When I read about some of the current fandom debates and debacles, I sometimes get confused. Are people bullying one other, or are they just having reasonable disagreements (or could both somehow be true)? Should I believe the bloggers I like best about things that happened when I wasn’t there – should I believe anyone? Can someone be bullying others if they have the support of a bunch of people I like? Can someone be a bully if I agree with a bunch of their statements? Am I being unfair to someone if I don’t believe they are acting in good faith despite lack of direct evidence? Am I being a bully myself if I am in favor of banning some people from fandom communities or blocking them from conversations?
I don’t have a complete set of answers to all these questions. But these are the things I worry about. And these questions (plus a lingering unease from my past investigations into GamerGate and online trolling) led me to do some research on bullying and try to outline some guidelines for myself re identifying and coping with bullying. I am sharing in case anyone else finds this useful.
Also in case any of my readers are feeling bullied right now, I am sorry – that deeply sucks. I don’t want to appear to be an uncaring bystander in all this. I hope some of my advice – especially the last section – is somewhat helpful.
Note: Out of a desire to keep my blog mostly a happy and drama-free place, I probably won’t be spending much further space on this topic here. But if anyone wants to have a longer discussion about this post, please contact me over email (same name at gmail). Thanks!
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1GeMOf8