Why do people have to be so mean on message boards

[marieelissa]

Anyone with any real experience with internet message boards has at some point come across a person, or a group of people, who are rude, full of attitude, or even just plain cruel. The question invariably follows: why are people so mean on message boards?

The answer is very simple. People are mean on message boards because they can be.

In real life, confrontation and abusive actions may very well be met with physical retaliation (i.e. they'd get a good smacking). Online, they are nice and safe behind their computer monitor.

In real life, they'd have to see the hurt or shock on the face of the person they'd just attacked or belittled, perhaps causing them to feel shame and/or embarrassment over their behavior. Online, the person they shot their virtual mouth off at is just a screen name; colored text in a little box, not a person.

In real life, people's actions cause other people to think a certain way about them. Reputations are made and consequences of behavior are deal with in a very real way. Online, screen names and email addresses can be changed at a whim; in essence, a reputation can be discarded at the drop of a hat.

With no consequences for behavior, some people choose to leave tact and decorum at the door, using the internet and its users as a virtual punching bag. Perhaps it stems from an inability to assert themselves in real life, or maybe they are simply incapable of realizing that there are actual people with feelings behind the colorful screen names. Either way, a person's online behavior is very telling about the person behind the screen.

It may be that those who are cruel, heartless and pompous online deserve the most sympathy. It takes great strength of character to extend courtesy and politeness even when it's not "necessary" (i.e. no fear of retribution if it's not extended). Pity is well deserved by those who fall short of that simple attribute.