Huckleberries Online

KT: Miss Manners Needs A Taser

Posted by DFO

May 14, 2009 1:16 p.m. • 6 comments

Modern-day heavy breathers now post crude, abusive comments to online newspaper articles where everyone can see. Most online media sites, Inlander.com included, require commenters to register. This way, computer IP addresses can be traced and blocked if needed. Not at the Coeur d’Alene Press, which has long been a haven for the type of posters the Internet community refers to as trolls. The Press comment threads were a writhing nest of race hate after last weekend’s fatal shooting. A post under the name Proud to Be White Girl gives the gist of it: “… all the mexicans and blacks are from cali coming over here giving us swine flu and making coeur d’ alene idaho trashy like California…”/Kevin Taylor, Inlander. More here (second item).

DFO: Izzit just me, or has the Press threads gone — thankfully — quiet since the Hagadone brain trust reinstituted registration?

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

brentandrews on May 14 at 2:45 p.m.
I think everyone is just busy Facebooking. Nice of the Inlander to pile on The Press, though. Seriously … is The Press’ management of its Website really news? When there is a murder story waiting to be told? And so many thousands of other stories to tell? I wonder.
DFO on May 14 at 2:54 p.m.
>…Is The Press’ management of its Website really news? — Brent Andrews.<

Absolutely, it’s news, Brent. In the last few days, both the Washington Post and the Seattle Times have published comments re: the type of oversight that should be established for online comments. The Press has opted for years to host a Web site that encourages nasty — and even racist — comments. As a news source in a community that once was known nationwide as a haven for racists, the Press continues to encourage that stereotype by turning its online threads over to the anonymous haters who are the bane of the blogosphere. The SR has shown that you can have vigorous online discussion without the nastiness — but moderation is needed. The Press becomes part of the story when it refuses to act responsibly. That’s obvious from Inlander post.
brentandrews on May 14 at 8:43 p.m.
This is all an experiment, isn’t it? I think what you see as acting irresponsibly might simply be learning-as-you-go.
brentandrews on May 14 at 8:43 p.m.
That is an awesome Batman avatar, anyway.
BayviewBob on May 14 at 8:57 p.m.
If it is wrong on one site, it is wrong on this site too.

Why is it ok to copy and past the same racist junk here?

I have seen racist material here, that was removed from the other site. I would have never seen it at all if it wasn’t here.

I total agree that anonymous posting cannot work for many, many reasons.

No website can allow anonymous posting.

It just can’t.

All you will get is spam, liars, schitstirrers, etc.

And when you really think about, what good is anyone’s opinion, if you don’t know who they are?
spokelooneh on May 14 at 9:15 p.m.
We have no idea who you are, BayviewBob. Are you Bob Holland?

Ridiculous argument you make.

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About this blog

D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.