Flaming, trolling, and rudeness are just some of the problems that plague online spaces

today. These acts of impudence online can cause a lot of unnecessary harm to us and
the real people who use the internet, so it’s important for us to combat these issues and
to bring back courtesy and respect to the web. This reflection paper explores the
reasons why online rudeness happens in the first place in order for us to better combat
it. It then provides examples of how we can fight it.

There are many reasons why online rudeness happens. Because people can hide
behind their screens and be anonymous, a lot of people online don’t hold back on being
disrespectful. Another reason is that these people don't have any regard for other
people’s feelings because not all people have a sense of what's good or bad, which
makes online rudeness harder to address because we can't control others' ethics and
behaviors. All in all, having no accountability plus no ethics is -I think- the main reason
why online rudeness exists.

So how can we actually fight online rudeness if we can't control others’ behaviors?
Firstly, I think that we should start with ourselves. Being kind to others is a good start
because by being respectful when communicating with others online we can set an
example in a given community by spreading kindness instead of hate. Another way of
combating rude people online like trolls is to ignore them. From my experience as an
online user, depriving trolls of attention is the best way for me to get rid of them.

Online rudeness is hard to combat but not impossible. By understanding that we can’t
control others' behavior, we can easily combat online rudeness with our own kindness
and love in a productive way. And by doing so, we will lessen the unnecessary harms
that occur in many online communities today. Finally, we should always remember the
tenth commandment of computer ethics by the Computer Ethics Institute (CEI, 1992):
“Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for
your fellow humans.”
Reference:
Computer Ethics Institute (CEI). (1992). The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics.
Retrieved from http://computerethicsinstitute.org/publications/tencommandments.html