The Internet needs a quality control setting!

[RetiarySword]

Ok, I've noticed this alot. When I'm browsing the web, facebook, youtube, Escapist, urban dead, and all the others you can think of, to have a little laugh before I do something important like watch TV or eat, there is some stupid religious or political crap on screen!

Like on the escapist, there are these stupid forum topics like 'will the world end in 2012', and 'the meaning of life'. Youtube is probably the worst one, as there are these idiots who load up crap when your searching for something like music, or a film trailer!

I got pushed over the edge in today when I was searching through the posts on escapist looking for the new zero punctutaion, and when I was on youtube it was showing stupid vidoes like 'islam campaign, the true way, etc'. I don't want to look at that crap! I go on the internet to find stuff I enjoy, not give me a philosophical headache!

I know we can't ban or demand that stuff to be taken down, but at least have areas of the internet, or websites where material has to meet some sort of standard, maybe relavance, or just gets rid of crap!

What do you think? Do you get annoyed by people always stuffing their way of life down your throat? Do you think there should be an area devoted to quality control? Have you ever wanted to hit the people who post this crap with a shovel?

Tell me what you think about this, it would interest me to know what you think, and maybe the people who post crap will learn something (Yea right!).

 

[Zani]

Well yeah, all the religious bullshit on the internet is just bloody annoying, especially on youtube, it would be nice with some sort of quality control, even though that's not likely to happen. Ever.

 

[RetiarySword]

Maybe an area on the sites where user submitted content has to pass review? Like a safe zone?

 

[Soulfein]

Quality Control on the internet would be a terrible loss. As it stands, although you make think some of the stuff is bad there is an audience for everything. So who would control the quality? The greatness of the internet comes from the conglomeration of every possible view, and if you start quality control then you loose this. Sure, there may be a video you dont like, but someone enjoys it. So, no, censorship should never hit the internet.

 

[John Galt]

Nah, quality control on the large scale is a dangerous leap into the well of censorship. I don't see the problem with people expressing their whacko beliefs on the internet at all. I have a pretty good idea of what I enjoy viewing and I generally stick to that. If I see something I judge to be stupid or inane, I don't bother investigating it any further. The only quality control should be what you allow yourself to view. It's much easier to ignore a thread than to ask everyone to stop talking while you watch Zero Punctuation.

 

[RetiarySword]

Quality Control on the internet would be a terrible loss. As it stands, although you make think some of the stuff is bad there is an audience for everything. So who would control the quality? The greatness of the internet comes from the conglomeration of every possible view, and if you start quality control then you loose this. Sure, there may be a video you dont like, but someone enjoys it. So, no, censorship should never hit the internet.

You do have a point, maybe a menu in search fields to select which genre you want, or in user controls you can select subjects you don't want to see.

Leave customisation to the user instead of the admin?

 

[Magnetic2]

It still freaks me out though, when you go to look up like, cut kitty dances, and it's a video of some old viking grandmother being sent out to sea on an ice float. Sometimes it's better not to be reminded of the brain assassinating things other people are up to.

 

[Larenxis]

You go on the medium most populated with free speech and expect it to be censored to fit your taste? Ugh.

 

[gibboss28]

You go on the medium most populated with free speech and expect it to be censored to fit your taste? Ugh.

Agreed

 

[cleverlymadeup]

yeah as John Galt said it would just be censorship and totally against what the internet is about

if you don't want to read about certain things, don't go to the sites or learn to use features on the sites such as the block feature. you can block out sites on your own and parts of various sites thru user settings

i think the strength of the internet is the fact that there is so much stuff out there

 

[zen5887]

You go on the medium most populated with free speech and expect it to be censored to fit your taste? Ugh.

Heck yes! The internet isnt just for you.. What if some people wanted to read all that kinda stuff.. What if other people wanted to block out somthing you wanted to read...

Wont work!

 

[zirnitra]

...no one on here is going to agree with you. censoring even slightly the greatest leap forward in free speech ever is a bit like spitting on a fine work of art or making a super car environmentally friendly.

the only thing which annoys me with youtube is all the fucking covers the other day I was trying to find Johnny Cash's version of wayfaring stranger. I instead found 400 female students poorly reciting the song while playing out of time on a rusty stringed acoustic guitar they found in a charity shop for a fiver.

 

[PurpleRain]

Nah, just filter out the stretchy anus milkshakes and fat people porn and I think I should be alright.

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

Signal to noise ratio: Forums are a lot like a short wave radio. If you want a clear signal you need to do some squelching. Too much squelching though, and you'll start cutting out the signal as well. Our goal isn't to have a forum that's all signal. We simply want a higher than average level of signal (read: interesting content), and a lower than average level of noise(read:spam). That means occasionally you'll see posts you've seen before, posts that annoy you on some philosophical level, and even the occasional troll.

Ultimately we users set the tone of the boards, if everyone decides that they want to make every post about religion, race, or sex, moderators would have very little choice about the direction the users take the board in. Thankfully much cooler heads prevail here at The Escapist. Remember, the report button is your friend, but PMing a moderator ensures that we will see your side of the argument.

 

[stompy]

Nah, quality control on the large scale is a dangerous leap into the well of censorship. I don't see the problem with people expressing their whacko beliefs on the internet at all. I have a pretty good idea of what I enjoy viewing and I generally stick to that. If I see something I judge to be stupid or inane, I don't bother investigating it any further. The only quality control should be what you allow yourself to view. It's much easier to ignore a thread than to ask everyone to stop talking while you watch Zero Punctuation.

Well, you have your answer. I can accept the troll and rabid fanboy, but give me my anonymity and right to freedom of speech.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Clearly you did not read the Net Neutrality thread.

You want internet censorship for a clearner Internet experience, the exact thing that will destroy the internet. Bah!

 

[Aries_Split]

Nah, just filter out the stretchy anus milkshakes and fat people porn and I think I should be alright.

But...That's the internet experience

 

[flatearth]

As the old poem says:

First they came for the communists.
I didn't say anything, for I am not a communist.
Then they came for the jews.
I didn't say anything, for I am not a jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists.
I didn't say anything, for I am not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me.
There was no one left to speak out.

 

[Novajam]

Ok, I've noticed this alot. When I'm browsing the web, facebook, youtube, Escapist, urban dead, and all the others you can think of, to have a little laugh before I do something important like watch TV or eat, there is some stupid religious or political crap on screen!

Like on the escapist, there are these stupid forum topics like 'will the world end in 2012', and 'the meaning of life'. Youtube is probably the worst one, as there are these idiots who load up crap when your searching for something like music, or a film trailer!

I got pushed over the edge in today when I was searching through the posts on escapist looking for the new zero punctutaion, and when I was on youtube it was showing stupid vidoes like 'islam campaign, the true way, etc'. I don't want to look at that crap! I go on the internet to find stuff I enjoy, not give me a philosophical headache!

I know we can't ban or demand that stuff to be taken down, but at least have areas of the internet, or websites where material has to meet some sort of standard, maybe relavance, or just gets rid of crap!

What do you think? Do you get annoyed by people always stuffing their way of life down your throat? Do you think there should be an area devoted to quality control? Have you ever wanted to hit the people who post this crap with a shovel?

There already are places and tools to do all that. There's a version of Youtube called Godtube to keep the christians happy, Forum mods do a good job of keeping everyone in check, and when you search through stuff on most websites it get filtered pretty well (eg, if I search for "Screenwipe" on youtube I don't get fifty videos of people building a potato cannon and then firing it into their best friends stomach)

And after that it just becomes a matter of sticking to what you know and love. The places you know are going to have good stuff on them all the time.

And If you use Firefox you could get Adblock. That's really good.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

Freedom means any idiot can spout whatever garbage they like, but it also means I can ignore them. I'm cool with that.