#comment analysis

[shadowsbeyonddivinity]

Oh my goodness. Oh my God. I am frothing at the mouth. I am perishing. I am seizing. Thrashing on the floor of my enclosure. Fallen off the rocker. Me? Bonkers. My marbles? Lost. The screws? Loose. Stability? G o n e.

My precious baby boy has been r e c o g n i z e d.

Yeeessssssssssssssss.

[anonymitygoodorbad]

I’ve referenced 4chan throughout my analysis, but have only once shown the adverse potential of the website. I mentioned that they organize attacks on Tumblr and other such “politically correct” spaces. Beyond these actions, they have created fake trends and convinced people to commit downright dangerous acts, all anonymously. 

In one instance, they convinced online users to put a plastic bag over their heads and suffocate themselves all for the sake of a charity that was not connected in any way. Not only is this cruel, it is incredibly unsafe and could harm people for a joke. 

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/plastic-bag-challenge-4chan-trolls-5839514

At another point, they were the perpetrators of the incident called Celebgate, in which anonymous users hacked into celebrity iCloud accounts and stole nude photos, then posted them on forums for everyone to see and download. The users are now being apprehended by the law, and are going to be charged once they find sufficient evidence.

Source: https://fortune.com/2015/06/10/fbi-celebgate/

They tried to prevent anyone from accessing the feminist website Femsplain on International Women’s Day, only hours after reporting their partnership with the Clinton Foundation for the “Not There” Campaign.

Source: http://observer.com/2015/03/4chan-celebrates-international-womens-day-by-taking-down-femsplain/

Even creator Chris Poole had to eventually leave the website, simply to make his life easier. He was subjected to threats and hate from the very people who used 4chan, because he wanted to comply with the law in terms of what to post.The users saw any sort of rules about their behavior made him a “sellout”. Something he started eventually went out of his control, and he thought it was better if he wasn’t in charge. 

Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/4chans-overlord-christopher-poole-reveals-why-he-walked-away-20150313

This article lists various other incidents they were a part of:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/09/25/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-4chan-the-internets-own-bogeyman/

So should we prevent this kind of online activity? It’s debatable, and entirely dependent on who you ask. Perhaps the outlet for some people is therapeutic. Maybe it stops these users from saying or doing even worse. But I think it’s apparent that the illegal and inhumane aspects are terrible and should be prevented, because all it does is encourage a culture of negativity and depravity. 

[anonymitygoodorbad]

These three images capture comments about drink recipes on three different sites: Yahoo, AllRecipe, and Care2. The social environment was welcoming and kind, completely different from the environments of political and cultural topics. This seems to imply that non-inflammatory topics avoid the negative reactions, because the discussions don’t incite as much infighting. 

Those who wish to express negative opinions don’t find these sites as easily, or find them as interesting, as they aren’t exactly debatable. Subjects about recipes and drinks do not provide the kinds of environments where users can start arguments, and are thus more honest and positive spaces. 

[anonymitygoodorbad]

These are the top comments for articles about Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, on the Vanity Fair cover. These comments follow the trend established by the previous comment post, in that they support the notion that the more anonymous the profiles provide the negative comments on an article.