[bgammon]

After reading this, I'm just wondering about two possibilities for the development of Internet culture:

Increased policing -- people fear repercussions for posting disturbing content. The darkest corners live on.

Increased exposure -- people share the psychological burden of knowing disturbing content exists, and develop meaningful discussions and coping mechanisms.

[bostik]

I see a third one.

Increased tolerance -- people become so thoroughly jaded that the lines between shocking, disturbing and sick will go from uncertain, to blurred, and eventually insignificant.

In fact, we've seen this development already. It began even before the public became aware of the internet, and we're all becoming more benumbed.

Disassociation can't be a healthy coping mechanism.

[miiwq]

Talk to an actual law enforcement professional. They see shit too. This isn't a new problem. Their processes and techniques are open. The number of cops we need to maintain order is budget item that responsible experienced qualified people debate about publicly every year. What's new is silicon valleys private police force of the internet is all secret.

[matt4077]

It's actually a pretty big problem–there's pretty clear evidence that policemen serving in majority-black neighbourhoods tend to drift towards prejudice from workday to workday, only to somewhat recover on off-days. That's obviously a problem for the communities, but it's actually noticeable to the affected person as well, which really isn't enjoyable either.

What helps is to have people work as police officers, and paramedic or firefighter in turn. That way, you get to experience the good side of humanity and don't lose faith. But of course that makes training somewhat more complicated.

[novia]

Do you have a source for paragraph 1? It definitely jibes with what I've observed in real life, but it's always nice to have a source.

[intended]

This isn't a new problem, so based on how often and easily it gets pushed out of sight I'd calmly say we are going for a third option

Pay the least we can, to ensure that this goes away.

From a company perspective, this is a cost of doing business, its not a "Profit Center". It gets treated and measured by the same metrics as credit card fraud. As long as the number is X low, then we need Y number of people to handle it.

X is variant on size of site, so Y is the only thing we can control, so lets keep it as low as possible.

Don't assume tolerance and open-ness on the new Network.

Do note - Increased exposure, without guidance, means that people will become ANGRIER and MORE intolerant. This is the stuff that gets "weaponized" and you see one community yell about it by saying "SEE! This is Happening and no one is talking about it".

[Spooky23]

Another possibility is that it slowly devolves into prodigy or aol, and this content starts to vanish as the need to make money appears.