Of possible ethical interest - Snark vs. Trolling - PPC Posting Board

Subject: Of possible ethical interest - Snark vs. Trolling
Author: hushpiper
Posted on: 2009-12-27 07:17:00 UTC

*shrug* Posting this here because it's slightly relevant, and I want to hear what you guys think:

Private letter of kerfluffle to GAFF (in their current incarnation):

Plz to be noting that it is one thing to mock someone for doing something particularly full of fail, such as writing a truly horrible fanfic, farting loudly in church, or doing anything that would get them played off by keyboard cat. This is standard to internet culture, and if you're here, you'd better get used to it. However, mocking someone for giving a care about a legitimate concern (e.g., animal cruelty, or religion, or sufferers of debilitating health problems) is something else entirely.

Mocking someone for fail can be seen as a warning sign, should they choose to heed it. It's a sign that they're doing something wrong. (Also it's an excellent source of lulz, the gold of the intarwebz.) However, the targets of the second kind of mocking have done nothing wrong, and in fact show maturity by their caring. By mocking them you are telling them that doing that is wrong. You are saying, essentially, that animals can be tortured, anyone who believes in any religion is a sucker who should be laughed at, and people with cancer or AIDS can just die alone like they're fixing to do anyway. (None of which I believe to be true, and if you do, I pity you. And also want to keep you at arms length, with pepper spray and a katana if necessary.) "It was for the lulz" is not an excuse, if for no reason other than that the effects of what you say continue outward despite what your motives were. Screw you, I have seen too many nice people turn cynical because of stuff like that.

This, my friends, is where mocking turns into trolling.

That line is why I don't personally have a problem with MSTing and what the PPC does, even when it edges into mocking the person rather than the fanfic. The PPC, bless them (us?), does not cross that line.

Some things are just not funny.

With regards,
Piper

So. Discussion? I am right, or am I totally off-base? Is there a crucial ethical point I'm missing? I want the board's thoughts on this.

P.S. Oh gosh that was really serious, Emo-Crusader Piper! Here, Board, have some Christmas candy in various inappropriate shapes with my apologies! Don't let my emo-ness rub off on you now--it's ever so hard to get the black stains out of your clothes.

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Of possible ethical interest - Snark vs. Trolling by hushpiper on 2009-12-27 07:17:00 UTC

Well... by Sedri on 2009-12-27 11:19:00 UTC Reply

Your heart is certainly in the right place, and I agree with the basis of what you're saying - so no ethical arguments, no - but actually, I have a few nitpicks about the text itself.

This is a letter you're sending out, right? There's a few places where you seem to fly back and forth across the formality line. On one hand you sound professional, but you also say "Screw you" or use 'lolspeak' like "Plz to be noting", which doesn't really fit the tone. (I admit to having a personal grudge against 'lolspeak', and of course it depends on who, exactly, you're writing to, but consistency is a big part of presentation, and since you want to make a point, you probably shouldn't offer up alternate targets to be fired at by people who disagree.)

One definite error: keep you at arms length should be "arm's".

Also, unless the discussion is already about the PPC, I'd personally prefer if you didn't mention us. We're a small, hard-to-find community and generally seem to prefer to keep it that way. I don't think we cross the borderline you're talking about (we mock and curse the authors themselves, yes, but I don't think we jab at their personal lives, mainly because we don't know a thing about them), but why stir up trouble? Stick to mentioning MSTs, which everyone knows anyway.

But yes, overall, I agree with your point. I wouldn't call it "trolling" so much as "outright rudeness", but that's just terminology. It's also just a matter of politeness and good taste, which are points/words you may want to mention at least in passing, as they'll strengthen your argument.

...And now I'm going to shush and go to sleep, because it's too late at night for me to think straight. Good letter, in any case. Can I ask why you're writing it? (I haven't been to GAFF for about two years, so I'm out of date.)