[omni]

Or, more accurately, "Student falsely IDed by some users on massive popular sites Reddit and 4chan."

I will never understand why it's acceptable to talk about the actions of a small percentage of a user base as if they represent the entire group.

[coldtea]

>I will never understand why it's acceptable to talk about the actions of a small percentage of a user base as if they represent the entire group.

Because if the group tolerates it, and is known to do that kind of thing frequently, they DO represent it.

[sli]

The group as a whole has to be aware of it to tolerate it as a whole. This is not the case with a lot of Reddit users. Personally, I didn't even know this happened until these articles started popping up.

[theorique]

If one aggressive subreddit takes irresponsible action, is that fair to say "Reddit did 'X'".

Or is it more accurate to say "the subreddit /r/findthebostonbombers of the Reddit web site did 'X'"?

I would argue for the latter. Granted, the mainstream media is unlikely to make the distinction or care, but it's an important difference.

[jodrellblank]

The same way we talk about the actions of a small percentage of the employees of a company as if they represent the entire company.

[omni]

I do not think these are equivalent. A company is a hierarchical structure of individuals, with oversight and management relationships. Reddit is just a bunch of unaffiliated individuals talking to each other.