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The power of the internet and message boards...careful how you use it!

justbaseballjustbaseball10,000+ posts
Today, as I sat at Sunken Diamond watching a non-conference college baseball game I got a panicked phone call from a close friend. He had just read on a local message board that a local and very talented young player from our area had been critically injured in a car accident.

As this player and his family are VERY close to ours...I was panicked too. Nearly in tears I walked over to my wife and asked her to call the mother immediately.

Thank God almighty that the mother was on the phone with her son, perfectly healthy, in his clubhouse playing cards during a rain delay...and happy, when my wife called. His mother knew immediately that the posting was false. Imagine if she couldn't get in touch with her son?

The rumors rocketed through cyber-space...causing a high-level official of the MLB team to call the player directly to ask what was going on. Media in multiple Midwest towns feverishly tried to get the story from the minor league club. Phones rang throughout California and the Midwest as people tried to find the truth.

All because of one, very irresponsible poster...who the heck knows his/her motives?

I only tell this story to illustrate just how scary, damaging and POWERFUL these message boards and the internet can be if used irresponsibly or worse. I can imagine getting such a phone call from a concerned friend...not able to contact my child...and potentially suffering some very serious health issues myself as a result.

This thing we use...these message boards...they're almost like a lightning-fast car...use it irresponsibly and good people get hurt.

Just something to think about. Sorry for the intrusion.
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ILVBBILVBB1,000+ posts
I saw the post on our local board around 2:30pm. I had to go pick up my youngest after school where I saw the HS coach of the player mentioned in the post.

Knowing that the coaching staff at his HS would want to support the family, if the report had been true, I mentioned the information in the post.

The coach did a quick follow-up and told me that the post was not true, for which I am very glad.

Reports like this are reckless and you don't know who they will touch.
TRhitTRhit10,000+ posts
I have been saying this for years---anyone can get on the internet and be what they want to be---multiple IDs et al---that is why people without profiles disturb me as do those that continually change there IDS-even if what they post in a profile is skeptical you can least have a shot at checking them out

There are sites out there with pictures of people who arent even them and yet the site claims that is who it is---been around the block too many times folks--call me cynical but this thread just justifies my feelings and beliefs---I didnt get to 65 years of age without being aware of what goes on around me

Be aware of what you digest on the internet
infidel_08infidel_081,000+ posts
Funny, I got an email today about a recent fraudulent post on another site about my son. When I saw the post a while back, I got a big laugh.

TR's right, people will believe anything they see on the internet. I feel that this site is pretty much right-on. But we have had our problems with troublemakers, too. I always trust, but verify if it is really important.
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infidel_08infidel_081,000+ posts
From not too long ago...

Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web
Law Students Feel Lasting Effects of Anonymous Attacks

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; Page A01

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, has published in top legal journals and completed internships at leading institutions in her field. So when the Yale law student interviewed with 16 firms for a job this summer, she was concerned that she had only four call-backs. She was stunned when she had zero offers.

Though it is difficult to prove a direct link, the woman thinks she is a victim of a new form of reputation-maligning: online postings with offensive content and personal attacks that can be stored forever and are easily accessible through a Google search...
dad10dad10100+ posts
It's not just the internet:

"In the category of 'really bad fake death reports' one must also note the time in 1998 when Boston DJ's Opie and Anthony announced that the mayor of Boston, Tom Menino, had died in a car crash. Because City Hall couldn't immediately reach the Mayor to confirm that he was actually alive, many believed the report, including members of the Mayor's family. The next day Opie and Anthony were suspended without pay."
Last edited by dad10

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