# Because you have the technology does NOT make it ok to use it, asshole. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036 "2010-06-13T19:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/21 "2010-06-13T21:05:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Well, not completely caught up. I missed the last part: I’d say libertarianism would be why we could allow it, as no person in a libertarian society has to care about anyone else. Is not the idea that, if we all look out for our own best interests, that everything would work out? The reason we aren’t mean to someone else is not because of some actual value they have as a person, but because it could hurt us. And the less likely that is (like posting an anonymous picture on a message board), the less likely that will be sufficient motivation. > > I’d say it is liberalism that allows us to band together against the person who is performing the undesirable act. Acting as a group, we have more power, and thus can stop them. > > And of course society is always a balance between what you are calling liberalism and what I’m calling libertarianism. I just wonder why the balance is where it is. My point, very simply (and I agree all this liber-XXXXXX stuff is not helpful, terminology wise) is that the more the state prohibits certain behaviour, the more it implicitly encourages all other behaviour. It cannot be any other way. There are solutions from both sides of the statist camp here, of course. One solution is less statism, and then people will act more decently - or the few who don’t will be shouted down, as in this thread. The other is more statism, and stricter privacy rules, in which case they will be gaoled. I favour the former. The latter is equally defensible. Pay your money, take your choice. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/22 "2010-06-13T21:06:47Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Because, as my title says, if your standard for what is acceptable to do is merely that it is possible to do it, then all standards and the laws that uphold them fall apart, and it becomes a matter of might makes right: > > If a man can hold a woman down and fuck her and she can’t get away, then it’s alright. > If a person can take your wallet and spend the money, then it’s ok. > If a person can break into your car and drive it away, oh well, you lose. > If a person can kill you, too bad you couldn’t stop them. > > Just because a thing CAN be done, does NOT make ok to do it! Those things are all illegal and frowned upon by everyone decent, in case you weren’t aware. But I’m willing to give you a pass on legal knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/23 "2010-06-13T21:20:20Z")
First time on People of Wal\*Mart, **Stoid**? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/24 "2010-06-13T21:21:38Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > Those things are all illegal and frowned upon by everyone decent, in case you weren’t aware. But I’m willing to give you a pass on legal knowledge. I’m pretty sure you understood my point. Brushing _ **any** _ behavior aside on the basis that people _ **CAN** _ engage in it is ludicrous, obviously. It’s a meaningless argument. “People have cameras and the internet, therefore anything goes” is as stupid and mean-spirited as the act itself. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/25 "2010-06-13T21:21:51Z")
So now we’re equating taking pictures of people to make fun of their poor life choices with murder, rape and theft? Someone needs a bit of therapy on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/26 "2010-06-13T21:22:55Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > This is, as much as I hate to say it, the Dope. You cannot mock someone for their appearance if they are overweight or conventionally unattractive without having the hounds released. > > Now, if you want to make fun of how Miley Cyrus dresses, or how ugly Taylor Swift actualy is, that’s ok. Don’t forget that you can make fun of people for not being as smart as you are. That’s not only condoned here, but celebrated. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/27 "2010-06-13T21:23:32Z")
> [@Gustav](#): > > You say **posted on the internet** like it’s the most horrible thing imaginable rather than a silly, fairly trivial thing for immature people to giggle at. Trivial is very much in the eye of the beholder. Those doing the pointing and laughing no doubt consider it trivial. Those being laughed at, likely not. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/28 "2010-06-13T21:24:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > So now we’re equating taking pictures of people to make fun of their poor life choices with murder, rape and theft? Someone needs a bit of therapy on this one. Look up the word “ludicrous”. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/29 "2010-06-13T21:24:41Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Trivial is very much in the eye of the beholder. Those doing the pointing and laughing no doubt consider it trivial. Those being laughed at, likely not. How do they even know? They’re probably too fat to use the internet. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/30 "2010-06-13T21:25:26Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Because, as my title says, if your standard for what is acceptable to do is merely that it is possible to do it, then all standards and the laws that uphold them fall apart, and it becomes a matter of might makes right: > > If a man can hold a woman down and fuck her and she can’t get away, then it’s alright. > If a person can take your wallet and spend the money, then it’s ok. > If a person can break into your car and drive it away, oh well, you lose. > If a person can kill you, too bad you couldn’t stop them. > > Just because a thing CAN be done, does NOT make ok to do it! Are you suggesting that it should be illegal to post someone’s pic on the internet w/o their permission? Because all the things you’ve listed, above, are illegal. If you are suggesting that, as a matter of etiquette, people should refrain from posting someone’s pic w/o permission, well I don’t think you’ll get much argument. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/31 "2010-06-13T21:26:47Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > How do they even know? They’re probably too fat to use the internet. How very Michael Scott of you. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/32 "2010-06-13T21:27:54Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > How very Michael Scott of you. I had to google that. For the assistance of UK dopers, she means David Brent. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/33 "2010-06-13T21:37:17Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Look up the word “ludicrous”. I think this whole thread gives me a better definition of that word than the dictionary will. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/34 "2010-06-13T21:38:51Z")
As for my original answer in this thread; There are much worse things in this world than being humiliated a little bit about how you look in public and then LEARNING FROM IT and changing how you present yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/35 "2010-06-13T21:39:00Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Don’t forget that you can make fun of people for not being as smart as you are. That’s not only condoned here, but celebrated. Just as common, if not more so, is making fun of people who are _smarter_ than we are. Ever seen a poster quote an enlightened, cogent and factual post someone else has made, and then added only a rolley-eye smiley, as if that’s all the comment required? Ignorance isn’t just an empty space in a bookshelf: it’s usually an empty space in a bookshelf trowelled-full with wormy bullshit. BTW, I like the thread title. Isn’t also the title of a large book about the history of Western Civilization over the last 500 years? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/36 "2010-06-13T21:39:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Are you suggesting that it should be illegal to post someone’s pic on the internet w/o their permission? Because all the things you’ve listed, above, are illegal. I posted those things in reference to the argument that that the fact that a thing is possible to do, we should just accept that people are going to do it. If that argument had validity, it would have to extend to everything, including the most extreme things. > [@](#): > > If you are suggesting that, as a matter of etiquette, people should refrain from posting someone’s pic w/o permission, well I don’t think you’ll get much argument. I’m suggesting B, and it’s obvious I’m getting argument. Based on the information available about the two people involved, the person photographed looking unattractive, and the person who photographed and published the unattractive looking person, I think the photographer is far more deserving of ridicule. Though I’m not a fan of ridicule directed at anyone for anything, if I have to vote, I vote we ridicule people for behavior they engage in that is directed at harming others. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/37 "2010-06-13T21:43:33Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > As for my original answer in this thread; > > There are much worse things in this world than being humiliated a little bit about how you look in public and then LEARNING FROM IT and changing how you present yourself. The arrogance contained in this statement takes my breath away. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/38 "2010-06-13T21:45:39Z")
Since you won’t tell use what the photo is, I’m going to operate under the assumption that no harm has been done to the fatty. I’m aware, of course, that this is not entirely different to the “my girlfriend won’t know what I get up to in Vegas, so no harm” school of thought, but seriously what’s your reason for thinking there’s any harm done at all? P.S. I’m aware fat people know how to use the internet. It is, after all, an invention of anglo-american academics. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/39 "2010-06-13T21:54:00Z")
Stoid, how many more threads like this will it take for you to figure out that you are not the high empress of what is and is not OK? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036/40 "2010-06-13T21:55:09Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > The arrogance contained in this statement takes my breath away. Too bad it doesn’t take your appetite away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-you-have-the-technology-does-not-make-it-ok-to-use-it-asshole/543036.md?page=3)