Adrian Chmielarz 🧙♀️🔥 · @adrianchm
15th Mar 2015 from TwitLonger
The Little Blockbot That Couldn't
Let's sum it up.
An AAA dev retweeted a tweet on …chess from a controversial journalist (that some people like, some people hate) – but who is a journalist nonetheless, one often invited to UK radio (e.g. BBC) and television (his latest was an interview about racism with Channel 4 News).
Because the journalist is on a certain Twitter blockbot for his support of the controversial #GamerGate (that some people like, some people hate) that retweet got the AAA dev on the blockbot as well – that is how the blockbot works. Some say it’s been created to protect from the online abuse, some have a different opinion (that it mainly protects from disagreement and criticism) because of its controversial creator (that some people like, some people hate).
In either case, the bot’s main problem is that it casts a really wide net, which in the past resulted in blocking e.g. the Twitter account of KFC.
Getting on the blockbot insta-cost the AAA dev 2500 followers (as their use of the blockbot automatically blocked him once he got on the bot’s blacklist). The dev posted a blog in which:
- He acknowledged that online abuse is a problem (it is) and Twitter should do better
- He linked to an article by a well known, controversial gaming journalist (that some people like, some people hate – do you finally see a theme here?) who summed up other articles on what Twitter could do to help fight the online abuse
- But he said that the blockbot functioning the way it does now is maybe not the best idea
- He reflected on the fact that human beings are complex and disliking certain ideas that a person expresses usually does not invalidate that person’s other ideas and their overall humanity
- He also explained his dislike for the idea of guilt by association
That got the aforementioned gaming journalist furious. Even though the article is public, he demanded that the dev removes the link. Not by asking the dev, but by openly shouting at his employer. This is the gentlest description of that tantrum you will get from me.
The AAA dev removed the link, and later – when more actors entered the scene – made the blog private. Which makes me sad, but which I understand and respect.
On the surface level, it seems like the outrage culture of influential online bullies has won another battle. The same people who call for more diversity in everything already reduced a scientist who landed a robot on a comet to tears for wearing the wrong t-shirt, and now used fear tactics to effectively silence a game developer for not believing in guilt by association.
But if you look deeper, you might see that one should "Never interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake." Maybe that is too hopeful and we are marching towards 1984 and the thought police being even more effective than it is today. But maybe it is not and the reason and common sense will triumph …again.
After all, we’re hearing more and more voices against the outrage factories – sometimes even from within the factories themselves – and not the other way around. That is a reason for hope, not despair.
P.S. Note I am not against blocking, everyone can try to make their online environment the way they like. I do believe, though, that people abuse the block button, often at the slightest of disagreements after posting an incendiary tweet. I find that “let me offend you then block you if you respond even in the most polite of ways” routine a bit troubling.
The other thing I find odd is when journalists block other journalists and game developers. Imagine journalists of one political side blocking journalists and politicians of the opposition – would that make sense to you?
Personally I try to prod and poke my brain, which is why I follow both people I agree and disagree with – but even I refuse to follow, say, the truly bad and highly toxic actors on either side of #GamerGate (although I am not blocking them, so every now and then I get hit by shrapnel – but I learned to live with that).
But that’s me. If you’re on Twitter and you want to interact only with people with exactly same views on the world like you, then I might consider this unhealthy, but it’s your choice. I am not entirely sure if the blockbot is the best solution for you, though, as the users of the bot somehow always know perfectly well what is the blacklist up to, they keep claiming the abuse all the time, and they cannot stop tweeting about #GamerGate -- making me think the bot is highly ineffective.