The Internet: An Outlet for Anonymity

Comment sections attached to media on the internet are a common things today. Any video, article, or gallery is linked with the ability to voice your opinion. In theory this makes a ton of sense as the internet has become the ultimate medium to share information but in practice there are a lot of problems associated with allowed people to write without any accountability. Criticism on the internet is almost always childish and positive feedback is hard to come by. The New Yorker published a blog about the subject here. In the blog the point is raised that many intelligent comments would be lost if anonymity was removed from comments because with anonymity " participation and risk-taking flourish." It's a shame because the internet isn't looked at as a form for civil discourse when it really could be the perfect platform to have edifying arguments.

"As the age of a user decreases, his reluctance to link a real name with an online remark increases.(New Yorker)." As a class we have discussed the appropriate way to structure an argument with a claim and the necessary evidence to support it but with younger users many simply do not understand an outrageous claim from a grounded, logical claim. There is no moderator guiding the messy thoughts that are blurted through the comment section. With no link between a disjointed thought and them, people simply don't care. They feel empowered by the ability to assert themselves with a bullheaded comment but don't endure any repercussions. 

Simply removing comments is not the answer either, when used intelligently they genuinely add to the experience. Again our class is a great example of this; if we couldn't exchange ideas in a discussion format, we couldn't expose ourselves to unique outlooks on topics. It appears that the problem is in the physiology of anonymous comment with too little blow-back for "trolls" on the internet. Yet the benefit of comments in how a subject is viewed is too good to ban them. If people could encourage grounded claims and though out arguments perhaps the bulk of ignorant comments would dissolve after many of the attention seekers become bored. Otherwise the comment section will remain littered with hate.       

     

The Last Bastion of American Labor

Everyone who lives in Northfield or frequents Willow Road knows that construction has been in progress up and down the busy artery for many months now. Little progress is visible and even harder to see is workers out there doing what their titles would imply. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune voiced the frustration and extended news of a delay. Link here. The lack of speedy renovations of roads is certainly a state problem, if not a nationwide problem. It is an American side effect to one of the few job fields we have yet to outsource but I wonder if the results of doing just that would yield a more expedient result.

One of my guesses as to why road repairs seem to last forever is because they have to constantly be done. The companies that are contracted to re-due the roads are payed not by quality but by hour or amount of surface laid. There is no inherent incentive to paving a street to last when they can get a future contract and earn another gig. In the article they state that the Illinois Department of Transportation "has agreed to add funds to the $963,000 project to pay workers' overtime to finish more quickly." Therein lies the second reason the workers take their time, the more the project gets delayed the more overtime is handed out to hurry the project up. Now in the article it is reported that the delay is caused by the discovery of a power line but it seems to be a vague, weak excuse when they simply needed to widen the road. 

I'm sure I will draw the ire of many but I simply believe that if jobs like paving roads could feasibly be outsourced, the results would be cheaper and faster. I'm not necessarily advocating that but as a society it seems we are either indifferent or approve of outsourcing in order to  maximize profit and efficiency. Public services contracted out should be treated equally then as I see it. Unions are great things but if a group that is unaffiliated with a union offers to do the job of paving the road while halving the time and cost, it seems like an easy decision to taxpayers. Perhaps the blow-back from jobs loss would be too great though. Obviously outsourcing on that scale is virtually impossible but it is worth discussing the nature of a system that has survived our tendency to ship jobs away and perhaps has contributed to the debt accrued by many local governments.  

Fanta$y Football, Legal Fun or Gambling Habit?

I regularly have conversions with friends over fantasy football outcomes, who has the better team, or most importantly who is at the top of the standings and therefore closest to the cash prize. This kind of conversation is not considered odd at all these days, the practice of betting on fantasy leagues has been around ever since I can remember and when I read a Forbes article regarding the subject of fantasy football as gambling I started to question how much online leagues could actually be classified as gambling. 


Article link here

The article explains the legality of fantasy football "Fantasy sports are considered games of skill-not chance-if they can be won by successfully utilizing superior knowledge of players involved. The Act adds that the game in question cannot have a prize that is determined by the number of players or amounts paid (think betting odds on game picks), but rather is established in advance of the game's start." 

So the discussion on if fantasy football should be legal comes to down if the game is based on skill. I would argue that there is very little skill involved in assembling a team and choosing a starting line up. The mindset is simple; this guy is going to hopefully going to play with I'll put him in. 

Even if the argument was made that skill is the predominant factor in winning, it is still a largely young demographic that is participating and therefore putting money on the line and it advertised as a fun distraction to youths. This raises some ethically questions, kids are told that something largely based on chance is determined by skill and allowed to gamble on it as a result. Gaming laws are harsh unless they provide extra revenue like in the case of state run lotteries or in this case, taxes from fantasy football websites. " Estimates vary, but fantasy sports are thought to have an annual economic impact in the neighborhood of $4 billion (Forbes)." So the nature of gambling laws in this country is clearly skewed to more lenient to institutions that pay taxes, not ones that are necessarily in the best interest of public well being.