Writer quits Twitter over harassment

[Leisher]

Chelsia Cain.

Another source

Another source

Another source

I find this story to be sad, yet also interesting.

First, nobody should be driven from Twitter due to harrassment due to their sex. End of story.

Now for the interesting part. I think it's a bit odd that I just posted four sources, including the first three that popped up on Goggle, but none contain any proof of the harassing tweets. They contain a lot of tweets in support of the writer, but no tweets would call for a block or quitting Twitter. Ok, there were TWO tweets posted in one of the articles:

I thought part of feminism was being strong? Everyone gets harassed on twitter for something, use your block/mute button.

It's free speech. The same freedom that's giving you numbskulls the power to counter-harass them 10 fold. Need a safe space?

The writer of the article calls those the only "tame" ones we can print. Really? Those aren't even remotely attacks. If this is all the proof you'll offer, I'd have to say this is a publicity stunt or Chelsia Cain needs to grow some thicker skin if she can't handle comments like those two not even remotely offensive tweets.

[GORDON]

I respect her decision to disconnect from negativity... but yeah, the commentary from both defenders and detractors is fucked up.

[Alhazad]

Quitting Twitter can only improve her life, whatever the reason she decided to do it.

[Leisher]

As posted elsewhere I think Twitter sucks for communication in every way, but as an adult, she should know how many morons would say anything to get a rise out of her.

[Alhazad]

As posted elsewhere I think Twitter sucks for communication in every way, but as an adult, she should know how many morons would say anything to get a rise out of her.

It's good for throwaway one-liners. Its format pretty much ensures that this is all it's good for.

[TPRJones]

First, nobody should be driven from Twitter due to harassment due to their sex. End of story.

The interesting thing about online harassment is that it frequently looks like it's racist and/or misogynistic, but I would content that it is not really. It's just laziness and a lack of creativity in masquerade.

Some people want to be insulting online. But the only thing they typically can know about whomever it is they want to insult (without doing some research first) is what they can gleen from the avatar and name. Well, what do those things tell you about a person? Pretty much just gender and race, and maybe sexual orientation. That's it. So the only insults they can readily grasp to fling at their targets are racism, misogyny, and gay bashing. In the vast majority of cases those people aren't really racist, misogynistic, or gay haters in real life. They're just assholes, and they're using the only info available.

I'm not excusing their actions in any way. The thing I keep seeing is that we need to teach people not to be racist or misogynistic or gay haters so that it will stop. But that's wrong because that's not the cause and it won't make it stop. What we need to do is to teach people to stop being assholes.

[Alhazad]

First, nobody should be driven from Twitter due to harassment due to their sex. End of story.

The interesting thing about online harassment is that it frequently looks like it's racist and/or misogynistic, but I would content that it is not really. It's just laziness and a lack of creativity in masquerade.

Some people want to be insulting online. But the only thing they typically can know about whomever it is they want to insult (without doing some research first) is what they can gleen from the avatar and name. Well, what do those things tell you about a person? Pretty much just gender and race, and maybe sexual orientation. That's it. So the only insults they can readily grasp to fling at their targets are racism, misogyny, and gay bashing. In the vast majority of cases those people aren't really racist, misogynistic, or gay haters in real life. They're just assholes, and they're using the only info available.

I'm not excusing their actions in any way. The thing I keep seeing is that we need to teach people not to be racist or misogynistic or gay haters so that it will stop. But that's wrong because that's not the cause and it won't make it stop. What we need to do is to teach people to stop being assholes.

That's thought-provoking. I think, though, that by making racism/sexism/gay-ism (orientation-ism?) unacceptable, or in other words taking away the low-hanging fruit, it would at least put down a stumbling block that would reduce harassment. For those same 'laziness' reasons.

[Vince]

SJW horseshit

[TPRJones]

I think, though, that by making racism/sexism/gay-ism (orientation-ism?) unacceptable, or in other words taking away the low-hanging fruit, it would at least put down a stumbling block that would reduce harassment.

I doubt it, because social norms are not something they are at all concerned about when being an online asshole. If everyone's twitter avatars were just a simple color swatch showing their favorite color then the assholism would continue unabated. But then the insults would be bitter comments about how somone is a "redfucker" or "bluebitch". And any amount of education about how one should be tolerant of others color preferences wouldn't change it at all.

[Alhazad]

I doubt it, because social norms are not something they are at all concerned about when being an online asshole. If everyone's twitter avatars were just a simple color swatch showing their favorite color then the assholism would continue unabated. But then the insults would be bitter comments about how somone is a "redfucker" or "bluebitch". And any amount of education about how one should be tolerant of others color preferences wouldn't change it at all.

Except that "redfucker" and "bluebitch" are so transparent that they don't get a rise out of the target, so there're no jollies gotten and no emotional reason to continue doing it once the first (few?) attempts have flopped horribly. Then the assholes go back to 4chan elsewhere.

[TPRJones]

Yeah, I guess that was a bad example. But I think the point still stands.

[TheCatt]

Her perspective

Much less dramatic than the other stories.

[Vince]

Her perspective

Much less dramatic than the other stories.

Didn't read all of it, but it became clear early on that she is way too sensitive for Twitter. Not a swipe at her. The first user she blocked kind of showed that. So she probably did the best thing for herself. Too bad everyone else decided to martyr her.