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Jake Swearingen writes at The Atlantic that the Internet can be a mean, hateful, and frightening place - especially for young women but human behavior and the limits placed on it by both law and society can change. In a Pew Research Center survey of 2,849 Internet users, one out of every four women between 18 years old and 24 years old reports having been stalked or sexually harassed online. "Like banner ads and spam bots, online harassment is still routinely treated as part of the landscape of being online," writes Swearingen adding that "we are in the early days of online harassment being taken as a serious problem, and not simply a quirk of online life." Law professor Danielle Citron draws a parallel between how sexual harassment was treated in the workplace decades ago and our current standard. "Think about in the 1960s and 1970s, what we said to women in the workplace," says Citron. "'This is just flirting.' That a sexually hostile environment was just a perk for men to enjoy, it's just what the environment is like. If you don't like it, leave and get a new job." It took years of activism, court cases, and Title VII protection to change that. "Here we are today, and sexual harassment in the workplace is not normal," said Citron. "Our norms and how we understand it are different now."
According to Swearingen, the likely solution to internet trolls will be a combination of things. The expansion of laws like the one currently on the books in California, which expands what constitutes online harassment, could help put the pressure on harassers. The upcoming Supreme Court case, Elonis v. The United States, looks to test the limits of free speech versus threatening comments on Facebook. "Can a combination of legal action, market pressure, and societal taboo work together to curb harassment?" asks Swearingen. "Too many people do too much online for things to stay the way they are."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @03:53AM
> Because the "people are angry because they're anonymous asshats" group is something I also don't like being lumped into.
Again that is a group that only you are lumping yourself into. Unless you consider yourself an anonymous asshat you aren't a member of that group.
> since one is no less disgusting than the other.
Citation required. Seriously, that is an easy thing to say if you've never experienced severe harassment.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Lagg on Friday October 24 2014, @04:46AM
Oh boo hoo. The people that use that idiotic argument of "you've never experienced harassment and thus don't know what it is" are usually the same sheltered middle class white dweebs that they accuse others of being. Not going to work here for a variety of reasons. The least of which being that such a statement is outright and demonstratively false not just in itself but also because I have indeed experienced it as anyone that runs or is otherwise involved with at a staff level a sufficiently popular project has. But please do rate on a scale from 1 to 10 which type of harassment is most severe to you. Seriously, I'm always looking for sample cases of the pure insanity that these "women need protection and only I can give it!" types will stoop to. I really do want to see which sex you think is more deserving of sympathy and for what particular issue.
Also, you called me "some anonymous guy" so what else am I to assume besides that you are indeed putting me in the same group of anonymous asshats that you're apart of? Lumping into those particular groups are also the first line of offense for people that try to shoot down rightful annoyance at this kind of hysteria, right before the above "you haven't experienced X, therefore you don't know it" approach so it's pretty easy to see coming.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 24 2014, @12:42PM
> being that such a statement is outright and demonstratively false not just in itself
Lol. I'm right because I'm right. Such impressive logic.
> I have indeed experienced it as anyone that runs or is otherwise involved with at a staff level a sufficiently popular project has.
Oh boo hoo. That's totally the same thing.
> Also, you called me "some anonymous guy" so what else am I to assume besides that you are indeed putting me in the same group of anonymous asshats that you're apart of?
This persecution complex of yours is really interesting to observe. I write "anonymous guy" but you read "anonymous asshat." I couldn't come up with a better example of how the decision to "lump you in" is 100% yours and no one else's. Now if I could figure out why you are so insistent on making that decision, I'm wondering if it is a guilty conscience.