Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday December 28 2018, @03:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the if-it-ever-quacked-like-a-duck dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

The year of deleted tweets

In July, Disney fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Cause for termination: a series of offensive tweets, in most cases about a decade old, that were circulated by a right-wing media personality. Gunn’s tweets, many of which were about molestation or pedophilia, were indefensible. But the method in which they were dug up, as well as the people who circulated them — bad-faith conspiracy theorists who used old jokes made in poor taste to brand Gunn as a pedophile — are part of a larger trend in which problematic or out-of-context tweets are being ripped from the past to ruin their author in the present.

Trial by online fire isn’t new. Milkshake Duck, a term coined by Twitter user @pixelatedboat in 2016, gave a name to a cultural internet phenomenon. It goes like this: someone gains online fame for something innocuous, only for it to come out shortly after that the person holds repugnant or problematic views. After a presidential election debate in 2016, for example, the internet became obsessed with a sweater-clad man named Ken Bone. His reign as a viral darling quickly came to an end after people discovered that his Reddit history included comments about stolen celebrity nudes and the “justified” killing of Trayvon Martin.

In 2018, however, the concept of Milkshake Ducking became far more convoluted. Now it’s not just about present problematic views, but holding people responsible for comments they’ve made previously, in some cases years ago. Call it Gunn’s Law: everyone has a past.

[...] Tweet deletion is no longer a matter of curation, but a necessity. Our lives are lived online more each year. We shouldn’t excuse people who spout racist, misogynist, damaging views online in present day. But as we confront our younger, more problematic past selves preserved online, the line between personal growth and punishment deserves breathing room. Until we can accept that, deleting tweets is all we have.

[This concept goes way back in time. Let the one among you who has no sin, cast the first stone. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Is it just that things are more visible, findable and more easily promulgated, now? --Ed.]


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @04:50AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @04:50AM (#779240)

    And yes, I will tell anyone the same thing to his or her face.

    He forgot to login? No, he's just a bullshitter!

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @05:02AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @05:02AM (#779247)

    I didn't "forget" to log in.

    I don't HAVE an account.

    Any of you pussies who think you can come meet me and shut me up are welcome to try.

    I live in Raleigh, NC. Just let me know you're coming and I will put the welcome mat out for you.

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @06:00AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @06:00AM (#779265)

      You forgot to post your street address. I don't have the time or inclination to knock on every door in Raleigh.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @07:01AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 28 2018, @07:01AM (#779274)

        Nuke Raleigh from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.