My kind of dick.

I agree with this - it was surely inevitable the way we were going, but I go back and forth wondering if it is necessary to stoke the change that will surely come out of it. Big changes do typically happen quickly, as history has shown. The only way you can get past the people who fear change is if something blindsides them.

It's been my thought for a long time (well before Trump) that the way we use technology and the internet is incredibly irresponsible. It has been the major factor in the widespread ignorance we see. I don't think our internet freedoms should be curtailed - it still has the potential to enlighten everyone if used correctly - but I do think a sea change in the way we think about it is needed. And I think this election has planted the seeds for that change. We need to stop viewing the internet as an anonymous place where you can feel good about yourself and do whatever you want. With social media and the sheer amount of time we spend on the internet, we need to start seeing it as another real place that real people visit (albeit not physically). People need to be held accountable for their actions and we need to start behaving on the internet the way we would behave in real life. If a bum on the street starting spouting Hillary conspiracies, I wouldn't believe him. The same bare minimum scrutiny should be exercised on the internet.

I think people are now starting to realize all this. We need companies like Facebook to step up and realize that most people get their news from their feed - they are now a news media organization whether they like it or not. They need a way to get people real news. We need internet education for our kids. Like home ec before, a whole class should be dedicated to internet etiquette and utility. We are currently witnessing what happens when an entire generation grows up with an internet with no rules. The best analogy I can think of is the wild west. Kids should be taught from a young age that there are consequences to your actions on the internet.

I feel like the past 20 years of the internet have been like if all of us were 5 year olds waving around our parents' gun. We got shot in the foot with Trump, but hopefully we learn our lesson the next time around.

/rant

I mean, this mindset is fine and all, but it's no longer considered an experiment when the country gets pushed back further than expected. Nothing seriously terrifying has happened because people have fought back, but what happens when we can no longer fight back?

Failed experiments are still experiments. Learn to science.

I think you're misunderstanding my point. The experiment mindset is fine until it starts not being an experiment, and becomes an actual threat. I never said anything about it being a failed experiment.

You have a very experimental approach to logic.

avant-garde think piece

>Frownland misses point
>Brings up irrelevant comparison
>Can't admit to being ignorant

Your strategy in an argument is always the same.

Such inventive logic. If I missed the point, go on and clarify it since communicating is a two way street. Tell me: why do experiments no longer become experiments when you don't like them?

I have problems with this. I don't think you're wrong about how the internet should be approached, but if I understand you correctly you are blaming the internet for the culture where as I think the culture is responsible for the internet. I grew up at a time when the internet first took off and I was involved in some of the earliest MMORPGs and internet social networks and very few people acted the way they do now. Maybe I'm just blinded by my own experiences. Maybe it's because I was a teen in an environment dominated by adults or maybe my experience was in a niche community. It's hard to say.