Elijah Hermitt Welcome to the Jungle The internet is a worldwide entity that provides humanity with an endless supply

of information, games, and social networking. A person in alama!oo, "ichigan could #ace$ook message a friend in %ydney, Australia, find out how much weight "atthew "c&onaughey lost for his role in '(allas )uyers &lu$,* and play a game of %olitaire all at the same time. Another a$ility made possi$le $y the internet is getting your opinions out into the great wide open +uickly and easily through online commenting. ,eople are a$le to interact online with an endless amount of commenters coming from all walks of life. With a single click of a mouse, we are given the opportunity to talk a$out issues with people who have a completely different point of view from our own. However, as ,eter ,arker, whose alter-ego is %pider-"an, was so wisely told $y his $eloved uncle, )en, 'With great power, comes great responsi$ility.* .nfortunately, people have a$used their a$ility to use these online comment forums as a means to e/press individual ideals to people all over the world. 0nstead, they are used to slam other commenters for their views. As a result of the lack of communication aids, such as $ody language and intonation, when commenting online, it is not possi$le to have a true deli$eration over the internet. Why ,enn1ive2 &hoosing an appropriate we$site that would produce some sort of outside response from internet-users was not very difficult. The topic needed to $e some sort of hot-$utton issue on a relia$le site that normally has a wide range of comments on every story. 0mmediately, 0 turned to ,enn1ive, the we$site of the Harris$urg newspaper, the ,atriot-3ews. 4irtually every article 0 read on this site is always peppered with a myriad of comments5 some are thought-out and

informed, and others are disrespectful and unintelligent. .sually, the latter outweighs the former, making ,enn1ive the perfect place to add in my two cents in order to get a response. #urthermore, ,enn1ive was also an ideal we$site to use for my commenting and deli$eration analysis $ecause it is a relia$le and well esta$lished news outlet. The ,atriot-3ews has $een in circulation throughout &entral ,ennsylvania since 6789. 0t has won several awards throughout its history5 the most prestigious caming in :;66, when the paper earned a ,ulit!er ,ri!e for $reaking and covering the Jerry %andusky child-se/ a$use scandal. This solidifies ,enn1ive and the ,atriot-3ews as a legitimate and widely read news source. There are many controversial issues that have the potential to not only end friendships, $ut also create a $u!! on the internet. <ne argument that never fails to get people talking is the issue of homose/ual marriage. ,eople are e/tremely vocal a$out this topic $ecause it relates to the personal $eliefs they hold true without the intervention of political $ias. Even though politics has definitely worked its way into this issue, people are a$le to talk freely a$out it since you do not need to $e well-versed in political issues to form an opinion. 0t is simply $ased on your gut feeling on whether or not homose/ual individuals should $e legally permitted to marry. This $eing said, the article 0 chose to engage with was entitled, '=ay or straight -marriage has its $enefits* $y &hristopher "oraff of ,enn1ive. 0n this piece, the writer takes a look at marriage in general and its many positive aspects, including emotional and financial $enefits. He states, 'may$e it>s time states stopped fighting and recogni!ed that committed partnerships ? regardless of the genders of their participants ? are something society should $e promoting.* This is an angle that not many reporters have taken when writing a$out the issue of homose/ual marriage. 3eedless to say, this story was am$ushed with comments5 it was one of the top commented articles on ,enn1ive for nearly a week with over two hundred comments.

%elf Evaluation 0n order to stir the pot and create a response on an internet comment forum, one must usually $ring a controversial point of view to the ta$le. <therwise, the thought gets lost in the sea of comments on the we$site. With this assignment, 0 wanted to follow the guidelines for deli$eration $y concisely presenting my points while remaining civil and respectful. ,eople often struggle with these aspects of online commenting $ecause they are either far too ver$ose to keep the interest of the reader or simply discourteous to other commenters. 0 first scoured the comment feed to find a uni+ue idea which 0 could support. This comment came from 'Winegrower 0n ,A,* who challenged a popular argument used $y people against homose/ual marriage. He said that if marriage is $ased on the a$ility to procreate, then due to his vasectomy, he should divorce his wife. 0t was certainly intended to sound utterly ridiculous to show people how that argument is unconvincing and weak. 0 responded to this comment $y complimenting the creativity $ehind his comment and then e/panding on my personal thoughts on this angle. Although no further thoughts were directed at mine, it still created a $u!! in the following comments when another commenter challenged his views. A more interesting e/change came up on another comment thread when '1arryHarry* $oldly said, 'Just the thought of a poll really upsets someone. 0t>s already $een done. WH, took a poll a few months ago. A$out 6@A supported gay marriage.* This created a storm of criticism thrown directly at this commenter B%ee ,age :, E/change CD. "any of the complaints were centered around the e/istence of the mysterious WH, poll. Then, his apparent arch-nemesis, ')ad,enny,* chimed in with some disrespectful words calling him 'angry and resentful* and his ideas 'archaic.* Although this may very well $e true, there is still no room for insults, for this is a forum for e/pressing your ideas and discussing them with many people online.

When 0 saw this, 0 decided to interject in with my thoughts on the issue presented $y '1arryHarry,* as well as the stones thrown $y ')ad,enny* B%ee ,age :, E/change CD. "y comment did indeed create some activity, $ut 0 would not consider it deli$eration on the main topic of the article. <verall, the conversation turned into a 'he said, he said* argument, as ')ad,enny* told me that '1arryHarry* has a reputation for $eing especially disrespectful on ,enn1ive comment feeds. ,erhaps my $iggest mistake was mentioning '1arryHarry* in the first place, for he immediately responded with a comment aimed directly at me. 0nstead of putting forth an argument to oppose my original thoughts, he focused on the fact that ')ad,enny* accused him of using offensive rhetoric in his comments. 0n my comment, 0 referred to this as 'internet slander.* 0 was in no way accusing him of such actions, $ut rather simply reiterating what was said $y ')ad,enny* in an earlier comment. This was not taken lightly $y '1arryHarry,* as he promptly corrected me on not knowing the difference $etween slander and li$el B%ee ,age :, E/change CD. This commenter aims to challenge people and start arguments rather than focus on homose/ual marriage, the issue at hand. The lack of discussion a$out the actual article is due to my attempt at creating a civil and open environment for commenting. A deli$eration cannot happen without a moderator, which is the role 0 tried to take on during these comment e/changes. The pro$lem with this is that many people would rather not $e controlled or told what they could $e doing $etter. 0n each of my comments, 0 was trying to not only e/press my opinions, $ut also to diffuse the tense situation developing. The (iscussions 0f the goal of this comment feed was to show students an e/ample of what not to do

during a deli$eration, then the mission was accomplished. 4irtually every characteristic of an effective deli$eration was a$sent throughout the string of comments on this article. <nce one participant would put forth his or her personal opinion, there would $e several non-productive responses picking apart the original comment and usually insulting the writer. Even though 0 did not see eye to eye with '1arryHarry,* it was still disheartening to see everyone gang up on him and find the flaws in his comments rather than present an argument for their point of view. The article $eing listed as one of the top commented stories on ,enn1ive meant nothing due to the fact that there was nothing accomplished. This is how 0 would define 'productivity,* especially in a deli$eration setting. Although there is no winner or loser, the participants should still $e a$le to find some common ground on the issue. (uring this comment feed, there was no respect shown for fellow commenters, a very limited information $ase, no common ground discovered, and hardly any original thought a$out the issue of homose/ual marriage. Eeading and participating in this comment forum made me reali!e that the outlandish tendencies of humans rear their ugly heads most often on the internet. ,eople $ecome $lind with passion for their opinion, $ut sometimes you have to step $ack and appreciate what the opposition has to say. <nline (eli$eration &hallenges "any people say the a$ility to effectively communicate face-to-face is $ecoming a lost art in this generation. This is due to the endless amount of technology we have at our disposal, which we can use in lieu of actually speaking to someone. However, there are certain situations where ver$al communication is a$solutely necessary, and deli$eration is one of these specific instances. Without the use of hand gestures, voice inflection, and facial e/pressions, it is e/tremely difficult to accurately convey your point. Although it seems like the internet facilitates interaction, in reality it restricts us $y taking away these a$ilities.

There were several points $rought up in the &ivic 0ssues #orum from class that, without ela$oration or $ody language, would have lost their intended meaning had they just $een in writing online. #or e/ample, one participant in my group was strongly opposed to option three, 'Ensure that Everyone =ets a #air &hance.* This person stated that it is not fair for people of lower income to have more opportunities to receive a higher education. Without any further comment, this sounds +uite harsh. However, what the student was actually trying to e/press was that financial aid should not $e $ased on family income alone $ut also merit earned in school. This is a prime e/ample of a comment that could $e interpreted incorrectly, simply due to the lack of communicative supplements normally availa$le to us while speaking. 0t demonstrates that true 'online deli$eration* does not e/ist. 3ot only are people limited in the e/pression of their ideas, $ut they are also a$le to hide $ehind their usernames. Without a real name attached to the comment, a person could say whatever he or she pleases $ecause no$ody will $e a$le to see who actually wrote the rude comment. Another o$stacle that presents itself is the innate competitive nature of humans. We are always, whether we want to accept it or not, focused on winning. A de$ate has the end goal of $eing victorious over your opponent, while a deli$eration does not. Therefore, online comment forums represent a hapha!ard version of a de$ate, rather than an organi!ed and civil deli$eration, $ecause people are fi/ated on con+uering their opposition. &onclusion The key to creating more well-mannered online discussions is eliminating anonymity from the e+uation. This includes enigmatic usernames $ecause these do not attach the author>s true identity to the comment. 0f someone has their full name, photo, and even #ace$ook profile associated with the words they are typing on the internet, it takes some of the $oldness out of the

comments. <ften times, people are terrified of conse+uences and repercussions stemming from their actions. A person may think twice a$out posting something offensive if others are a$le to see e/actly who said it. ,erhaps '1arryHarry* would not $e so +uick to critici!e everyone if his photo and full name were linked to the comment. 0n conclusion, the internet is not the ideal location to hold a formal deli$eration due to the a$sence of face-to-face communication tools utili!ed $y people to clarify and support his or her comments.