Interhate 2: Now It's Personal

A few comments on my previous blog on this subject inspired me to write a new one. That blog was more about the problem--this one will focus on the solution.

I talked about possible responses to such behavior a little bit in my last blog, but now I'm going to get more specific. I'm going to list a few sites where malicious behavior is prevalent, and then outline what you can do according to that site's policy for dealing with it.

1. Youtube

This is a site well-known for its hateful content, but when I explored the site a little I discovered a very well organized Abuse and Safety center. At the bottom of the front page under "Help and Info", just click on "Abuse and Safety Center". From there you can click on the situation, including "hateful content" and "harassment and cyber-bullying". I'm not sure what some of those topics mean, though (cyber citizenship? what?).

There's some rather useless information in this section of the site, so I'll give you what I thought to be the best advice for the situations presented (assuming you're it is what you think it is).

Hateful Content:
1. Flag it.
2. If it happens to be Antisemitic, talk to these guys.

Cyber-bullying
If it's someone else:
1. If it's a comment, give it a thumbs-down (I've seen people actually using this feature, which is awesome)
2. If it's a video, give it a one-star, and DON'T VISIT AGAIN OR SHOW IT TO FRIENDS. It doesn't need any more traffic.
3. Post a positive comment to counteract negativity (if you're reasonably sure you won't be victimized as a result).
4. If there are several negative comments, consider sending the victim an encouraging message via his or her page. Nothing sappy, just something like "forget those guys, they're just sad, confused human beings".
If it's you:
1. BLOCK THE ATTACKER. Just go to his/her userpage and click "block".
2. DO NOT RESPOND. This is especially important if you are the victim, because that will only bait him or her.
3. If you have posted something that is clearly being trolled, it is possible to disable comments for your video (which i would recommend in many situations).
4. Don't think about it. The worst thing you can do is dwell on what a hateful person says to you. Remember that you have family and friends that love you and that whoever is attacking you is not worth your time.

Suicide
The national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-TALK. There are probably other numbers you can call, too. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide (or some idiot is encouraging it) this is the number to call.

2. Myspace

As with all sites, be familiar with Myspace's safety page. Myspace is the haven of many an emotionally vulnerable teenager--and unfortunately, for many a troll. You aren't even safe from adults here--you may have heard of the case where a parent tormented a girl via myspace until she killed herself. Myspace has the potential to hold a lot of personal content, making you vulnerable to the worst kind of trolling--the kind that attacks YOU directly, not just your video. And sadly, this kind of trolling can come from people you thought you knew.

When it's you:
1. Make sure you're familiar with your safety settings. These our outlined in detail on the safety page, but know that you can set your profile to private, pre-approve comments, block users, block your online status, and much more.
2. If someone you know starts saying hateful things, DON'T LET IT CONTINUE. Block, them, change your settings, do everything possible to disconnect them from you.

When it's someone else:
1. Let the victim know about all the safety settings on myspace in a private message. Also offer words of encouragement, if you feel comfortable.
2. Consider blocking the user yourself (even if it's someone close to you, like a friend or a boyfriend/girlfriend), to let them know that you aren't going to endorse that behavior. It is essential that you never encourage this behavior and if it's someone close to you and you feel safe doing so, rebuke them. The psychological consequences of bullying can result in suicide--essentially, if you don't take an active stance against bullying when you see it, you could be assisting in it.

In a nutshell:

The Internet is a horrible place in many respects, and it will only get worse if decent, compassionate people don't take a stand now. I only listed two major sites here but there are many more and if you visit one regularly, be sure you fight back against negative content when you see it according to the site's guidelines.

If you think I left something important out, please tell me, and I will probably add it to this post if it's relevant.