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siamese
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mass debating
By Roger Norwood
People never fail to amaze me, in
both good and bad ways, and none
more so than users of internet
forums. The anonymity these arenas
provide seems to bring out the
worst in people, and the speed at
which judgement is made by some
is breathtaking.
The chatter on the expat Thai forums
is no exception, with expats wading
into the Thai political turmoil,
and you can almost imagine some
posters foaming at the mouth as
they write rabid attacks on one side
or the other.
The tragic murders this week of two
of the anti government protestors
provoked some very nasty, and
at the same time, contradictory
reactions, and made for some very
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uncomfortable reading as an expat
who does not want to be lumped
into the same group as those authors
by any Thais who happen to become
aware of it.
The speed at which the ‘debate’
descends into name calling and
threats is really both embarrassing
and frankly worrying, and mirrors
some of what is going on in Bangkok.
There is a belief among quite a few
expats that foreigners are somehow
‘superior’ to Thais, but anyone
viewing these discussions will know
the validity of that position.
I don’t know whether it is a case of
too much time on their hands, but
aside from the political discussions,
the expat forums are full of petty
bickering, and arguments can break
out on something as simple as the
spelling or grammar used.
Of course for the forum owners, the
belief is that more activity on their
offering is good, as it is, in theory,
more clicks on the adverts that pay
for the site, but I wonder sometimes
if (a) this is true, and (b) whether in
the long run it actually damages the
reputation of the forum.
No one likes to visit a bar where fights
are always breaking out, and I think
the same holds true in the virtual
world. But is it possible for any
group of people to hold a reasonable
discussion with opposing opinions?
Are we actually losing the ability
to accept someone else’s opinion
without necessarily agreeing with
it?
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