Рассерженное-соцсетевое: a rant (En)

Ok, I didn’t want to post it, but I’ll do it, because it bugs me (not the best way to get rid of certain issues when starting to brag about them on social media, n’est ce pas? but whatever).

So, what do we all think about people taking our photos without our consent? It is an ongoing issue pretty much everywhere, and in most cases those who find themselves in front of the camera, resolve it accordingly: if their image was taken by a person whom they know, and this image has been posted somewhere (say, on social media), and they don’t like it, they always can politely ask the photographer to take the image down. In the vast majority of cases it works just fine. Or it doesn’t, and in this case the consequences vary, and mutual dissatisfaction is the least problematic of them.

But what if your image was taken by a stranger, then put into the community, where everyone makes lame and, quite frankly, nasty jokes about your appearance and your activities?

That’s what happened today on one of the major Cambridge groups here, on FB*: someone posted a picture of a person who is doing a weird thing, but nothing extraordinary enough to become a target for the big audience of this group.

Yet.

The reaction was predictable and predictably wretched: frankly, it was upsetting to see. But of course! Once you mention the moral issues with sharing this image in the group, you should be ready to become the one “who’s riding a high horse,” “takes it too personally,” “doesn’t understand how ‘normal dry’ jokes work” and the like.

Don’t get me wrong: I am the last person on Earth who would lecture anyone about their moralities, because I am not a saint myself. But you don’t need to be holier than thou to understand that something doesn’t exactly sit right with the decision to share this image into the group in the first place. Also, that was the exact reason why I unsubscribed a few years ago from the famous page “The Cambridge Diary,” because its host behaved in a similar snarky manner, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

TL;DR: I could accept that I am too sensitive to such thing. I also don’t have the right to ban this image: free folks can do whatever they want. But, at least, I can express my opinion on the matter. Yes, it stinks badly.

___________

*I don't want to name it because I don't want to bring an additional shitstorm in my account or here.

Ok, I didn’t want to post it, but I’ll do it, because it bugs me (not the best way to get rid of certain issues when starting to brag about them on social media, n’est ce pas? but whatever).

So, what do we all think about people taking our photos without our consent? It is an ongoing issue pretty much everywhere, and in most cases those who find themselves in front of the camera, resolve it accordingly: if their image was taken by a person whom they know, and this image has been posted somewhere (say, on social media), and they don’t like it, they always can politely ask the photographer to take the image down. In the vast majority of cases it works just fine. Or it doesn’t, and in this case the consequences vary, and mutual dissatisfaction is the least problematic of them.

But what if your image was taken by a stranger, then put into the community, where everyone makes lame and, quite frankly, nasty jokes about your appearance and your activities?

That’s what happened today on one of the major Cambridge groups here, on FB*: someone posted a picture of a person who is doing a weird thing, but nothing extraordinary enough to become a target for the big audience of this group.

Yet.

The reaction was predictable and predictably wretched: frankly, it was upsetting to see. But of course! Once you mention the moral issues with sharing this image in the group, you should be ready to become the one “who’s riding a high horse,” “takes it too personally,” “doesn’t understand how ‘normal dry’ jokes work” and the like.

Don’t get me wrong: I am the last person on Earth who would lecture anyone about their moralities, because I am not a saint myself. But you don’t need to be holier than thou to understand that something doesn’t exactly sit right with the decision to share this image into the group in the first place. Also, that was the exact reason why I unsubscribed a few years ago from the famous page “The Cambridge Diary,” because its host behaved in a similar snarky manner, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

TL;DR: I could accept that I am too sensitive to such thing. I also don’t have the right to ban this image: free folks can do whatever they want. But, at least, I can express my opinion on the matter. Yes, it stinks badly.

___________

*I don't want to name it because I don't want to bring an additional shitstorm in my account.