So, okay. This needs to be said and understood:
KiwiFarms, Encyclopedia Dramatica, and 4chan are NOT reliable sources.
They're not.
Their entire reason for being is to manufacture reasons to ostracize people. They are, by any definition, hate machines.
You know the saying "trust but verify"? I am telling you: you can't trust these sources.
If you're going to attack and harass someone, find a better source than KiwiFarms, Encyclopedia Dramatica, and 4chan. Please.
Talking about abusive/hateful elements of community (better safe than sorry to use a CW here)
@noelle Also Lolcow....
Im defintely feeling like we have more than enough troll/harassing/doxxing encouraged sites out there.
Even if those sites were legitimately posting info on someone actually DANGEROUS to the community, no way you can pull that out of all the muck normally spewed there.
Talking about abusive/hateful elements of community (better safe than sorry to use a CW here)
@Catwoman69y2k @noelle Yeah, there's no way to sift through the edited bullshit and lies and *pictures of an innocent person's ~~child~~* that they've been archiving for totally legit, not-harassment purposes.
The danger to the community is letting KFers in.
More talk of SW and things like deadnaming
@SyrusRayne @noelle (3/3) Ironically, it is places like ED, KF, LolCow that would be the place where that kind of "outing" is done (from people deadnaming others, people outing their real name in context of their SW/porn name)...
I guess what Im getting at is that KF members can easily use a completely different email and persona to use Mastodon. Thats often how they get some of thier info.
More talk of SW and things like deadnaming
@Catwoman69y2k @noelle Oh for sure. They're used to that - they can't use their real info or they'd *destroy each-other.*
We can't pre-empt it, unfortunately.
But Noelle's response, as well as the response of some other admins and mods, is a good step. Shit from KF, from other hate-sites, IS NOT legitimate, and saying as much is beneficial both so the KFer knows their bile isn't welcome, and so victims know they very much are.
(1/2)
Talking about abusive online behavior
@SyrusRayne @noelle Honestly, its hard to believe that people would actually consider sites like Lolcow and KF as "legitimate info". You only have to be on those places for 5 minutes to see the people on there with Way Too Much Time on Thier Hands and/or a Nasty Vendetta against select people they are dumping on.
Abusive Online Behaviour/murder
@Catwoman69y2k @noelle See, I'd like to think that too... I'd like to believe that none of them buy into it, that it's just irony-poisoned hatred, and a way for them to feel good about destroying someone.
But I think some *do* believe it. If not at first, then eventually. Bit of an extreme example here, but look at Lane Davis. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/lane-davis-ralph-retort-seattle4truth-alt-right
He stabbed his father to death over conspiracy nonsense *nobody could possibly believe.* But it seems like he did believe it.
Abusive Online Behaviour/murder
@Catwoman69y2k @noelle But! Either way, I don't think it really matters if they believe it. They're not gonna listen either way, we just need to limit the damage they can do.
@SyrusRayne @noelle Yeah. Whether related to political stances, stances on race, sex, or creed.... there is some lethal Kool-Aid that people are drinking
Talking about abusive online behavior
@Catwoman69y2k @noelle
Yeah, and the uh, the "archiving photos of innocent child" thing is relevant to this most recent Discourse? It's how you can tell the people yelling about it don't actually give the first fuck about kids.