How do trolls and extreme negativity affect our blog community?
I have always believed that trolls and very negative comments create a hostile environment on our blog and shut down the conversation. But now we know, according to a new study, those extremely negative comments do much more damage – actually distorting the facts presented in the article.
“The Web, it should be said, is still a marvelous place for public debate. But when it comes to reading and understanding news stories online — like this one, for example — the medium can have a surprisingly potent effect on the message. Comments from some readers, our research shows, can significantly distort what other readers think was reported in the first place.”
“But here, it’s not the content of the comments that matters. It’s the tone.
“In a study published online last month in The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, we and three colleagues report on an experiment designed to measure what one might call “the nasty effect.” …
Click here to read about the study.
“Our emerging online media landscape has created a new public forum without the traditional social norms and self-regulation that typically govern our in-person exchanges — and that medium, increasingly, shapes both what we know and what we think we know.”
What are your thoughts about this study? Do you think the comments influence how you read the article? Do you ever just read the headline and then skip to the comments?
What do you think we should do to cut the negativity and have constructive conversations online?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
60 comments Add your comment
Forgotten
March 4th, 2013
5:10 pm
What constitutes a “negative” comment? What constitutes going “off subject?”
If you are only interested in happy comments that support the current status quo without question then you are missing the point of blogs in the first place. The mainstream media is bought and paid for by the government. Only 5 major companies control virtually every media outlet in the nation and all of the heads of these corporations know that they continue to benefit from things staying the way they are, not from change (yeah, that includes Fox – and the AJC).
So if there is to be a purpose behind interactive blogs, there must be the freedom to express thoughts that go against the grain.
For instance – government is funded through theft and force.
Fiat money is legalized counterfeiting by government (and would be against the law for a private citizen to do).
Government schools are funded by theft and force, and mandatory attendance laws are in direct opposition to freedom and liberty.
The current system of government schooling was put in place by people looking to create subservient and obedient citizens that were trained to effectively meet the needs of industrial tycoons and their factories.
Forcing people to have to do business with a particular person is a violation of their property rights and their right of free association.
The war on drugs is a complete failure, has achieved none of its goals, and violates the rights of self-ownership (as does the war on prostitution).
There are very sound arguments for all these statements, made by thousands if not tens of thousands of scholars from around the world. But clearly they will rub folks the wrong way.
If you just want to go on pretending that these ideas do not exist and you don’t want to hear them, that is fine, but it significantly diminishes the conversation and ultimately just perpetuates the status quo (which we can see all around us is crumbling of its own internal failure).
The Renaissance did not happen because nobody was willing to open their minds, it happened for the very opposite reason.
Aquagirl
March 4th, 2013
5:14 pm
What constitutes going “off subject?”
I’d say about 95% of your post is a fine example of that.
Decatur Guy
March 4th, 2013
5:39 pm
“I apologized earlier today for making someone look stupid”
Aquagirl has the IQ of a carrot.
Decatur Guy
March 4th, 2013
5:40 pm
“I’d say about 95% of your post is a fine example of that.”
Aquashrill majored in pottery making. I’m sure she has no idea what 95% even means.
Decatur Guy
March 4th, 2013
5:43 pm
“I never read Jay’s blog.”
There’s not much to read. Same crap, different day. If his cult following losers aren’t attacking white people, republicans or christians, they’re talking to each other about how awesome they are on Jay’s blog. One troll in particular, getalife, admitted to being on welfare and how he “gets with women.” Jay eats it up.
I actually went to one of Jay’s “big speeches” in Little 5 Points last week and there were probably 50 people there. It was right out of a freak show.
WOW
March 4th, 2013
5:44 pm
Aquagirl = #1 AJC troll. Shouldn’t you be waiting for your welfare check?
Dunwoody Granny
March 4th, 2013
5:48 pm
IMO, Internet trolls are essentially the same as talk radio. Lots of heat but little light.
I agree with AtlantaMom that there should be no comments on news stories. My cousin lost her 19-year-old daughter in a terrible accident: the girl was hit and killed by several hit-and-run drivers. Although something like that would barely rate a couple of paragraphs here in Atlanta, it was big news in the small community out west where it happened. The local paper wrote an article, which then appeared on their website. For some reason, lots of people who HAD NO INFORMATION AT ALL about the incident began writing comments, speculating on this and that. Other commenters picked up the speculation as if it was fact. Before long the simple facts of this young woman’s sad death had become distorted by nonsense. It was very hurtful to the family. I haven’t been able to understand why people would write those things, but they did. Comments are fine on opinion pieces like this one, but there’s no reason to allow comments on the news.
sam
March 4th, 2013
7:37 pm
I think I would be questioning why such extreme negativity and pessimism. Maybe it is the way the country is being run (or failure of its being run properly) that has many completely depressed. Of course the NYT would never say this, because it would reflect badly upon Obama and his minions.
FCM
March 4th, 2013
9:31 pm
TWG you have always banned the truly nasty commentors.
At one time or another most of the regulars have disagreed with you or each other. I know that I have chewed on things said here…and sometimes changed mind abput things.
Someone mentioned it is not chay, but for many of us who have been hetre or years it has become that. I rather like being able to ask our community things.
A dissenting opinion can contribute much to a discussion. That does not make it negative.
Georgia
March 4th, 2013
10:42 pm
Look, the issue isn’t whether any of us have ever trolled up a blog or thrown a few snark grenades just to feed our inner troll, cause we have (wink). No, the issue is whether Bookman can blame us for it simply because we’re sick and perverted mutants who can’t control ourselves. Cause if Bookman can, then doesn’t that mean that social media itself is to blame? And if social media with all it’s discussion forums is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of Roberts Rules of Order? Well, you can ban me all you want, but I’m not going to sit here and watch Bookman and his crotch dogs destroy every single Rule of Parliamentary Procedure handed down to us by the founding fathers!!!