ON-LINE GOSSIP WEB SITES
View the following web cast, then choose a partner and together prepare a dialogue on the issues raised in the web cast. Below is a useful vocabulary for such a discussion taken from the web cast:VOCABULARY
celebrities"My favorite celebrities are from the movies."
juicy
"Let's meet at Starbucks and I'll let you in on some juicy gossip."
anonymous
"The guy who's dissing me on the BBS is anonymous. He signs himself Bill but it may not even be a guy, it may be a she."
*"Dissing" is hip hop slang for "disrespecting."
vulgar and cruel
"Some posts are vulgar and cruel."
cyber
"A cyber jerk dissed Sally yesterday."
vicious gossip
"I don't mind an intelligent post, but not malicious gossip."
unidentified
"The poster was unidentified, except by his code name, Superman."
bulimic
"She was obsessed with looking thin and ended up being bulimic."
chunky
"She once was slim, but after gorging at fast food joints looks chunky."
malicious
"The post was obviously malicious."
feeding an insatiable appetite
"We seem to have an insatiable appetite for gossip that needs to be constantly fed."
sororities
"Sororities are especially prone to malicious gossip because they arouse a lot of jealousy."
resolution
"The university passed a resolution restricting Internet access to those guilty of malicious Net posts."
block the site
"Our dorm has blocked that site."
sexist
"Tom made some sexist comments about his former girlfriends, calling them sluts."
homophobic
"Jack is homophobic and even hates Brokeback Mountain because it shows two gay cowboys kissing."
racist
"The post was racist, making fun of his ethnic background."
serious business
"A hoax about a fellow student is serious business and can lead to suicide."
hoax
"A web hoax, like announcing to others on the campus that a girl had an abortion can lead to that girl's depression or even suicide."
perceived by others
"How she's perceived by others is one thing, but others should not be allowed to post their perceptions as facts."
positive impact
"I think a law would have a positive impact on many web sites, preventing most abuses."
free expression
"I believe in a free expression of ideas."
vulnerable
"Kitty felt vulnerable after her boyfriend posted private photos of her."
beware
"Beware when you post, because you leave cyber bread crumbs for university and police officials to trace to your PC."
PC=personal computer.
federal law
"If they pass a federal law, that means you can be punished no matter which state you post from."
cyber stalking law
"Cyber stalkers are as bad as street stalkers."
deemed harassment
"Charlie should realize that what he posted about me could be deemed harassment by the police."
cyber bread crumbs
"Everything you access on the Net leaves bread crumbs for others to follow."
accessing the internet
"I access the internet mostly in the evenings."
potential slander
"Posting those comments is potentially slander if there's something you say that's not a fact."
how does it size up
"How does the law size up against constitutional protections of free speech?"
free exchange of ideas
"I believe in a free exchange of ideas, but not a free exchange of slander or libel."
campus environment
"A campus environment should be friendly."
libel
"What you posted about me is libelous and you can be punished under the libel laws."
actionable
"I'm wondering if the comments that Susie made about me are actionable in court."
restrictions
"Sure I believe there should be restrictions on telling lies in cyberspace."
cyberspace
"Cyberspace fosters anonymity, which can be a dangerous incentive to tell lies."
theory
"What works in theory may not work in practice. Like who's going to decide when a post is offensive or libelous?"
consumer fraud laws
"If consumer fraud laws protect people from misrepresentations in the housing market, it can protect them from misrepresentations on web sites. Both involve deceptive or false advertising."
wade into
"A democratic government naturally doesn't want to wade into the complex area of cyber free speech, but eventually it will have no choice in order to protect the innocent."
offensive speech
"The price we pay for freedom of speech is having to tolerate offensive speech. After all, what is offensive to one person may not be offensive to another."
indeed libelous speech
"It's not only cruel but, indeed, libelous."
NOTE: "Indeed" is used as an intensive; that is, for emphasis.
if you don't deliver
"The university should deliver on its promise to protect free speech."
censorship
"I'm against censorship of all kinds."
spirit of the campus
"The spirit of a college campus should be a free exchange of ideas, even if it hurts others."
targeted against females
"Most of the cruel posts are targeted against female students."
equal access
"Students should have equal access to the internet but not to defame others."
some incentive
"The laws should give colleges some incentive to punish students who libel others."
the take on the legal side
"Sally gave an interesting take on the legal side of those posts."
perspective
"There are different perspectives one can take on cyber freedom of speech."
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