I have to disagree with this characterization of GB and the snark thread. The entire reason GB exists and is still active to this day is because enough posters wanted the freedom to talk about anything they wanted, and you often can’t do that here. Want to talk about something offboard that’s SDMB related? Want to talk about previous notable posters/trainwrecks? You can’t here. Want to vent about Skald’s BS without being piled on because he’s a popular poster over here? We do all that over there because there’s no rules against it. And sometimes people do get carried away, and we’re the first ones to say “dude, not cool” when someone crosses a line, as many of us did when Morgenstern commented on Chimera’s divorce. And there’s been several times where a snark target has posted in the snark thread to defend themselves, and people are usually glad to engage with them and explain what they take issue with. It’s also not anonymous, and most of us use the same usernames in both places, so we’re not doing the whole snarkpit thing over there.
There are no coordinated attacks. Some regulars in the snark thread post over here, some don’t. I personally usually comment on something if it’s really gotten under my skin, as is the case with sexism and misogyny, which is why I’ve been so vocal about the Skald controversy and the subsequent discussion about sexism on the board. But we’re not over there prodding each other to harass this person or that person. Some of us choose to post here, some don’t, but that’s down to personal choice, not running it by the GB crew first.
If that’s the one you disagree with, I’m not really sure how to argue the issue. It certainly seems that folks over there egg each other on, and that a positive feedback loop of talking shit kicks in, and that some people whirl around that loop a few times before flying over here to put in a few kicks. Folks link to posts they find objectionable, and then folks read those links and come over en masse to respond to those posts that were linked to. None of this makes the board a better place, IMO.
Coordinated in the sense of “okay, you post first, then I’ll wait twenty minutes and post”? Sure, that doesn’t happen. But in the sense of, “Look at this fool at this link,” and then a half-dozen people come over to look and then dogpile? That sure seems to happen. Coordinated in the sense of, “Let’s socialize by talking shit about someone, and then compliment someone for going over to the Dope and saying something shitty to that person over on the Dope?” That happens too.
Note that this is a bit separate from Morgenstern’s highly personalized attacks: while he’s alone in engaging in these extremely vitriolic attacks, it appears to me that the off-board behavior contributes to his motivation.
If I did, I would not have asked. Please provide something for me, even by PM, of this conspiracy theory. Seriously, PM me if you’re not willing to post it.
What is your opinion on people spending years of their lives, making thousands of posts, generating hundreds of pages all on the single topic of mocking members here and talking ugly about them? Please enlighten me on how this is not egregiously shitty behavior? The fact that those same people are now doing yeoman service trying to spin their behavior as innocent fun is telling.
This isn’t a court of law. There is no presumption of innocence nor level of proof that has to be met. Anybody who wants can go to GB and see for themselves what that little group is all about. Edited to add: If you want to spend a few illustrative moments, search the post history of some of their key members both here and there. A majority of their posts are about other members, rather than about other topics.
I understand where you’re coming from, but as I pointed out, we’re just as likely to give each other negative feedback when it’s warranted. And there are certainly folks who poke at people who are seen as easy targets, or hide behind the more vocal posters saying essentially “Yeah! What they said!”. But I think that’s more an internet thing and not a GB thing specifically. Also, when the chips are down, Raffers are just as supportive as Dopers can be. When Broomstick’s (a fairly frequent snark target) husband passed, many people expressed their sympathy. There was even talk about starting a fund to cover funeral expenses. That doesn’t seem consistent with a group of bullies and harassers, as Raffers have been called quite a bit recently.
I’ve waited 30 minutes now. No one has sent me a PM, or in any other way, proven any sort of a conspiracy, agenda or organized effort to tag-team any individual here. This makes me think that such a thing does not happen.
I’m guessing it’s a spammer. He/she’s posted three times, two of which were one word responses, and one in the Doper picture thread posting a link to a myspace (!). I wouldn’t expect a response.
I think we need a shared definition of “bullying, stalking, and harassment.” To have somebody call you a jerk in an Internet discussion board for things you said in that thread is none of those things. Even if a few extra people are driven from another website to comment that you’re a jerk, it is none of those things.
Some people may argue that Internet is not Real Life, but many of forum regulars are Homo Interneticus – most of their social life is online. Most people like a hospitable place for their social life.
Hey thanks for the invite! I tried being a “Raffer” for about 6 months, until I had the temerity to ask why it was OK to snark on certain targets but not others.
I got piled on by people who claimed they were taking the moral high ground, and that I’m an idiot for not being able to tell which posters clearly deserved wishes that their house burnt down, and which were untouchable saints whose personal life was obviously off limits, you cretin how dare you. Sigh.
