Online political chat is an insult to democracy. Can it be fixed?

The Boston Globe - Freedom to Flame! ^ | 10/13/2002 | By Nicholas Thompson

[vannrox]

Online political chat is an insult to democracy. Can it be fixed?

THE OTHER DAY, a group of Americans gathered together to deliberate the wisdom of a war with Iraq.

D. started it off with harsh words for President Bush, arguing that he just wants a war to distract the nation from other ills: ''Face it America, [Bush] is nuts, and is as dangerous as any outside terrorist we could possibly face.''

[dighton]

Perhaps we should give Descartes a call.

He was French, what a looser.

;-)

[j_tull]

Quick-scanned the article to look for the FR critique. When I didn't see it, pressed the "nothing to see here, move along" button. NO serious study of politcal message boards could exclude us. Guess I'm FRelitist.

[Gorzaloon]

He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University where he earned degrees in Earth Systems, Political Scienc, and Economics.

HAHAHAH! And the writer gags at the word "Science", and cannot even spell it, as the writer describes the Doctor of Basketweaving.

Degrees in Earth Systems. And I suppose his poor parents took out a mortgage to pay for that folly? Or did WE guarantee student loans for his hobby?

If there is an upcoming market meltdown, the only good thing about it is that survivors will be people with REAL skills..and I do not care if they are chemists, or plumbers, or auto mechanics...Whomever they are, they will be earning a living with hard facts, and not the political ravings of tenured radicals.

And the Doctor of Basket Weaving may finally learn some real skills in order to indulge his politics. Those skills may include the first-time -ever use of a broom or shovel.

[Fledermaus]

What did you expect in a YAHOO chat room?

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Political chat on Yahoo sounds like the norm from the mainstream press and the Demonrats on TV.

[fight_truth_decay]

"Yahoo! and Slate staff members remove irrelevant posts from their boards, and messages with curse words are automatically deleted'............since when..been to a Yahoo Politics or Washington chat room lately..??

[John Galt's cousin]

Democrats, true to their name, set their expectations to the LCD.

Is it LCD or MCD?

;-)

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Nothing to see here, move along.

Y'all know what to do;-)

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

I'm not sure I understand why online political chat is supposed to be an insult to democracy. I'm not even sure what he means by "democracy."

Much is made of the fact that anonymous people talk online about topics on which they are not qualified. So? In the American system, millions of people vote, even though most are functionally ignorant of the issues involved. Online chatter, therefore, is perhaps more representative of mass democracy than the author is willing to admit.

[cornelis]

Hobbes will do fine.

[finnman69]

On AOL in the Newss & Politcs community (Keyword NEWS CHAT) the Podium is a real drag down war room with plenty of knucklehheaded LW kooks and RW conservatives battling back. Also, there is a Rush limbaugh radio room show daily 12-3 ESt (News Radio room) that is moderated and fun for bashing liberals.

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm?

Isn't this the same group who said, "and the American people want ...???

And to this very day, they still have no idea what the America people want - because it is not in any way, shape or form related to what THEY want.

[dighton]

Hobbes will do fine.

"Bellum omnium contra omnes." That's Russian from Lennon. Go back to DU, you looser.

;-)

[<1/1,000,000th%]

FR has already solved this problem. The lefties are a bunch of crybabies.

[CyberAnt]

This is a trial balloon.

This is an article to get the whispering started about how terrible it is for all this political talk on the internet. The dems/libs are so terrified of it, they are already trying to put a stop to it.

If we let them, they will destroy the internet with their regulations and taxes. I truly believe this is their goal.

[d101302]

at a university round table or in Harvard Square over tea and scones

To a liberal elitist, this the standard for discourse to which all others must be compared.

"Oh," he laments, "if only the wretched brutes crawling through the putrid slime of the internet swamp could reach up and grasp the shining chalice of my magnificent Brahmin intellect."

[cornelis]

Lennon infects all with democratic nostalgia.

[Revolting cat!]

Mommy, I want a degree in Earth Systems too!

[monday]

"Methinks he doth protest too much. Perhaps he doesn't like it that the most active boards don't support his types of ideas too much."

I think you hit the nail on the head. Liberal boards are pretty much as he describes them. Either flame fests or boring drivel. His mistake is that he assumes that because liberal political boards are like this, that all political boards are like that.

[razorback-bert]

he earned degrees in Earth Systems

I see high paying jobs for Earth System grads all the time, so why is he doing this?