Taken from
http://gordonkeith.wordpress.com/200...-voice-counts/
It's regarding the online comments section of news outlets, but I thought a lot of what is said is applicable here as well.
"The Dallas Morning News comments section is the worst example of what happens when everyone is allowed to publish their mental diarrhea. If you read the comments after an article or blog post, you know what I am talking about. It devolves so quickly you wish your ancestors had remained monkeys- at least the shit-slinging back then was more honest. You walk away asking “wow, are people really this mean and petty?” Yes, they are. I think even good people have been surprised how quickly they can get sucked into the vortex of fucktardom.
People on the internet can’t govern themselves. There is a reason why lottery winners and child stars start searching for rock bottom the moment they hit the top- humans aren’t built for sudden change, and the frustrated ego can’t handle the sudden power of having an audience.
It is very intoxicating at first because everyone can be Dorothy Parker in 140 characters or less. You can be witty without the need to sustain it. Negativity is the best way to insulate the ego, so you criticize everything, and pretty soon, everyone, in every forum, sounds like he’s trying out for Gawker. It is good for web traffic because each commenter checks back over and over to see if anyone has responded to the cool pile he left in the toilet, but it is bad for the product."