ignorance on the internet, go figure

[kimbahlee]

so, there is this forum that has at least one member subscribed to our community. and they have taken ...an interest in mocking us, stealing our photos, and just generally being assholes towards this community.

i'm not one to put things behind friends-only posts in communities, but this has really gotten me to think twice about it. and that makes me

Comments

[theoryofgravity]

Absolutely, you can be hurt and angry, and I am sure you have a lot of company amongst folks who simply don't want to comment here.

We all deal with this kind of thing in our own ways - some of us prefer to laugh it off, but if that's not your thing then you are absolutely entitled to respond in whatever way is most natural for you.

[sensational]

I think it's perfectly reasonable and not at all wrong to be hurt by this! It's hurtful stuff.

I think that it takes a long time and a lot of work to be able to react to something like this with about as much smirky-ness as I'd give to, say, someone hating me or mocking me because OMG I have blue eyes or brown hair. It does help when the people doing the mocking are kind of absurd themselves, I have to say, but the goal here (for me) is to think that the topic is absurd.

[songofdespair]

i'll be perfectly honest.
that link makes me never want to post any photos of myself here. i forced myself not to read the nasty comments, but i did quickly scan to see if there were any of me (there weren't). it's not as much an issue of them making me feel bad about myself, even though admittedly they might just a little, as it is a gross invasion of privacy.
ugh.

[songofdespair]

p.s. yes, i realize that internet doesn't = privacy all that much, but still.
still.

[annie_d78]

i most definitely agree with you.

it was enough to make me go back and edit previous posts.

[rosewater]

There are always going to be people who don't believe in personal dignity, and it's always going to be hella damn creepy and gross when you have to encounter them. No matter how much of an effort you make to protect your privacy. So the fact that it's on the internet -- well, it doesn't make you somehow liable because you dared to make yourself visible. Yeah, we all know the tubes aren't closed, but that doesn't mean that you should be allowed to target everyone you see (the street isn't private, either, but you can't just run around punching people!). No matter how public or private your postings are, these are just shitty people who wouldn't understand whatever boundaries you tried to establish.

I don't understand why there's not some kind of hunting license you can get, but I guess it would cause... bureaucratic problems? In case you accidentally shot someone nice? I don't know, I'd be satisfied with curare darts, maybe that would get around the issue.

[damedini]

I went, I looked. Kinda pathetic actually. Not worth my notice, although if I were a mod I'd be removing that person for the photo copying.

[slinksgirl]

Okay, I am BRAND NEW (like, I joined earlier today) to this community and I know that means that my opinion doesn't count for much in comparison...BUT...I think we have to give them permission to make us feel demeaned. I, for one, am tired of giving people that permission. I sure as heyell am not gonna give it to some nameless, faceless asshole on the internet who has nothing better to do than pirate pictures from a community for the sole purpose of mocking them. This guy isn't worth the time it would take to piss on him if he was on fire, so why would I let him get me all hot and bothered because he doesn't like my fat ass? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS--These douchebags are banking on getting a reaction and I don't think they deserve to get what they want. And, really? Is this the kind of fella I want to like me? HELL NO.

[shannonsays]

yes.

[rosewater]

Your opinion counts as much as anyone else's, especially when it is this awesome.

[crash_up]

hear hear!

and welcome to the community.

[beautyofgrey]

I did lock my photo gallery to "registered users", because I really don't wish for random internet trolls to view them. But other than that, I know that these people have nothing better to do than put fatties down because OMG, they have no life and/or are unsatisfied with themselves in some way.