From JA Westenberg’s Mastodon posts:
The 7 golden rules of not being a dick on the internet
- No quote dunking. If you disagree with someone, reply to them directly. Broadcasting their post to your audience with a snide caption turns a disagreement into a pile-on. Which is the entire point, I know. But we’re better than that, right?
…right?
No snark-and-lock. Don’t fire off a smug “cutting” reply and then limit who can respond. If you can dish it, you can take it; turning off replies after a dunk is the social media version of ringing a doorbell and running. Don’t be a fucking child.
Read the kind version. Most takes that look outrageous are clumsy phrasing or missing context, so when something reads badly, go back and find the more generous interpretation before you reply.
Screenshot in good faith. When you repost someone to criticise them, show enough of the thread that people can see what they actually meant, because cropping out the context to make someone look worse is lying with extra steps.
Don’t subtweet, say it. Vague callout posts about “some people” are passive-aggressive theatre; either name the issue and talk to the person or let it go.
Correct, don’t humiliate. When someone’s wrong, you want the truth out there, so share the correction and skip the victory lap that only shames them.
Log off before you escalate. When a thread gets your heart racing, close the app, because you’ll type something worse while you’re angry and the post will keep until tomorrow if it’s worth making in the first place.
I love every one of these. A wonderful reference for anyone writing on the internet.
I must admit, I am guilty of some of these. #1, for example. I don’t think I’m intentially being a dick. It’s just that me replying to them is not…feasible, I guess. Most of mine are news stories, where the reply wouldn’t be going to the person I’m mocking. And #3, I don’t always do this. Sometimes I do. Sometimes, not so much. It’s most dependent on my mood. Not really fair.
On the other hand, I really do try to adhere to #4 every single time. I’ve always believed context is key. And #6, I absolutely adhere to. Because I’m not a douche. (Life rifle #1).
Also, I should obey #7 a lot more.
