Slapfights, on the theory of.

[leahbobet]

Y'know, I think I've located the glitch in our metaphor system; the semantic breakdown:

The internet is not a battlefield, upon which a war is fought. Against an enemy. Who requires no-holds-barred force.
The internet is not your house, which needs to be defended. From, again, some implied faceless mob of attackers.
The internet is not a square mile of territory which one can be driven off.
The internet is not a community which one can be ostracised from.
You cannot win the internet.

When you stop looking at it in those terms? You'd be surprised how unnecessary it all becomes.

Comments

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

*g*

If anything, it's a stage with a bunch of bit players fighting to get into the spotlight.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I dunno. This sounds a lot more dismissive than I mean it, but that implies anyone's watching. :p

[pnkrokhockeymom.livejournal.com]

I think that's quite sensible, what you've said there. You can see the grains of that sort of thinking in quite a bit of it, actually. Also, replace internet with "fandom" and many of them work too! (And I'm sure someone would say, "Well you can be ostracized from fandom"--but "fandom" is a pretty big, pretty broad community).

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that substitution works out much the same way. Fandom...well, there are parts of fandom that wouldn't recognize each other as the same thing.

[wldhrsjen3.livejournal.com]

:D Yes! I wish this could pop up any time you log onto any social networking / community / public board space on the internet. :D

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Well, that or a giant neon blinking red scroll that said don't be an asshole. *g*

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

[abidemi.livejournal.com]

*scratches head*

But I could've sworn I've seen people win the Internet (http://qwantz.livejournal.com/104142.html) plenty of times.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting link, but I'm not sure what this has to do with the conversation at hand.

When I have to explain jokes, that means they are bad, and I apologize

[abidemi.livejournal.com]

...That it won the Internet?

As in: Game Over, Please Insert Coin?

Re: When I have to explain jokes, that means they are bad, and I apologize

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I understand the joke just fine, it just seems to have very little to do with what we're talking about.

Re: When I have to explain jokes, that means they are bad, and I apologize

[abidemi.livejournal.com]

Never mind, I fail at communication.

[lenora-rose.livejournal.com]

This.

[squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com]

Also: you cannot get PTSD from internet, because arguing with people on the internet is not the same thing as being shot at.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Does this mean I have to default to blaming my parents?

[tithenai.livejournal.com]

*giggleFIT*

I really wish people would remember what the word "discussion" means, and consequently, what it entails. Like, you know. Disagreement.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And also that di- prefix, with means both ways.

[pnkrokhockeymom.livejournal.com]

Yes!!!!

[ktempest.livejournal.com]

I dunno, man, I am totally traumatized right now. I'll just be walking down the street and suddenly hear someone use the word "orc" and have complete and realistic FLASHBACKS OF DOOM. *sniffle*

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Hey, there -- long time no see 'round these parts. :)

[ktempest.livejournal.com]

I'm just here for the snark.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

That's unfortunate.

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd actually started thinking along these lines over the last few weeks without actually putting my finger on what I was thinking. Thanks for doing it for me. :)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Hee. No problem. :)

[beth-bernobich.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this post.

[kathrync.livejournal.com]

The Internet is the place to get your fair share of abuse.

(Soundtrack: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones.)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I think it's anything you want it to be and everything you expect, in that paradoxical way a thing can be. Mostly because your choice of metaphor dictates your choice of people you hang out with and venues you inhabit, and the rest just falls out from there.

[deakat]

I first read that as fails out from there, which is, sadly, often the case if you make the wrong choices.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I am starting to deeply dislike the whole win! fail! thing. It presumes an arbiter, and it's flippant besides.

[deakat]

It works for me in some contexts, but when applied as a judgment on matters of weight, it usually emphasizes the polarization of viewpoints in a most disrespectful and unhelpful fashion, further obstructing the discussion.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, agreed. It's snark, and...well, that doesn't seem to get people too far anywhere.