A class discusson on the Psychology of Online Interactions
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Kindness of Online Strangers
To counteract that troll story from last week, I found this story in which friends and strangers help find a stolen car. Nice change from causing people physical harm.
See you all Tuesday!
8 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I've seen a number of stories just within the past month that highlight how the web has been utilized to solve crime. I wonder if anyone will create a website specifically designed to use crowd sourcing to nab law breakers.
While we have looked at the downsides of online groups, this is an uplifting story of how people can use the internet for good. I have heard of stories like this as well, and I agree with Simon (are you in our class??) that it would be a good idea for someone to create a site to help catch not only auto theifs, but all criminals. The only part of the article that I found alarming was that it said "his post set off a cyberworld dragnet — a process definitely not recommended by the police — in a case the arresting officer called “a bizarre file.” It seems as if the police would like the help of something like this, not discourage it. Maybe I misunderstood what they meant by that, but I think something like this is extremely beneficial.
The blogs I participate on are car enthusiast blogs and this is a pretty common thing. Well, by that I mean, it's common for people to post about a stolen car and for the group to be on the lookout for it. I mean, after all, we are bonded by this common interest. Sometimes, the cars are found but a lot of the time they aren't. But that's not a result of the method being flawed, it's more a product of the experience of the thief. This guy must've been extremely dumb or extremely new to the hobby to try and pull a stunt like this, then parade around like nothing ever happened. Most experienced criminals have the car in a chop shop within the same day.
I have not heard of anything like this, but it is interesting how people can come together for a greater cause. I would think too that the police would want all the help they can get. I mean how many people are on the internet in so many different places and the police are few in number and can only be in so many places at once.
This is a great story of an online group working together to catch a thief. I can understand how the police aren’t supporting this. The subscribers were taking too much into their own hands and not letting the police handle it. I can understand how helpful the site was to catch this guy but it’s one thing to just post on the internet pictures or the location of the guy but it’s a different thing to follow the guy or go to his house, that’s were it gets unsafe.
I agree with Meg! Don't get me wrong ... the site seems like a great thing and it is great that there are people out there still willing to help ... but these guys going to another's house can be very unsafe. They didn't know what kind of guy he was and how far he would be willing to go to get away with the crime. But it is nice to know that there are sites that have helping people on there ... I am planning on passing this along, a friend's car just got stolen the other day, however, like the story said this car is prob. already been in a chop shop or in another state.
I enjoyed this... see, the internet is out to do good :) and if i was that guy who solved the case/found the car...i'd be prety excited! like, i always want to be that person that finds the missing dog...and they found a stolen car!
anyways, this kind of (not really) ties into what we were talking about in class. Not the issue with the car, but more on research found on the internet. We have been reading so much about the people who get onto these sites, and if they are "annonymous".... but this story, along with the health chapter...shows that the internet is being done to find research, solve problems, give out information!
I mean, if my car ever gets stolen... I'm posting a blogg online :) have a good weekend everyone.
8 comments:
I've seen a number of stories just within the past month that highlight how the web has been utilized to solve crime. I wonder if anyone will create a website specifically designed to use crowd sourcing to nab law breakers.
While we have looked at the downsides of online groups, this is an uplifting story of how people can use the internet for good. I have heard of stories like this as well, and I agree with Simon (are you in our class??) that it would be a good idea for someone to create a site to help catch not only auto theifs, but all criminals.
The only part of the article that I found alarming was that it said "his post set off a cyberworld dragnet — a process definitely not recommended by the police — in a case the arresting officer called “a bizarre file.”
It seems as if the police would like the help of something like this, not discourage it. Maybe I misunderstood what they meant by that, but I think something like this is extremely beneficial.
The blogs I participate on are car enthusiast blogs and this is a pretty common thing. Well, by that I mean, it's common for people to post about a stolen car and for the group to be on the lookout for it. I mean, after all, we are bonded by this common interest. Sometimes, the cars are found but a lot of the time they aren't. But that's not a result of the method being flawed, it's more a product of the experience of the thief. This guy must've been extremely dumb or extremely new to the hobby to try and pull a stunt like this, then parade around like nothing ever happened. Most experienced criminals have the car in a chop shop within the same day.
No, Simon is not in our class! :-) We just got our first spam, too, so I'm looking to delete it.
I have not heard of anything like this, but it is interesting how people can come together for a greater cause. I would think too that the police would want all the help they can get. I mean how many people are on the internet in so many different places and the police are few in number and can only be in so many places at once.
This is a great story of an online group working together to catch a thief. I can understand how the police aren’t supporting this. The subscribers were taking too much into their own hands and not letting the police handle it. I can understand how helpful the site was to catch this guy but it’s one thing to just post on the internet pictures or the location of the guy but it’s a different thing to follow the guy or go to his house, that’s were it gets unsafe.
I agree with Meg! Don't get me wrong ... the site seems like a great thing and it is great that there are people out there still willing to help ... but these guys going to another's house can be very unsafe. They didn't know what kind of guy he was and how far he would be willing to go to get away with the crime. But it is nice to know that there are sites that have helping people on there ... I am planning on passing this along, a friend's car just got stolen the other day, however, like the story said this car is prob. already been in a chop shop or in another state.
I enjoyed this... see, the internet is out to do good :)
and if i was that guy who solved the case/found the car...i'd be prety excited! like, i always want to be that person that finds the missing dog...and they found a stolen car!
anyways, this kind of (not really) ties into what we were talking about in class. Not the issue with the car, but more on research found on the internet. We have been reading so much about the people who get onto these sites, and if they are "annonymous".... but this story, along with the health chapter...shows that the internet is being done to find research, solve problems, give out information!
I mean, if my car ever gets stolen... I'm posting a blogg online :) have a good weekend everyone.
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