Sunday 6 January 2008

Are we turning into a nation of rude bores?

Surfing round the Net I've come across some rather acrimonious debate and the occasional over-the-top individual tirade.
Single instances like this on Friday last are not uncommon.
"The lies and the filth that exists there is the reason why Bogpond is fast approaching the status of supernova. One of their servers sh*t itself late last year and it will most likely never be seen again. That leaves two servers - once the server hosting IRC Services dies in the ar$e, that's it boys and girls and that puts Herle and her pals Smeg and Fatso out of a job."
Get out those knitting needles ladies. You'll go back to the role of housewife very soon the way Bogpond is sacking their engineering teams."
NB. Two words in this quote altered to avoid offence.
 
It seems that journalists are now beginning to baulk at being on the end of similar treatment. 
"SOMETHING worrying is happening to column readers. They are becoming rude. Menacingly rude — and just plain mean — when they don't agree with you.
Get a load of this: "Your article was stupid. How dare you leave out (thing I felt was really important here). You are totally unethical and should not be allowed to write in the newspaper ever again." Or this one. "You liar! I have forwarded your article to all my friends so they can see the left-wing drivel passing for informed comment these days."
 
With the almost instantaneous connection to online comment pages, it is only natural that at some time many of us will make the odd 'off' comment before the brain engages our two-finger typing.
But when did we begin to accept monumental across-the-board personal rudeness as a norm? 

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