically be a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde case.

I'll even admit to being a little more eager to mouth off in anger via the internet sometimes, and it's gotten me in trouble, than if I were in a group of people at, say, a party. Doesn't mean I'm a cruel, bitter person all the time, I just have quirks that are easier fed through a keyboard and screen. That's the majority of the people who rally to hurt others or just be generally offensive. The people that are like that no matter what are honestly in the minority.

The other problem is, people tend to be a lot more sensitive, especially with certain subjects, on the internet and when you're putting subjects like your relationship, your personal problems, your medical problems or certain family members or friends and you're entrusting the answer or just advice to a complete stranger, you just opened a wormhole for them. You've invited the trolls, the highly opinionated people, those who don't even bother reading your problem and giving ultimatums, and hundreds of other views that basically can range from "oh you can fix this" to "you're screwed". And really that's your own stupidity. If it's that sensitive, you need to consult a friend, family member, or therapist instead of having strangers give you advice from only your side and then go apesh*t because you didn't get the reply you wanted or you got offended. Yes some, many, people online can be supportive but they're outnumbered.

People can say whatever they want these days wether its online or in person. We live in a society now the nerds are the bullies because we can punch them in the face anymore. It sucks and I miss the old days. You wouldn't believe how many times some stupid nerds or hipsters would just walk up to me and say something rude or attack me about what im eating or drinking.. The women back home would just walk up to strangers and say "ugh, you are so fat and not pleasing to the eye, go back to your cave and eat yourself to death." I had a dude come up to me the other day and said "ugh, why do put that poison in your body?" I told him if he didn't leave me alone that I would shove my beer bottle up his hipster *kitten*. People need to respect others and stop being rude because one day they will get hurt. You just cant keep attacking others and get away with it.

I'm all for free speech, but this desire to judge others is getting annoying.
Hipsters = over-inflated ego

I agree hipsters have an over inflated ego and so does the prissy kim kardashian wannabes. I would never go up to strangers and say stupid ad insulting things to them. Im all for free speech but there has to be respect for other people who are not like you. I drink beer, eat bacon, and shop at Walmart and ill never change. What makes the world great is that everyone is different, this whole lets try to make everyone the same is bs. I live in Austin, I see it everyday. To be honest, it scares me, ive been to jail before and dont want to go again because of these mouthy hipsters or prissy insecure women. Leave people alone and mind your business. On here, there are so many people who work hard to get results and are going through tough times and needs encouragement, not insults and negative feedback. Those insecure people need to grow up and concentrate on their lives and not everyone else's.

Do you know what else is cowardly? Creating new accounts for the purpose of using said internet anonymity so that you can call others out.

Well that would just be weird and pathetic. Why would anyone do that?

I've actually had a guy do that to me on another forum. He and I didn't get along because we had two differing opinions and to him, everyone that disagreed with him was a stupid troll to be laughed at and made fun of. I ended up blocking his account because I have a weakness for interjecting and correcting people depending on the subject and he was basically taking hours of my time because I kept replying. He made another account with a rude name and started quoting everything I said (on this said, when you're quoted you're notified by email so my inbox was getting flooded) and I blocked him again. He made another account, same thing and basically was calling me a coward and how stupid I must be to be childish and block him instead of responding like an adult.

The sad thing was, I ended up getting banned for a month after I reported him because the moderator said I was asking for it. I just learned to stay away from the section of the forums he trolled.