Full Circle Associates

Yesterday I started linking to some articles that think about how we deal with things that bother us online - people and conditions that are problemmatic in online interactions. Here's another one.

Amy Gahran, whose writing I enjoy, has another take on dealing with difficulties in online interactions. She takes a stronger language position -- or should that be LABEL position, which invoked many comments on her blog. Again, I think a lot of the issues Amy raises are right on, but the negative labeling reverberates in a way that may cloud the issues. Here are some snippets from Handling Porcupines, Trolls, and Other Online Vermin. I love the first line. Amen, sistah!

Contrary to popular opinion, the internet is not really about technology. It’s about people, specifically how people communicate.

Despite the best efforts of evolution and civilization, human beings still have a lot of rough edges – individually and collectively. We annoy, denigrate, and dismiss each other all the time. Sometimes this is intentional, often it is not.

The plain text which comprises most online communication makes our rough edges hard to miss. It strips away many of the subtle buffers and safeguards we’ve created to minimize the inherent emotional and psychological risks of communication. Also, online media presents a deeply weird juxtaposition of isolation and connectedness, anonymity and identity, parts and whole. In this baffling environment people can be unbelievably brash and vulnerable at the same time.

In this realm, the vermin of communication thrive. Recognizing them, and choosing to react appropriately, is the key to avoiding their damage…
(snip)

MAJOR TYPES OF ONLINE VERMIN:

• Porcupines: People who seem unable to write a sentence that lacks a barb. There’s a rude, condescending, dismissive, or insulting edge to nearly everything they say. Often these barbs are thinly disguised as humor, or as hyper-rationality. Believe it or not, most porcupines are not aware of how irritating or hurtful they can be...(snip)
  
• Trolls: These vermin want to provoke a reaction. They bait in order to get you to snap back, thus granting them perceived license to attack even more fiercely. They will set out to stir up conflict and push people’s emotional buttons....They think they look insightful and strong when they tear others down, but the effect is more like watching a tantrum.
  
• Zealots: These people confuse their opinions and perspectives with “the ultimate truth.” They can’t function well without clearly marked boundaries... Zealots are more comfortable with crusades than conversation.
  
• Skewers: These people routinely skew the words, actions, perspectives, or opinions of others. They believe that they know you better than you know yourself, so they’re better-equipped to explain who you are and what you’re doing. This misrepresentation usually indicates a lack of understanding. Sometimes that comes from a simple lack of information – but other times it demonstrates a profound inability or unwillingness to listen or understand. (snip)
  
• Leeches: Online media promotes a culture of sharing. However, some people approach the internet with an exagerrated sense of entitlement. If you share your knowledge or resources by answering one question or helping solve one problem, leeches slither close and expect you to answer every question and help solve every problem. They assume, they wheedle, they nag. (snip)
  
• Burns: These people take everything personally, in a negative way. Any contact is risky. (snip)

“Vermin” labels apply to behaviors, not to people. It’s an important distinction. When you encounter online vermin, don’t assume that their vermin-like qualities represent who they are. When people act like online vermin, that’s merely how they’re behaving at that time, in that situation. Don’t exaggerate these unpleasant encounters by overpersonalizing them.

From my perspective, there is a huge set of people who may be perceived as "vermin" from one perspective, and as important parts of the online ecosystem from another. I'd like to pick out the gems here, and leave the vermin terminology behind.