the need(?) for self-censorship on the internet

A friend and I (who is a flaming homosexual) were recently discussing speech on the internet versus speech in real life. (S)He took the position that we should edit ourselves on the internet moreso than we do in actual conversation because certain types of jokes can create potential legal problems when made on the internet. I disagreed, arguing that speech is speech, regardless of the medium, and that the only reason speech on the internet could lead to increased legal liability is because people are paranoid and reactionary.

What do you guys think? Are you more reserved on the internet than you normally would be? Do you think a person should be?

I never used to be that bothered, but lately I'm starting to wonder if the whole "don't say it on the internet if you wouldn't say it loudly in public" approach might be better.

It's not something I lose a lot of sleep over, because I spend far less time on public internet forums (by which I include social networks as well as WATMM etc.) than I ever used to. It's a better way to live.

i try not to really censor myself, but i also sort of assume that i won't say anything too ridiculous.

posting personal stuff on facebook is pretty dumb, but on forums it isn't usually linked directly to the real you. plus i'm a white nerdy guy on watmm, i might as well be invisible

i probably won't ever be able to run for public office if someone manages to connect me with my watmm account, but the idea of running for public office terrifies me anyways.

I don't understand who is the flaming homosexual?

Just stick to what you would say to the person in real life, take note of cognitive dissonance as a hint that you have issues that need to be addressed.

i don't really say anything i wouldn't say in real life online

this is why many people consider me unemployable

I have been noticeably disliked on every forum I've ever posted on. I don't really like to self censor but these days I feel like you guys are all human beings as opposed to 'avatars' so I have more respect for the social code.

Legally and employment-wise - yeah, I've thought about it. I'm too deep into the rabbit hole at this point so, oh well.

ive restricted myself far more than I have in the past, I dunno if thats maturity or just cautiousness.

i turn my facebook on and off...i really need to make up my mind.

This forum would be no fun if conversations turns into PR vehicles for people, I'd rather be semi anonymous and speak truth to these virtual humans assuming that they are doing the same to me. You have to train yourself to not be a dick on the Internet and remind yourself there is an actual person on the other side reading what you say, it's not easy.

why can i only edit for like 30 secs and then it's over?

just wanted to add that if you care about barely legal, controversial, non-employable things you said being archived for centuries, well it's too late for us. best you can do is teach your children about it. and vamos shouldn't worry about not being able to get a job at a bank or whatever company that cares about people being 'crazy', just try to find a job where you are allowed to be yourself. I'm sure there are lots of those, somewhere...

my good friend says all kinds of crazy shit on the internet all of the time and she's kicking it at a bank as we speak.

i know people who make a pretty good living, yet seem to be completely lost when it comes to a point where you say to them "dude why are you such a dick/idiot/judgmental asshole/republican"

i know one guy who makes a ton in realty, but when he talks on message boards he just spouts lines of copy-pasted foxnewsaganda

strangely space

like he doesn't

know how

to write without

randomly

hitting

enter

  On 8/12/2011 at 7:10 PM, m u st co n t r ol t h o 4 said:

This forum would be no fun if conversations turns into PR vehicles for people, I'd rather be semi anonymous and speak truth to these virtual humans assuming that they are doing the same to me. You have to train yourself to not be a dick on the Internet and remind yourself there is an actual person on the other side reading what you say, it's not easy.

pretty much agree with this.

internet forums tend to be truth laxatives for me. i wouldn't have a lot of friend IRL if I spoke my mind all the time because they would be offended because they are weak. but i love and care for my IRL friends so i nurture them with censored thoughts. same reason why i don't swear around my mother. but on here you guys are a bunch of wild fucking animals so i dont have a problem with unloading all the things i think about throughout the course of the day for the sake of honest discussion. sometimes i'm amused/amazed by the power of just saying something truthful as a rhetorical device to get things going.

  On 8/12/2011 at 5:06 PM, chaosmachine said:

lol

i agree swearing is out of control on watmm. ctrl F any full page of watmm u will probably find multips of the F and S word, its a discrase :picard:

I think I'm pretty reserved and hidden away on the internet. But in real life, I swear like a drunken sailor around my family members and generally live a life of reckless abandon. Yeahhhh.

  On 8/13/2011 at 2:22 AM, sup said:

i agree swearing is out of control on watmm. ctrl F any full page of watmm u will probably find multips of the F and S word, its a discrase :picard:

not trying to call you out, brother sup, but at least the f and s words are usually spelled correctly

fug and sith

its easier to just lay back and let conversations unfold. if you are worried about legal issues based on what you type on the internet.. your conscious is already fucked and will remain fucked no matter where you bring it. can't really censor your beliefs if that's what you're getting at

  On 8/13/2011 at 5:58 AM, viscosity said:

its easier to just lay back and let conversations unfold. if you are worried about legal issues based on what you type on the internet.. your conscious is already fucked and will remain fucked no matter where you bring it. can't really censor your beliefs if that's what you're getting at

kind of agree with this. thing is, we have to acknowledge the permanence of what is said online. it can be reproduced, verbatim. whereas what we speak out loud usually disappears into the clouds without any proof of ever having been said. even still. freedom of speech, etc.

  On 8/13/2011 at 6:33 AM, Fred McGriff said:

  On 8/13/2011 at 5:58 AM, viscosity said:

its easier to just lay back and let conversations unfold. if you are worried about legal issues based on what you type on the internet.. your conscious is already fucked and will remain fucked no matter where you bring it. can't really censor your beliefs if that's what you're getting at

 

kind of agree with this. thing is, we have to acknowledge the permanence of what is said online. it can be reproduced, verbatim. whereas what we speak out loud usually disappears into the clouds without any proof of ever having been said. even still. freedom of speech, etc.

i think that not many people have grasped the permanence of what you say online yet. it's fucked plenty of people over and will continue to do so for a long time before people get it.

Possibly illegal is not the same as fucked in the head. I would venture to say that there are plenty of things and opinions that are taboo in corporate culture for a variety of reasons that people could use against you if they need to. Kind of what politics do to each other but in the future it's going to be used against everyone because information will be so easy to get. Just think of what you type into the Google ecosystem or Facebook and the fact that both are US-American companies that don't really owe you anything. This is why I say our current generation is fucked in this aspect but what can we do we were the first people discovering this new continent called Internet.

Zuckerberg and the Google guys say all kinds of really provocative stuff like you shouldn't keep different personas (like one for family, another for business, for sex, for party, etc) and that if you want to keep something private you shouldn't actually be doing / writing about it in the first place! Let's not panic though. I think this means some of us will need to go really creative and / or radical about the way we conduct themselves in this new society where everyone is famous and your entire life is searchable for a small fee or even free. I like how dangerous and exciting this is going to be.

Anything I say online I would say out loud and in person. I'm not somebody who holds back, I'll say what's on my mind regardless. That goes for any situation, politics, morality, comedy etc. The only comment I have with regards to the censorship and legal problems is there's no evidence to suggest when you've said something in person, the only back is up that if several people heard you say it and are witnesses. Online however, the proof is here for all to see.

  On 8/13/2011 at 11:03 AM, abusivegeorge said:

Anything I say online I would say out loud and in person. I'm not somebody who holds back, I'll say what's on my mind regardless. That goes for any situation, politics, morality, comedy etc. The only comment I have with regards to the censorship and legal problems is there's no evidence to suggest when you've said something in person, the only back is up that if several people heard you say it and are witnesses. Online however, the proof is here for all to see.

This