I logged on to twitter this evening and noticed tweets in support and against the proposed #TwitterSilence bookmarked for tomorrow, Sunday the 4th of August 2013.
Of course curiosity got the better of me and I delved in further and was filled in by twitter friends on what was happening and did a little googling too.
It seems that Caroline Criado-Perez ( @CCriadoPerez ), a freelance journalist, was subject to the most vile abuse and threats on twitter following her successfully lobbying for Jane Austen to replace Charles Darwin on the UK £10 note (which will happen in 2017).
(AMENDMENT to above paragraph on Sunday 4th August): Just read a tweet from @CCriadoPerez telling all her followers: "By the way media: I DID NOT CAMPAIGN FOR AUSTEN ON A BANKNOTE. I campaigned for the principle of female representation & the Equality Act.")
Caroline was receiving up to 50 abusive tweets an hour according to THIS ARTICLE. Thankfully the police in the UK responded quickly and it seems a man has been arrested.
All well and good.
However, I feel it is misguided that calls for a #TwitterSilence is now being supported by those who are outraged at the abuse Caroline suffered.
I, more than many, know exactly how painful internet abuse can be. In my own case I have had NINE years of trolls and abuse simply because my husband and I did the right thing. A result of what we have had to put up with from just a tiny handful of trolls, we have had to put up security cameras, double gates kept locked, sensor lights, and suffer a huge dash of paranoia and distrust too.
So I do know very well how horrible the effect of trolls can be. And yes, I can fully understand how lovely it is for anyone being abused to have support shown to them. But not appearing on twitter tomorrow is the wrong way to go about it.
The internet is both one of the most fabulous inventions ever but it is also the porthole to hell.
It draws out the best and the worst in society and oh boy, have the debris of society embraced the power of the internet. They can sit behind their screens, using proxy IP addresses and spout their frustrated poison to anyone they have decided to target. And many, if not all, of these poor excuses for human beings positively thrive on attention.
Can you just imagine the thought that tomorrow they are the full focus of attention on those who are taking part in the #TwitterSilence ? And even, those like me, who will not be taking part in it. We are all giving them the oxygen of publicity and attention they so badly crave to make up for the emotional void they clearly exist in.
Silence is communicating nothing to these vile specimens.
Forget #TwitterSilence and instead all focus our attention on stopping trolling and internet abuse. Push for closing down proxy IP servers for a start!
And remember, tomorrow, whilst you might be taking part in #TwitterSilence I almost guarantee most taking part will be keeping an eye on twitter whilst the trolls sit back and languish in their sad moment in the spotlight.
In the words of Jane Austen:
"My idea
of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great
deal of conversation; that is what I call good company."
And THAT is what twitter is about to those of us who enjoy it.
