> A very interesting perspective from David McCraney who blogs at "You > are not so smart" <www.youarenotsosmart.com>. > > http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/02/10/deindividuation/ > > "Deindividuation pervades virtual worlds, and the results are mixed. > Download Second Life and take a stroll. Sooner or later youll end > up in a sex dungeon. Play any game on Xbox Live, and someone will > eventually claim to have carnal knowledge of your mother. You can > thank anonymity and deindividuation for both. The comments under a > Youtube video may make you weep for the species, but just click over > to the entry on the humanzee in Wikipedia for restoration. It is > consistent with the world outside the machine. The same force which > built and maintained concentration camps also pushed soldiers onto > Omaha Beach." > > Some good lessons for Wikimedia. :) > > "Deindividuation takes away your inhibitions as well as your sense of > self and fear of accountability, but this isnt necessarily a bad > thing. The same force which brings otherwise rational people to loot > and vandalize and invade Poland can also lead to prosocial behaviors. > If you are surrounded by positive cues, deindividuation could lead you > to work harder in an exercise class, or pitch in at a homeless > shelter, or help build a house. People who forget their sense of self > and work together to save a life or search for a missing child show > deindividuation is a neutral force of the human will. When 4Chan or > Digg or Reddit assemble into an anonymous collective to exact revenge > it often ends in actual justice. Once deindividuation kicks in, the > cues from the environment shape the resulting behavior. The norms of > the mob, good or evil, replace the norms of everyday life." > > Yours sincerely, > > Anirudh Bhati > > 00 91 9328712208 > Skype: anirudhsbh >
Yes, for good or ill, anonymous editors avoid social control; neither your boss, your government, or you mother can control how you edit Wikipedia. Fred _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
