The Fools: Jay Maisel vs Andy Baio
In the last week of June 2011, Thomas Hawk wrote an article about the copyright lawsuit between Jay Maisel and Andy Baio. It was the first time I heard about it. Thomas Hawk took the point of view that Jay Maisel's lawyers “extorted” $32,500 from Andy Baio and he could do it because Jay had deeper pockets and bigger lawyers than Andy's.
132 comments later:
- Most of the comments were in favor of Jay Maisel
- The comments became a discussion between a ½ dozen people
- It was a matter of opinions between a few people instead of a general discussion
A few days later, Thomas wrote another post, 94 comments later, things started to degenerate:
- “You're a douche”
- Insults on both sides of the argument
- “Veiled” threats
- Accusations
- …
I do not understand some of these “fools” insulting and making threats on the Internet? It's there forever!
Before I work with/for anybody, I do a web search! These comments will show up, and I will make sure that I will never work with people that make threats or insult people. It's my safety! Would you work with people that are time-bombs and ready to explode at the mere mention of a difference of opinion?
What are those people thinking? Email is one thing, it's just between you and the recipient, but blogs/comments? Come on! Wake up!
- If you think that you are anonymous, I've got news for you. Nobody is anonymous on the Internet
- Even if you think that with using Tor you can escape, think again. Tor only protects your IP address from people who do not know what they are doing.