by Erich Heinlein

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

There are a couple reasons why people are so mean on message boards. They are the following: People don't have to actually physically say what they post on the board to the person with an immediate response. In other words it can be an out for any consequences to the actions. After all, they don't have to say it to their face. Maybe with the risk they may end up getting thrown off the message board depending on the content of what is being said. The next reason that people can be seen as being so mean on message boards is because they are using the Internet as a means of venting and this is there way of expressing their opinion.

The unfortunate reality of the Internet is that pretty much anybody can say anything without any consequences if they find the right forum to do so. If worse comes to worse just about anybody with a computer, the correct software and the right amount of money to pay for the domain name can create a web site or some other form of editorial or fact gathering web site.

When it comes to the Internet being a useful tool, it all essentially comes down to how you use it. There are many good things it can be used for and there are also many destructive things it can be used for. Unfortunately, one of the types of the organizations that can access the Internet provided they can get to a computer are terrorist groups. When terrorist groups get it they can create their own web sites, make all sorts of threats and post all other sorts of hateful messages. One of the places threats can be made, unfortunately is certain types of message boards.

The next reason people are so mean on message boards is simply because some people have very strong opinions on some issues and it can come across as being mean. The quirky thing about the English language is one can tell the person's true intentions when they are talking face to face but when a message is conveyed in written form it is up to the reader to how they interpet the message which is being written.

Although there are some simple common sense rules to go by which most people in society know. Some examples of these are that if YOU WRITE IN ALL CAPS THAT MEANS YOU ARE YELLING. Another example is that if you put * by a word that implies you are cussing. On some web sites that is just considered rude and disrespectful. It just depends on the nature of the site. It may be considered OK on Howard Stern's web site but not so much if you are dealing with the web site at your local church.

So when you write something on a message board you just have to remember to keep the basic rules in mind. Remember that people are eternally going to be misusing the Internet for false purposes. If you do choose to write something hateful just remember who it can be hurting and see what you can do to make it right.

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