What follows is my own take on a subject that someone else wrote. Whether something is right or wrong, debate can only be a good thing. I hope you enjoy reading about when bad taste is really bad taste.
If someone does not like watching horror films because of the amount of blood and gore, they are highly unlikely to go out and buy a horror film on DVD. If someone does not like swearing or too much violence in a film, it is easy enough to become aware of films that would not be suitable for them without watching them first. They could read a review of it, or read the information on the back of the DVD box which usually has a box that tells you some information about the amount of violence, bad language and other things. The reason this information is put on the box is to act as a first-point barrier so that people will not just ‘come across’ something without warning that they would not want to see.
If someone knows about something, or has fair warning of what to come then they can easily avoid something they do not want to see. For example, ‘The Sun’ newspaper in the UK everyday has a page 3 model, a photograph of a topless female. Everyone who knows the newspaper, know it is there. There are many people who avoid buying the paper because of this, many others still buy the paper but flick past that page if they have no interest in viewing it, or are slightly offended by it. Many others buy that newspaper just because of it. Whether an individual aggress with it being there or disagrees strongly at least they have a choice, they already are aware of it being there and can avoid it easily if they want.
Take a look at music. A song that has a swear word in the lyrics will have that word blanked out if the song is played on the radio. Songs with many swear words in it would never be played on the radio. If you go into a shop and are browsing through the music albums you will note that many have a warning sticker on the front cover, warning them that the lyrical content may not be suitable for all. Again the person has a free choice of being able to avoid something they may not like.
So we have looked at films, newspapers and music and seen that with some regard there is a pre-warning of suitability and that a person has a free choice to only see or hear something that they would find suitable. They can easily avoid what they may find unsuitable.
What about the internet? Well the first problem is that the internet is worldwide. There is not one governing rule that oversees the content therein. Also, with the internet anything can be published, at any time, by anyone and they can pass it off as factual whether it is true or false. You would just have to take a look at wikipedia, where users have the ability to change any of the information on it, there has been many cases of wannabe comedians changing information about famous people as they think it is funny. Normally these changes are ‘fixed’ as soon as possible but it does lead one to think about the internet.
Another question that can be raised regarding the internet is ‘Do we really have a freedom of choice regarding what we view?’ Now technically that question is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer although it is slightly more complicated than that.
There are many people who only use the internet to look up things that they want to look up and nothing else. Perhaps they just check their e-mails. Perhaps they use it to check up on the football scores from around the world. Whatever they are searching for they will be able to find easily and the chance are they will not be sent to a random page about something completely different from what they were looking for. It is highly unlikely for someone to search on Google for ‘Football scores from Russia’ and be sent to a page that is about pornographic material. Unlikely but not impossible.
Now is the stage to consider a website such as Stumble Upon. To sum it up simply, SU is a website where members can thumb-up or thumb-down stuff they come across. By entering some of their topics of interest they can stumble through websites based on those interests. For example if the only interest a user clicks on is music then when that person stumbles they will be taken to a web page about music. The more interests the user clicks on the more varied the websites they stumble to are. Simple really, but there is one thing that complicates things though and that is friends and subscribers. Even if a users friends or subscriber has completely different interests, the stuff they like will be shown to the user just because they are ‘connected’. That can be a problem.
So someone using SU can be ‘forced’ to view a website that they may have not wanted to, with no pre-warning. A site or an image could just pop up on their screen that could leave a very bad taste in their mouth. What are the solutions? What are the ways around this? One would be to not use SU, another would be to cut down on friends or subscribers as they may lead you to seeing something you do not want to see.
Ok at this point I would like to share with you an article written by another Triond user, it was their article that gave me inspiration to compose this article.
http://www.webupon.com/Web-Talk/Stumbling-in-Bad-Taste.617053
The author of that piece had that experience of seeing something she did not want to see and was given no pre-warning about it. Just from stumbling to a random website she was faced with an image that made her feel very queasy. It brought about intense feelings of disgust and quite rightly so. Here was someone, staring at a vivid image of something that they did not ask to see. They did not search for this kind of image through a web search. They did not receive it in an e-mail with a heading warning of how intense a picture it would be. No, they clicked on a simple button and were taken directly to an image that they did not want to see.
On a side note, I have great sympathy for all those who are involved in war. From the front-line soldiers to their worrying families back at home. The thought of what could happen is obvious but it is one that is best not dwelt on. No one wants to ponder too much on what could happen to a loved one and because of that I have great sympathy for all involved and great sympathy also for someone who has been forced to see the harsh realities of war, despite them not wanting to see it.
Is there a place for these kind of images on the internet? Personally, I would say yes although I know many would say no and I respect that.
Any story or picture of war runs the risk of exposing images that people may not feel comfortable with. I know if I saw a photo of a blown up body it would make me feel uncomfortable, it is the kind of image I would not actively search to find. The harsh reality is though, that terrible things happen and many people have an interest in it.
Another question that needs to be considered is ‘Who is actually taking this kind of photo?’ The answer to which, presumably, is either a soldier or civilian who is at the scene. These are people who have to live day-in, day-out, seeing these terrible things happen right in front of their eyes. I suppose in many respects we are lucky to be living in countries where war is not fought on our doorsteps, that we do not have to see the sights that brave soldiers have to see on a daily basis. The sights that soldiers on both sides see are simply awful and horrific, the fight they fight is, we are told, for the greater good of mankind. One thought that springs to my mind at this moment is as follows; ‘Perhaps the kind of photo or image that shows first-hand the tragic affect of war, may just act as an impetus for an end to such tragedies.’ ‘Perhaps someone, somewhere may be inspired by such images to start to seek and end to the world’s problems.’ That in itself would be a great aspiration for the world. Imagine a world where everyone could live in peace, without the fear of war. An impossible image perhaps but one that we can try and achieve.
My heart truly does go out to all those who know anyone in the forces, whether it be a family member of a friend. Let us all just hope that the job they do, the fight they fight, is ultimately worth it.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Advice Taken.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:21 am
wow! That was wondeful article. Must read. Thnx for sharing and well done!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:50 am
A good article, Alistair. Well written. You’re right- maybe seeing how bad war really is will make people think twice. The soldiers and civilians of a war zone have to see it every day.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:58 am
This is a great article! Thanks for sharing.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Allister your article was very well written and well taken. Thank you for adding your thoughts on my article. I know that things like this exist, but being the mother of a soldier these photos just struck me horribly. The only thing that went through my mind and my heart is this could be a picture of my son, my baby! War is awful and I do realize that, I also know that the troops we have joined on their own free will because fighting for our freedom is what they want to do. Do I think there should be censorship with writings, or photos? NO I do not, but I do believe I should have a choice as to whether I want to view them or not. It works both ways don’t you think? Thank you once again for being inspired by my rant and writing this article.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Alistair, this article has certainly helped us to see the position in which the warriors (soldiers) are placed, though I’ve never thought of it like that before.Thanks for this eye opener. Another great piece.
Monica.
March 27th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Your article is very interesting. I do disagree with the statement concerning the radio and music not being played with vulgarity in it. Here in the USA we have that consistantly. If you, as you indicated, listen to country, gospel, oldies, etc. you probably won’t hear anything you dislike.
Most people in this day and time, do not consider another’s feelings or attitudes on any subject. They consider it a given ‘right’ to say whatever ‘they’ like. Even on Triond, it has become common to speak however you choose, offensive or not.
But to find out what the content is, one must delve into the subject and only hope they don’t run into someone’s loose tongue.
March 27th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I’m confuzzled, I must say I dont particularly like country or gospel. To be truthful most of the stuff I listen to others would find very offensive (I like my rap music).
You are right L Dalton about many saying things they like whether offensive or not. The way I look at it though is that something is only offensive if somebody takes offense at it (no offense. lol)
My point is if someone has a pre-warning about what a content may be they can choose to see it or not.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Awesome article and a wonderful read;well done.
March 27th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Great article showing your points.. but by the title of the site itself – Stumble Upon- suggests of unexpected and random sites to be stumbled upon.. as in – the user basically is saying `Surprise me on my next click`.. there is also a miniscule warning in the `terms of agreement` that we agreed before we can be members and use the site.. overall, this is a great article filled with concern for the feelings of others..
March 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Great article, Alistair.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I’m with RF on this one. Maybe your friend needs a ’stumble safely’ website, PG rated…
Good points and well presented, bravo!
Thanks,
Clay
March 27th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Good article. However I am not sure that “apathy” is quite the word you were looking for in “On a side note, I have great apathy for all those who are involved in war.”
Regards,
Inna
March 28th, 2009 at 2:28 am
interesting article! good work.
March 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Interesting article, here in Cyprus the English speaking radio appears to allow the songs with bad language in them, I just turn it off but it ruins my listening as I drive. The SU situation is a valid point and I have stumbled across some I would have liked to have been pre-warned. Good read, thanks.
March 28th, 2009 at 9:37 am
great article alistair and a valid point about who wants to see certain things or not but rf does make a point about the words stumble upon,and how it does lead you to think you can stumble upon many different things.even though youhave listed you own interest .very good piece
March 28th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Good article. I have been lucky so far on SU, and haven’t stumbled anything offensive.
March 28th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I too have never come across anything I consider offensive on SU – but then there is some ability to use the ‘adult content’ filter so I guess that helps. One difficulty seems to be that while a very few things are considered to be almost universally offensive (or at least most people would agree that certain things need to be approached with caution), there are many, many more things that some individuals find very offensive, but others are fine with. When we use SU we are taking ‘pot luck’. If we know that we have sensitivities then that probably isn’t such a great approach to using the internet.
March 28th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Excellent article Alistair I agree that people have a right to publish what they want but I do not agree with this poor women to have to look at it without warning
March 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Were in I in her shoes, I would have been horrified to be presented with such an image. Unfortunately, as stated above this is a risk that we run when we stumble. I have even had some questionable things pop up on a simple google search. As mentioned, using an adult content filter can help weed out some of this but understandibly with the amount of content online some of the items will be missed.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:54 am
quite interesting piece…
March 31st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I agree with Inna, ‘apathy’ was wrong and could really throw someone. I think you were going for ‘empathy’, but unless you have a loved one in that situation, you better use the correct term, ’sympathy’.
Interesting article, though. Points well taken. To some extent, it’s a risk one needs to prepare oneself for. Attempted fixes will create their own host of problems.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Yep good point,
And I only put it in to see who would be the first to spot the mistake.
Ok that was a joke.
Truthfully I messed up and I am going to fix it right away
April 12th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
nice article, good to know more about stumble which i heard from triond forum. Hard to avoid stumbling on stuff you don’t want…this issue is similar to censorship…how can you avoid seeing offline in the outside world (most of the time you can’t get prewarn)
April 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
When SU sends message about sites that this company recommends to see them, I always only choose the sites that I want.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I agree with rf. The implication of the sites name should pretty much say it all. You will undoubtedly stumble upon sites, images, music, videos or written words that may be deemed offensive by you. I actually enjoy the diversity of the sites I’ve found through the stumble upon website. So was this article about war or the stumble upon website?
October 15th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Well said Joni! Many times, sites are insensitive to everything except making money, often at their own expense on other levels.
Great read Alistair!