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Internet is Getting More Civil, a Study by Microsoft Says (fortune.com)
While social media may feel like a trash heap at times, Microsoft released a new study on Tuesday that claims civility is spreading on the Internet... at least slightly. From a report: Microsoft's Digital Civility Index fell two points, to 66, in 2018, signaling that Internet users around the world are treating each other slightly better, although there's still plenty of room for improvement. The closer the index is to zero, the more civil people are toward each other. The survey measured the perceptions of teens and adults in 22 countries about their online experiences and the risks they face when spending time online. If the news that the internet is apparently becoming more civil comes as a surprise, U.S. readers may want to hold onto their seats. The civility index in the U.S. fell ten points in the past year to 51, showing the biggest improvement, according to a blog post from Microsoft.
It's just that people are now aware that it's massively under surveillance, that anonymity has been thrown out the window, and that anything they say, even under a pseudonym, can come back to haunt them. So the worst offenders are becoming more PC because they don't feel totally free to say any old shit anymore.
Exactly the same effect as when people realize they're being watched on CCTV cameras in supermarkets : many don't dare scratch their butts discreetly behind an aisle like they used to.
It's quite chilling actually, if you ask me... I preferred the wild internet to the self-censored one: at least you could see humanity raw, as it really is.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Civility, when enforced is not civility. It's other people/bots censoring you. (Like if Dice eliminated the AC option in Slashdot because usually AC posts are uncivil)
Freedom is the right to say anything you want. Consequences of that free speech are another issue.
Civility would be considering what you are saying before you hit the submit button so you can be the first poster. It's possible to be more considerate if you want to, you shouldn't be forced to be civil.
If you listen to the full interview it is obvious that Northam was discussing a baby who was born with a disability. It is quite common for pro-abortion supporters to bring up fringe cases like rape, incest and disabilities because they get more support by ignoring the fact the the vast majority of babies are aborted because they are inconvenient for the mother to bring to term and raise. Yes I said inconvenient. The vast majority of abortions do not happen because of economic issues.
Now the question becomes: Is it alright to allow a child to die, which can be medically saved because they have a disability? Sure it is more expensive, physically harder and more intrusive to your lifestyle to have to care for a child that is disabled. But do we really want to live in a world where the law allows inconvenient people to be killed?
Most people don't think so, which is why some pro-choice Democrat probably leaked the yearbook photo.
And for the record when you kill a child after it is born that is infanticide.