Saturday, November 1, 2008

Judgment

Dr M wrote on his website that he is disappointed at the quality of comments thrown his way.

Criticism has been the "I fucking hate you! You were worse as the PM!" blahblahblah. All emotion, no facts, no theories. Nothing. He expected more of a fight.

Read it here

Well, for a person who has been observing collective sentiment on the Internet for more than 14 years, I could have told anyone that a long time ago.

Thing is, the Internet is only slightly different than the real world. And there are certain ways and certain 'kata' that will ellicit certain responses.

Here are some basic Internet rules:

1. The first rule of the Internet is, people do not think on the Internet.

They would much prefer to feel, or to have the thinking done for them. Asking them to think will result in spastic hurling of insults.

They can only process the most simplistic of views and God forbid if they are asked to hold two opposing opinions at the same time, much less agreeing with both views.

The Internet is for mob mentality(PR), as well as herd mentality(BN).

Behind the mask of anonymity, anyone can do and say anything. In essence, this is the true face of humanity. Stupid, petty, immature and spiteful.

We can pretend all we want, but humans are like this. This is why there is so much crap in this world. People keep on shitting each other.

Always go with bad news. Always go with shadowy conspiracy theories. The more outrageous, the better.

Such as: KJ is working for the Decepticons, and the fate of Middle Earth hangs in the balance. Save the hobbits, save the world.

2. The Internet is only for righteous motherfuckers.

You have to want to be right on the Internet, and you must be so strong in your conviction that nothing, not even the truth or facts should sway you. Hey, the real world is the real world. The Internet is the Internet.

If you admit that you're wrong, even for a second, you will be destroyed.

3. No matter what you say on the Internet, there will always be people who agree or disagree with you.

Usually, with one-sentence responses. Or one word sentences.

The only place in the world where everyone thinks the same is Jeff Ooi's blog. Everyone there thinks he's so cool.

I can even say that child pornography should be legalized and some people will agree with me. Usually, the pedophiles themselves.

Over here, everyone wants to prove everyone else as wrong, so they can be SEEN as right. Sound familiar? This is another disease humans suffer from. Though the symptoms are clearer on the Internet, where people can be more of their real judgemental, hypocritical, racist selves.

4. The Internet does not matter.

It is so full of garbage

CAPTAIN PLANET!

that you can't rely on it for reliable information. To even distill an iota of truth takes skill and patience - which Net users do not have.

The only solution is to revel in all that garbage. Play with it. Sleep with it. make love to it.

5. The Internet as a last-chance saloon for some.

Like politics, the Internet in Malaysia is a haven for some losers to get some semblance of virtual respect.

They actually think their thoughts matter. They think THEY matter.

Truth is, everyone is going to die. And nobody cares.

6. The Internet was developed for porn.

The Internet was designed and upgraded to keep up with demands for porn, which is a multi-billion dollar industry.

It was originally conceived for the US military so their soldiers can jack-off to naked pictures of cartoons on the Internet.

So to use it as a communications tool is just a side-effect of augmenting, aiding and abetting the porn industry.