The Tripod

"The Internet is a communications tool used the world over, where people can come together to bitch about movies and share pornography with one another." - Holden McNeil, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

A computer connected to the Internet is indeed the most powerful communications tool ever invented (sorry, carrier pigeons). With a few clicks of a mouse, we are instantly connected to any number of well-researched, peer-reviewed, highly intellectual pieces of scholarly literature. Unfortunately, with a few alternate clicks, we can easily view equally uninformed, ignorant, illogical material.

Quite frequently, it is difficult to discern between the informed and the deluded. A case in point is TrinTalk.com. TrinTalk.com is a blog started by Trinity's own Michael DiPietro '11. (That's Of Pietro in English.) One of the site's main features is an Anonymous Confession Board (ACB) where any viewer can create threads and post responses to other statements.

In theory, this is a brilliant tool for Bantams (and prospective Bantams) to have their questions answered. In practice, it's quite a different story. Due to its free-for-all style and limited moderation, users are free to inform, or misinform, a reader at their leisure.

Perhaps the most glaring instance of (alleged) misinformation is the recent rash of "tap-sitting" comments that are posted on practically every thread. I won't go into the details of tap-sitting, but, let's just say, it's exactly what it sounds like.

Some laugh at these sophomoric comments and some scold them as immature and insensitive. Regardless of the maturity level of the comments, I appreciate the overarching message that is espoused by their inclusion on the site: the Internet is a blank canvas with billions of artists.

When someone posts a question on this site, or perhaps even a more reputable site like Yahoo Answers, he or she may assume that any response is legitimate. After all, who would waste his or her time spreading subtle fallacies on the Internet? Well, I could waste a bunch of time and text elaborating on who these people are but, instead, let's agree that they're certainly out there.

Hopefully, the prevalence of "immature misinformation" elucidates the fact that you must take anything you read from an unchecked source with a large grain of salt. Hopefully, readers see how easy it is to detract from what might be a legitimate conversation by inventing a humorous distraction. Then, they can realize that it's equally simple to libel a fraternity, sports team, professor, student, or lifestyle choice. The tap-sitters don't ruin TrinTalk.com, we … I mean, "they," show it for exactly what it is.

To make all sides happy, I suggest a revamping of the Web site and indeed all Web sites that provide anonymous posting. I call on the TrinTalk.com Czar (that's you, DiPi) to separate the ACB into two parts. Let one part have only moderator-approved questions and responses, that can still be anonymous but are at least fact-checked to the best of the moderator's ability. Then, let the other part exist as it does now, where Pat Rettis and all his buddies can have their fun.

If I've learned anything over the past two weeks, it is the importance of oversight. Why not expand it to Internet communications?

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