An Online community
When we join an online community, most of us don't know each other. We may in fact never meet, then sometimes some of us meet some of the others. I have only met a few of the WA community, but feel that even those I haven't met, are friends.
This was very much apparent during the recent storms we were experiencing. We tried to keep track of each other, and make sure we were all ok, and when there was someone missing, "texts" and "calls" went out, to make sure they were ok. And help was offered, where needed.
This is a wonderful thing about an online system, and it's a new era of communicating. It's very trusting and sharing, like the villages of old.
BUT, there is a Darkside too.
We often share personal information with each other, online. Because we trust each other. Sometimes the information can be fairly innocuous, but sometimes we share some stuff that those with evil intent, can use against us.
How we respond can make a big difference in our community; and this is where the waters become murky. We can respond in like kind, but that just brings us down to their level, and may in fact exacerbate the situation, and make the evil one more intent on causing damage.
So, since we can't really punish that person, this being a "Virtual" community, we only have a few resources left to us. One is the
MODS. When we let them know about bad situations, they can step in and do their thing.
The other thing we can do, is block that person. When I first saw the "ignore" button, I thought it was pretty silly. But after the situation with Heather, I'm thinking this as a wonderful tool that we can use to all our advantage. These evil minded people would get absolutely no satisfaction if they are ignored. If we
ALL hit the ignore button, there would not be much reason for them to hang around. Of course, this would only be possible if the person was
"known" to us.
However, this could also be a bad thing. Sometimes a post may be
"misunderstood", and not meant as malicious at all. So, before deciding if this was a personal attack, it's sometimes a good idea to get a second, or third opinion from an impartial party, before reacting.
So, I'd like everyone to think about the info you post - can it be used against you; do you really want the world to know that little piece of info or do you just want to share it with a few (pm instead)? And if someone responds negatively, you need to decide if you have misunderstood, or if it really was "bad intent". If it is, then you can hit the ignore button, and that person, effectively disappears. Problem solved.
Just food for thought folks . . .
