September 26, 2014

"Anonymous posts on a smartphone application called Yik Yak are facilitating conversations on college campuses, but the dialogue is not always fit for the classroom."

"Discussions on the app sometimes dredge up racist, sexist, and other degrading content, and students at multiple colleges have been arrested for using Yik Yak to post threats to campus safety."
Yik Yak’s founders, Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll... envisioned it, they said, as a tool for observational campus comedy.
Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll... the names alone are already comedy.

Of course, some of the fun is saying the outrageous things you can't say in public with your name attached to it. An example given in the article is — referring to a law professor — "If this woman doesn’t stop talking, I’m going to rape her." Is that a real-life threat that ought to involve the police or absurd, transgressive hyperbole?

39 comments:

Shanna said...

Brooks Buffington

Total 80's movie, rich guy name.

MayBee said...

Today's modern liberal: Sucking the fun out of life, one outrage at a time.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Given the history of Leftists, if a Leftist says anything about rape take her seriously.

If it is other-than a Leftist, then it is transgressive comedy and, really, only the philistines would fail to laugh, out loud as they say.

John henry said...

"Transgressive"?

Sheesh, Ann. You are starting to sound like you belong at the Isthmus.

John Henry

Brian said...

I just put "Yik Yak" into the search bar on the App Store. The first thing it returned was the Yik Yak app itself. The second thing is a "Menstruation and Ovulation Calendar" app.

Apple knows things about the people who buy apps from it. One of the things it knows about Yik Yak appears to be: it is used almost exclusively by women.

rhhardin said...

Pussy humor would be tigressive.

MadisonMan said...

Many posts are edgy observations about campus life. "I haven’t had sex in so long I think my virginity is coming back,"

This passes as an edgy comment these days?

The entire story is a terrible commentary on Campuses. This quote: "I just know that it is hurting my students right now," he said. "They are feeling awkward, they are feeling hurt, they are feeling threatened."

makes we want to shake the President around the shoulders (sorry for the violent image!!) and ask him why he is coddling his students. Why not give them tools to be able to handle this kind of thing? Does he suspect that Life After College will be devoid of things that make them feel awkward/hurt/threatened?

Anonymous said...

An absurd and stupid threat that should land the stupid man a night in the lock-up for being stupid.

MayBee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MadisonMan said...

An absurd and stupid threat that should land the stupid man a night in the lock-up for being stupid.

Being stupid is not a crime. For which was should all be grateful.

I should say: It's not a crime yet.

richard mcenroe said...

Is that a real-life threat that ought to involve the police or absurd, transgressive hyperbole?

That's a punk who needs a good crack in the ear-hole.

richard mcenroe said...

Felony stupid may not be a crime, but it's amazing how often it turns out to be a capital offense anyway. Darwin will not be mocked.

William said...

In my lifetime, I have seen racist words become the dirty words and sex words become almost acceptable. If you say bukkake on television, your career will survive, but if you say the n-word, you're toast.......I will note, however, that bukkake--a word that didn't exist until fairly recently--can only be used in conjunction wth Republicans and not with Democrats. While it's edgy and transgressive to use bukkake with Sarah Palin, such usage is offensive and sexist when applied to Nancy Pelosi.....I have the suspicion that these are the kind of observations that Tyler Droll would make, but I'll let them stand. .

Titus said...

I am like totally into Frye Boots right now. I purchased like three pair at The (fab, natch) Tannery.

The boot looks so good and rugged and hot. I am working the runway big time with these pumps on.....girl. I feel eyes on my feet.

tits.

Tibore said...

It's anonymous, yet the discussions are only sometimes racist, sexist, and degrading? They should count themselves lucky because it could be a helluva lot worse. Those users need to check out news sites comments sections, or other like places; if a posting area is anonymous yet only sometimes dips into the sewer, then it's actually doing better than a ton of other places on the 'net.

Yeah, I know, that's a low bar. But seriously, the state of anonymous commentary is that bad. It's so bad that public bathroom walls end up looking good in comparison. Because of that, I don't blame sites for going to things like Facebook commenting; they had to do something to stop the rot.

Shanna said...

This quote: "I just know that it is hurting my students right now," he said. "They are feeling awkward, they are feeling hurt, they are feeling threatened."

If a ap that you downloaded is bothering you, take it off your phone!! This is not complicated.

Peter said...

"Cyberbullying can also be very damaging, said Tracy Mitrano, director of information-technology policy at Cornell University"

'Ms. Mitrano, of Cornell, argues that the best way to deal with an app like Yik Yak is to ignore it."

Perhaps "ignore it" is also a solution to "cyberbullying" of all sorts?

holdfast said...

It's neither funny nor a bona fide threat. It's douchebaggery and should be ignored.

Scott M said...

I thought trans-anything was good by default. Did I miss a re-education meeting on that one?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Technology allows you to cut out the middle man.

traditionalguy said...

Life has become a video game with intimate strangers.

The Crack Emcee said...

"Of course, some of the fun is saying the outrageous things you can't say in public with your name attached to it."

Like many of the racists do here? Amazing.

I always suspected they weren't much smarter than children,...

RecChief said...

oh those poor delicate flowers. Those melting snowflakes.

However, I doubt that his students are "hurting" as much as he dramatizes.

Anonymous said...

Considering how often Michelle Malkin has documented fake attacks on Muslim's, and considering how many times Instapundit has linked to stories about fake accusations of rape, I'd say any anonymous posts to Yik Yak that are racist or rapist can be dismissed as a false flag operation.

tim maguire said...

Police and school officials seem utterly incapable of distinguishing threats from hyperbole, jokes, irony, or...nothing at all.

Every single authority figure in the country needs training on hysteria and how to recognize it in themselves. I doubt common sense can be taught, so there will need to be mass firings as well.

MadisonMan said...

Some Joan Rivers is appropriate here.

GROW UP!!

Birches said...

Madison Man nails it.

tim in vermont said...

'Like many of the racists do here? Amazing.' - Crack

Care to name any racists here on Althouse and point out their racist comments?

Or do you just throw around the term racist whenever you don't like something somebody says?

Bryan Townsend said...

This culture left common sense behind about three exits back.

mikeski said...

"Brooks Buffington"

...Slab Bulkhead!
...Big McLargehuge!

tim in vermont said...

I wonder if he is any relation to Biff Buffington?

Richard Dolan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Richard Dolan said...

"'If this woman doesn’t stop talking, I’m going to rape her.' Is that a real-life threat that ought to involve the police or absurd, transgressive hyperbole?"

Interesting question. As it happens, the Supreme Court will be taking up a version of that question this term. The case is Elonis v. US, an appeal from the 3d Circuit, and the issue is whether, to prove a threat, the Govt must establish the defendant's subjective intent to harm the alleged victim. Cert was granted, and the case will be argued later this year.

Another case raising a variant on the same issue is Turner v. US, an appeal from the Second Circuit, on which the cert petition will be addressed at the Supreme Court's conference next week (Sept 29). Turner was convicted of threatening federal appellate judges because he wrote that they "deserved to be killed" as "traitors to the Constitution" based on an opinion refusing to apply the Second Amendment to states and municipalities (later reversed by the Supreme Court. Turner also invoked Jefferson's "tree of liberty" which he said may need to be watered by the blood of those judges to get the message across clearly so as to guarantee the people's freedoms. The main issue in Turner is whether the Govt can prove a treat by showing that the defendant's words invited others to harm the object of his ire -- in short, whether federal threat crimes subsume (in whole or part) state law incitement. In Bagdasarian v. US, the Ninth Circuit held that threats and incitement don't overlap based on the "ordinary meaning" of the words; the Second Circuit in Turner effectively rejected that view. We'll see in a few days whether the Court grants cert in Turner to decide it.

Jupiter said...

"Care to name any racists here on Althouse and point out their racist comments?

Or do you just throw around the term racist whenever you don't like something somebody says?"

Well, Tim, I'm a racist, and I comment here. Actually, I think if you investigate a bit, you will find that you are a racist, too. It is pretty much impossible to prove you are not a racist, once some lefty says you are. There are multiple definitions, all quite fluid. Plus, there you are, standing on your soapbox, shouting, "I am not a racist!". Doesn't look good at all. Your employer is already thinking about ways to get rid of you.

And yes, they just throw the term around whenever someone says something they don't like. Du-uh! That's what it's there for!

eddie willers said...

Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll

As Dave Barry sez: I am not making that up.

Scott M said...

Like many of the racists do here? Amazing.

I always suspected they weren't much smarter than children,...


Self-awareness is a wonderful thing, Cripus. It's good to see that you're getting help and working through these issues.

tim in vermont said...

Crack allowed one time as that I was on his "list." I just want to see if he really means it about discussing race honestly, or if he just wants to throw the charge of racist as one more weapon in the bag, a greatly cheapened one at that.

Kirk Parker said...

MadMan,

"I should say: It's not a crime yet. "

That's really a stupid thing to say... you'd better watch it; you're probably already on someone's list.

tim in vermont said...

Imagine my surprise....