Naming and shaming – should we do it?
The internet is a double edged sword. While businesses and personalities have found it amazing for publicity, it can also turn bad for them too. It can make and break anyone.
So, should we name and shame online?
http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/columnists/naming-and-shaming-the-nuisance-spammers-1-6661818
Opens a nice can of big juicy questions the first being..
Why is your spam my spam, and/or vice versa?
Second,
Who made us judges?
Third,
How does shaming- and the consequential humiliation that follows- tally with the Lewinsky call for compassion?
Fourth,
Is there another way because the hash tag put it in a can option could end up being a Harsh Tag that promotes the Click- Shame- Desensitisation-Humiliation type cycle?
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Fifth,
Who decides when a hash tag is a harsh tag or when a response is or is not troll generated?
And I went looking for an easy read and the answer to my questions!
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Feels like I have given myself “Mind Worms” again. Could be at this one for a while.
Good questions ken higham!
1) Education. A lot of people are taken in by spammers and scammers, because they simply don’t know how to spot the tell tale signs. Obviously, it would be bad if one person overdid it and got labelled a spammer.
2) Who else is there to judge? It does raise the side issue that there is sometimes a very thin line between good marketing and bad marketing. Spam to one person may not be seen as such by the population at large. At the very least being open about these things offers a chance of vindication.
3) That one very much depends on the specifics of the case in question. The column itself isn’t just about spammers. It could be something as simple as leaving a bad review about a particular business, or responding to a momentary error of judgement displayed by an employee of a company.
4) Well the advantage of a hash tag is that it makes it easy to create a space for a public consensus, as well as warning other people about obvious spammers and scammers. I can see where you are coming from though, as it would also give a forum for people that wanted to cause trouble. That in fact touches on something else I am going to write with regards to libel. Good question though and I am open to suggestions!
5) There is no one size fits all answer to this, which is why it is such a complicated thing to grapple with.
I like the sound of “Mind Worms” although the image it conjures up is a yucky one. ;)