Danielle wrote:
>My response: Perhaps it was APF? I would not be surprised as there
>are some factions on that board who enjoy hurting others and crossing
>the line on legalities.
> ...
>My response: I find that odd too, thank you for stating it! As far as
>it being embarassing to you to be a part of such a "mean- spirited
>group", if it is so embarassing, why stay? I don't understand why anyone
>would remain a part of something that is such an "embarassment" to them.
>That is really insulting to ALL the people on the FML. I know what you
>mean by "embarassing" though, I was embarassed to even read the
>alt.pets.ferrets board the few times I needed to go there. Now that
>board IS mean-spirited!
Personally, I take exception to this. I've been subscribed to
alt.pets.ferrets for some years now, although I did spend a hiatus from
it recently due to problems with getting a full internet connection, and
therefore an inability to get newsgroups at all.
While alt.pets.ferrets can be rough at times, I have yet to see it get
rough without some kind of provocation. Generally, that provocation is
intense - receiving little to no negative response until some individuals
(and these vary depending on circumstance) may 'snap' at a continued egging
on by the provoker.
Other situations, which are rare, but can happen, are people who are new
to netiquette who may be mistaken for trolls. Trolls are not accorded the
same respect on apf as most people, and unfortunately for the new person in
this situation, this can sometimes mean that someone gets burned because of
bad wording. Thankfully, those times*are* few and far between, and when
it's discovered that a mistake has been made, apologies are tendered.
A vast majority of the alt.pets.ferrets that *I* have seen, in years of
being subscribed, has been helpful, friendly, and close. People who join
apf can get into a spirited debate if they so choose, there *are* limits
on what is given and received, although those limits do tend to exceed
that of a normal moderated forum. There is a lot of 'self- moderating'
in effect on apf, although people new to the newsgroup - or newsgroups
in general - who don't realise this. If one of the normal group goes
overboard, others will tell them so. If someone seems to be in genuine
distress - even new people - the others tend to band around them in
comfort.
Of course, there are cases where people troll for responses so badly that
the long-term members of the group find it difficult to take anything they
say at face value - such as the person who has came in to apf for months at
a time, first posting 'helpful' hints with information that can easily kill
ferrets... then posting disparaging remarks about individuals, then posting
libellous remarks about specific breeders and shelters... the same person
continued on the same vein for some time, then disappeared for months at a
time, and returned only to start all over again.
When this person first started, people in the newsgroup gave them the
benefit of the doubt for almost eight months before finally giving up on
them. After this person had been gone a while, and returned again, the
people on the newsgroup gave them the benefit of the doubt once more, but
when a pattern showed itself to be establishing, they were less than
forbearing. The third time, anyone new to the newsgroup probably wouldn't
have been given a good impression, since this person was not accepted *at
all* and in fact, was warned against vociferously by many of the long-term
members.
The ones that I've seen who *have* crossed the line on legalities, as
you've so elegantly put it, have - interestingly enough - been the
trolls. Yes, some people have posted addresses and phone numbers, which I
personally don't agree with, but it's *not* illegal. Those details were
either given by the person initially, or were readily found online in a
ten second search through the online phone book. Heck, you could even
find my address and phone number online - it's on my website! If those
details were suppressed, or 'private' it would be illegal to give out those
details - unless, of course, the person themselves listed their own details
online.
I find it sad that members of the ferret community find it fit to do such
things as threatening to report Californian ferret owners to the CA DF&G;
stalking other ferret owners; calling the workplace of shelter operators
and telling their employers that the shelter operator has been arrested
for 'drugs'; stealing credit cards and using them "in support" of a shelter
so that the shelter faces potential closure, paying off a debt they never
incurred, or a potential jail term... I also find it sad that some members
of the ferret community seem fixated on other people to the point of
attempting to get them evicted from their homes, fired from their jobs,
or have their children taken from them. It's terrible that some members
of the ferret community can spread lies and innuendo about others, and
because of a respected standing in the community, they're automatically
believed, and the person they're spreading lies about is automatically
branded "bad"... What's terrible, are these are simply the cases that I
personally know of, I've heard rumours of more which I'm not even going
to go into.
[Posted in FML issue 3456]
|
