Although vigilantes or a mob whipped into a frenzy are often worse than the problem they're trying to solve, isn't there room for a group of well-intentioned, level headed investigators that can help address issues like this? As in, instead of SWATting the person in question or destroying their life by posting personal details, they'd collect information, try and resolve the situation before things got out of hand, and where that failed, hand off to law enforcement?
Some kind of community watch would go a long way towards clearing out a lot of the trash.
When I say speak up, I don't mean report it to the authorities (though in some cases, you should). I mean tell people that what they are doing is wrong.
Having a better defined, field-tested procedure is probably a good idea. Roughly A) Confront the aggressor to communicate problems and see if the situation can be resolved. B) Where it can't be resolved, investigate if the aggressor has a pattern of such behaviour, or if there are individuals in a position to be more persuasive that could help. C) If the behavior continues, institute bans, document incidents. D) Where bans are insufficient and repeated warnings have been ignored, escalate to involve relevant law enforcement agencies.
Comments
Although vigilantes or a mob whipped into a frenzy are often worse than the problem they're trying to solve, isn't there room for a group of well-intentioned, level headed investigators that can help address issues like this? As in, instead of SWATting the person in question or destroying their life by posting personal details, they'd collect information, try and resolve the situation before things got out of hand, and where that failed, hand off to law enforcement?
Some kind of community watch would go a long way towards clearing out a lot of the trash.
When I say speak up, I don't mean report it to the authorities (though in some cases, you should). I mean tell people that what they are doing is wrong.
Having a better defined, field-tested procedure is probably a good idea. Roughly A) Confront the aggressor to communicate problems and see if the situation can be resolved. B) Where it can't be resolved, investigate if the aggressor has a pattern of such behaviour, or if there are individuals in a position to be more persuasive that could help. C) If the behavior continues, institute bans, document incidents. D) Where bans are insufficient and repeated warnings have been ignored, escalate to involve relevant law enforcement agencies.