Week 7 - Are the Ten commanmends of Internet Communication still legit ?

Rule 9 - Don't abuse your power

 In Virginia Shea's published rules of internet etiquette, she aims to educate the public on the guidelines in the cyberspace, making it more welcoming and equitable.

 The Paradox of Intolerance

Freedom of speech is a important tenet to Democracy. However when an individual's rights to free speech triumphs over the rights of others in the case of radicalization and promoting dangerous ideas.  Some form of governance or moderator is required to protect the "greater good". The paradox comes when heavy handed policing in the name of the greater good moves society away from Democracy into Authoritarianism.  

In the context of Internet communication or Netiquette,  we examine examples where the abuse of power not only runs against the other nine commandments but restrict empathy online.

Abuse of Power by Mods

In online aggregator platforms such as Reddit, there was a notable case where a power Mod u/gallowboob who would steal and rehash content to score points or creed(Karma). While the use of bots is common and commercialized without many users knowledge, what broke the camel's back was when Gallowboob accepted money from Netflix to astroturf the platform. He misused his power as mod to shutdown criticism when long time Reddit users were banned who outed his unethical practice.

Online Radicalization and Influence Operations

Vested interest of Authoritarian governments exert soft power is through the use of subtle propaganda to sway public opinion. By infiltrating both left-wing and right-wing groups, such as opposing nuclear energy in the green parties, escalating peaceful rights groups like BLM and greenpeace, funding poor working class rural males. Disinformation tactics have turned many people against each other rather than working together for social progress.

When Mods abuse their power and sell out their values, we see violence breaking out from often from Alt-right communities and in many cases black people who shoot up schools.

Where to draw the Line

We human beings are sentient beings and complex creatures. How we define right from wrong goes beyond the "needs of the many, outweighs the few". In determining morality, outside of interpreting religious text or beliefs. I believe humility and learning from others would prevent the abuse of power making the Internet to a safe, educational and enjoyable place to take part in.



References:

http://albion.com/netiquette/

https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/sqbc3k/mods_abusing_power_much/

https://academy4sc.org/video/paradox-of-tolerance-to-tolerate-or-not-to-tolerate/

https://srinstitute.utoronto.ca/news/influx-of-right-wing-users-led-to-greater-reddit-polarization-aray6-89b8s

https://www.reddit.com/r/HailCorporate/comments/amg6kr/netflix_pays_ugallowboob_to_advertise_on_reddit/

 https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/gallowboob

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-campaign-against-moderator-awkwardtheturtle/



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