Senator Ned O'Sullivan wants online commentators registered.

cajonlardo · 24-09-2014 03:37PM

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Would someone stand up for the man? SOMEONE???

Apt username - go get him!

gandalf · 24-09-2014 03:53PM

BTW DeVore this is one debate that needs to be streamed online as well.

PizzamanIRL · 24-09-2014 04:02PM

Ned O' Sullivan can feck off. Yeah you, Ned.

24-09-2014 04:05PM

Its interesting nobody has addressed the point of clip instead it all about FF and or Ned o Sullivan.

Yes I do think on line commentaters should have to provide some sort of identification which does not have to be made public. It would stop the worst of the vitriol and keep out the underlying nastiness.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo · 24-09-2014 04:34PM

People aren't anonymous online anyway. If you make a credible threat online they can find you pretty much every time.

The fact Shane McEntee's suicide was partly blamed on social media concerned me at the time, it was odd at best.

Cyber bullying in the main is done by people who know the victim, and is done on platforms like Facebook which couldn't possibly be any less anonymous.

Bullying needs to be taken seriously, both online and off, but it is a million miles away from criticising TD's, or soccer players, or musicians.

Discourse is the corner stone of a healthy society and democracy and anyone who argues against that is a fascist.

gandalf · 24-09-2014 04:41PM

The problem here is technology is being used as a scapegoat by people who don't understand it, want to get a quick and cheap soundbite and who don't actually have a solution for the real issue at hand.

As has been pointed out virtually no one is anonymous on the internet. We all leave a means to find out who we are.

24-09-2014 04:42PM

If you are public person does that alone make you fair game?

If you are in politics, your opinion and policies are fair game, but not your appearance, your family, your weight.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo · 24-09-2014 04:53PM

mariaalice wrote: »

If you are public person does that alone make you fair game?

If you are in politics, your opinion and policies are fair game, but not your appearance, your family, your weight.

On a personal level I would like our minister for health to not be obese. I would worry about someone who has so little self control having such an important job.

VinLieger · 24-09-2014 04:55PM

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

On a personal level I would like our minister for health to not be obese. I would worry about someone who has so little self control having such an important job.

One of the many reasons why Leo might be the best one we have had for a while, tbh it might end up being the only pro he has over his 2 predecessors but time will tell on that i suppose

Dr. Mantis Toboggan · 24-09-2014 04:55PM

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

On a personal level I would like our minister for health to not be obese. I would worry about someone who has so little self control having such an important job.

Varadkar may have a fat head but he's hardly obese.

shruikan2553 · 24-09-2014 05:01PM

One day a senator will say something about technology that isn't completely stupid

24-09-2014 05:01PM

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

On a personal level I would like our minister for health to not be obese. I would worry about someone who has so little self control having such an important job.

Indeed but that not the motivation for most of the online comment about the weight of various ministers for health. That's very insidious as well.. a underling nastiness excused by a seemingly reasonable comment.

I don't think you have any worries with the present health minister.

biko · 24-09-2014 05:05PM

It's already been tried and did not work.
A newspaper in Sweden forced everyone onto using FB accounts for comments, hoping people would "settle down" a bit when they had to use their names.
That scare tactic didn't work, people still would post angrily about things - so the newspaper simply did away with comments altogether.

krudler · 24-09-2014 05:10PM

Plenty of people post on youtube with their real names, and youtube comments are like stupidity and ignorance personified.

Davarus Walrus · 24-09-2014 05:11PM

Most online discourse is complete sh1te in fairness. Tired populist nonsense, cheap rhetoric and lashings of faux-outrage. What I find most worrying is that some politicians actually give a sh1te about what gimps on the Internet are saying.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 24-09-2014 05:13PM

DeVore wrote: »

Well.... He wants a debate and he wants to have it with "online anonymous bloggers"....

We'll I'm happy to step up to that debate. I'm happy with any location and time he chooses.

I'd like to ask for help pushing this into social media (or in fact any media!) to make this happen

Hearing a lot of I's there. Getting a bang of self-promotion, myself.

DeVore · 24-09-2014 05:16PM

I just like making trouble generally

Like many other people.

24-09-2014 05:25PM

krudler wrote: »

Plenty of people post on youtube with their real names, and youtube comments are like stupidity and ignorance personified.

I wonder about that as well, I came across a completely mad nasty rant by some up the ra type just because an English person said thy liked trad music. the person could easily be identified.

So obviously some people don't care what they put up online.

kowloon · 24-09-2014 05:43PM

DeVore wrote: »

I just like making trouble generally

Go easy on him though, he's old and frail, these 'puters scare him. His heart might give in if you tear him a new arsehole with your technolingo.

The_Valeyard · 24-09-2014 06:19PM

gandalf wrote: »

Ah come on! The only reason to read the journal is to go through all the comments from the nutters!!!!

Some can be funny,

But I have seen a huge number of supposed 'liberals' speak such bile, forked tongue aggression towards others that have a different point of view, it can be menacing or even scary. I just avoid the comments section.

No way to regulate it anyhow, what happens if the servers are based outside of Ireland?

FloatingVoter · 24-09-2014 06:27PM

I'll register upon two clauses - I get an NUJ card. This will put me on a par with the idiots who go fishing online for quotes and subject matter everytime they are too hungover to find something creative to say. Ian O' Doherty - how are tricks ?
My second clause is that everytime a politician says something blatantly stupid they are made to stand in O'Connell Street, Dublin with their trousers / skirt around their ankles holding up an "I'm Sorry" sign for a period of not less than one hour.

Davarus Walrus · 24-09-2014 06:27PM

The Journal is one of those sites where the top half of it is sometimes as dreadful as the bottom half of it.

Lapin · 24-09-2014 06:43PM

From Wiki -

In June 2011, it was revealed that 3,600 premium line votes from a phone in Leinster House at a cost of €2,600 to the Irish taxpayer helped Michael Healy-Rae win Celebrities Go Wild in 2007.[5] O'Sullivan admitted making "around a dozen" calls and texts to support Healy-Rae after being asked to do so by Healy-Rae's campaign manager.[6]

Ok here's the deal Neddie lad.

You give us the names of the 3,588 people who made the other calls and texts that we paid for.

Then we'll consider discussing the merits of anonymity online.

In the meantime, do something useful in the Seanad instead of playing to the crowd or go to hell.

Son Of A Vidic · 24-09-2014 06:51PM

Breaking News: Anonymous bloggers can comment freely shocker, pillars of democracy threatened

I fully support the learned Senator in his quest to introduce fascism registration.

Reiver · 24-09-2014 07:54PM

Don't mock this man. Gibbon wrote about Stilicho and Aetius being the last of the Romans. At least this man has some moral integrity and is standing proud.

cajonlardo · 24-09-2014 07:57PM

Reiver wrote: »

Don't mock this man. Gibbon wrote about Stilicho and Aetius being the last of the Romans. At least this man has some moral integrity and is standing proud.

What has Gibbon to say about premium rate phonelines?

twinytwo · 24-09-2014 08:02PM

P_1 wrote: »

An out of touch politician who's scared of the facilities that the internet offers...

This along with Facebook seeming to insist on people using their legal names (at least only in the States so far) is setting off a dangerous precedent.

So long as nobody is being harmed, and I'm sorry but criticism is not causing anyone harm, then people should be free to use whatever nom de plume they wish to use.

The problem is certain people think that because its the internet they can say whatever they want, without any form of repercussion.

This should not be the case, newspapers get sued if they dont have proof to back up their articles/ comments.

This would be the same for random internet posters, the same goes for racial abuse, online bullying etc.

If you wouldn't say it to the persons face you shouldn't be allowed to post it on the internet just because you can hide behind a username

DeVore · 24-09-2014 08:08PM

cajonlardo wrote: »

What has Gibbon to say about premium rate phonelines?

And ballot-stuffing reality tv shows?

DeVore · 24-09-2014 08:15PM

twinytwo wrote: »

The problem is certain people think that because its the internet they can say whatever they want, without any form of repercussion.

This should not be the case, newspapers get sued if they dont have proof to back up their articles/ comments.

This would be the same for random internet posters, the same goes for racial abuse, online bullying etc.

If you wouldn't say it to the persons face you shouldn't be allowed to post it on the internet just because you can hide behind a username

You cant hide behind a username. That's where your point falls down. We've had people Section 8'ed here (request for IP address) and they've had legal action taken against them by other posters. (we deliver the ip address, but we also tell the user they've been divulged).

For most people, its a complete fallacy that you cant be tracked online.

The_Valeyard · 24-09-2014 08:16PM

DeVore wrote: »

You cant hide behind a username. That's where your point falls down. We've had people Section 8'ed here (request for IP address) and they've had legal action taken against them by other posters. (we deliver the ip address, but we also tell the user they've been divulged).

For most people, its a complete fallacy that you cant be tracked online.

But your bound to run into VPN or burner problems, if you have enough knowledge you could daisy chain your way out of the IP, but I agree, a digital fingerpoint is easily traced back.

Why do people have to be d*cks online?

Senator Ned O'Sullivan wants online commentators registered.

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