In the news today

[Yukimura]

The end of trolling in America????

I would love to see this bill enacted just for the lulz of the potential situation where a person gets trolled, then they troll back using the threat of the law and then both end up getting thrown in jail for trolling each other. But realistically, this is a crazy idea, as much as I dislike trolling behavior if you can't accept that people might make it their business to screw with you online as much as possible then don't go where they are online or convince someone with some clout to get rid of them, don't go running to Uncle Sam.

I would probably be guilty of this law on multiple counts for some of the things I've said on IRC and I consider myself one of the nicer members of the channels I frequent. Just imagine trying to enforce this law on a place like 4chan.

[Kraco]

That would be a crazy law. It won't probably pass. A law that could suddenly make millions of ordinary people criminals isn't a very wise one in any case, not to mention impossible to enforce.

[Nadouku]

It's too unrealistic, alright. Even if it did pass, it's just impossible to enforce it.

[Yukimura]

I don't see what's so unenforceable about this. It's fairly vague as to what would constitute a violation thus any conviction would essentially come down to a roll of the jury selection dice. As for finding people to prosecute they found the mom who created the fake myspace account which lead to the Meier girl killing herself. If this law was on the books they could charge that mother criminally under it instead of trying to use the nonsensical violation of MySpace ToS argument that they are/were trying to get her under. At the same time, anyone could log negative internet conversations directed towards them, get someone to diagnose them as mentally disturbed and then have the owner of the account which originated the negative comments sent to jail.

Plenty of stupid pieces of legislation have been passed because the politicians voting on them didn't know or didn't care about the effect such legislation might have on people due to the affected people not being considered important voting blocks. It is my belief that despite the success of President Obama's internet campaigning the internet demographic is still not taken particularly seriously by politicians.

[Nadouku]

Well, this law would potentially "jail" so much people that the system can't even handle it and would also depend on the case on how they even interpret trolling, like the article states. It's just how life goes: someone trolls you, you get emotions, and you deal with it. If you win, then you move on. If you lose, then it ends there.

[Ryllharu]

This woman was a bitch, she deserved every single nasty remark pointed at her, but putting her in jail for something stupid like this is a violation of every freedom that we stand for in this country. When you can't make nasty remarks over the internet, you can't make nasty remarks to someone's face. When you can't make nasty remarks to someone's face, you can't make disparaging remarks about those who govern you. When you can't do that, you are powerless before them.

Megan Meier had mental issues. It's a tragedy that her parents never noticed it, and that she never talked to them about it. There wasn't anything that woman did that pushed her over the brink that wouldn't have happened sooner or later if Lori Drew hadn't done anything at all. The girl needed help, no one gave it to her.

This is a law that will only be used (read: abused) by those with enough power or wealth to have it enforced. A modern lettres de cachet.


The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

She's a bitch, and a childish one at that, but she's not a criminal.

We've already got one nanny state across the pond, we don't need to follow their example. People here need to start sucking it up. People are mean, life is harsh, school is not meant to be easy. Grow up.

[XanBcoo]

Megan Meier had mental issues. It's a tragedy that her parents never noticed it, and that she never talked to them about it. There wasn't anything that woman did that pushed her over the brink that wouldn't have happened sooner or later if Lori Drew hadn't done anything at all.

Oh my dear Lord, I didn't even read the article. Are they really citing Megan Meier's case as a cause for this law?? That depressed little so and so killed herself because she was a nutcase, not because she was "trolled."

Like you said, she had psychological issues before, but her parents actually were aware of that fact, and did nothing more to prevent her from using myspace except saying "don't go on myspace."

You're absolutely right. She would have offed herself anyway.

[Ryllharu]

Are they really citing Megan Meier's case as a cause for this law?

Worse yet.

It's named after her.
"HR 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act"

[bagandscalpel]

It's named after her.
"HR 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act"

Could this possibly be the pinnacle of "trolls trolling trolls?"

I really want to believe that people aren't so obtuse.

[Death BOO Z]

I really want to believe that people aren't so obtuse.

I don't know yet what obtuse means, but whenever a sentence like this comes up, as in "God, I can't believe people are this stupid", the answer is usually yes


oh, so this is what it means... that sharpened my mind.

[Kraco]

Office refrigerator stench caused an evacuation of 325 people from the building.

CNN article

Must have been majorly rotten food. It's a good question why it all had been left there and not eaten. Bad and wasteful habits. Or maybe AT&T people are too busy to eat.

[Nadouku]

Oh my, I wonder what kind of rotten food they left in the refrigerator to smell that bad.

"Someone also took some spray and tried to deodorize the air," Stallard said. "And it turned out that was spot cleaner, not a deodorant. So it made people very sick."

So, a person confused deodorant with spot cleaner and just made it worse. How does that happen? I guess AT&T people are really binded to their work to even notice that small difference of a spray.

[Ryllharu]

So, a person confused deodorant with spot cleaner and just made it worse. How does that happen? I guess AT&T people are really binded to their work to even notice that small difference of a spray.

They say she either had surgery recently or really bad allergies, I've heard both accounts from two news outlets. She couldn't smell a thing. Not reading the labels is still no excuse.

[IFHTT]

Ran across this on IRC a few minutes ago...

http://decentcommunity.org/2009/05/0...mmer-as-dildo/

...

[bagandscalpel]

http://decentcommunity.org/2009/05/0...mmer-as-dildo/

Your avatar sums up my feelings upon reading this better than I can make do with words.

Bet this is going to earn her a stellar Darwin Award of excellence.

[Nadouku]

Seriously? That desperate?

[Buffalobiian]

What's funny is she's not the first one to die of a big slong.
Seriously though, does that feel good?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Pinyan

[IFHTT]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Pinyan

Ah yes, lest we forget Mr. Hands and death by horse cock.

Some people just have some extremely retarded fetishes, I guess..

[itadakimasu]

The french legislation passed an anti-piracy bill where they will basically use a 3 strike system. They will warn people who are dl'ing "illegal content" and the third time they will be cut off from the internet for 1 year.

I'm not sure how they will be enforcing this..

[XanBcoo]

They might as well just sit you in the corner or send you to bed without dinner.