Greater Internet Dickwad Theory

I stumbled across the below picture the other day and I think that it is so true that it is worth linking to here :-)

 

I have always said that it is amusing how big people’s egos (I was going to put something else here, but I censored it) can grow when they are cowering behind the glorious anonymity that the Internet extends them, it makes the perfect platform for them to spout their inane views of others and of the world.  It happens via email, forums, chat etc., but it is especially true when playing multiplayer games on systems such as the Xbox 360.  It is not that uncommon to receive a message from a player informing you of their intention to hunt you down and rape you in the anus just because you beat them at Gears of War 2, even though they have absolutely no idea who or what you are like; you could be a brutal serial killer who has a fetish for the blood of prepubescent teens for all they know.  Then, when you finally hear their voice, you discover that they haven’t even reached puberty yet and are only playing because they have finished all their homework!

Another common occurrence is the trash-talking that goes on before and after multiplayer  games start, it has gotten so irritating to me that I now refuse to play with the microphones turned on – just to avoid having to listen to all of their “you be-atch, I kicked your ass”, “I’ve got your momma here”, or other equally pointless insults that only a 12 year old would think of/find funny.  And what always amuses me the most is that they make all these threats because they know that they can get away with it simply because the whole platform is anonymous, and that there’s no way anyone could find out where the gamer “B4DA55_C0LdK1ll3R” lives.

 

 

So, if you have ever been anonymously insulted/dissed/threatened etc. like these, then you will understand the picture above perfectly!

 

Most importantly, please don’t pay any attention to the threats.  My current favourite threat that I have received is that I was going to tracked down and then torn in half barehanded because I had, apparently, been indulging in relationships with someone's 6 year old sister (or something to that effect, I just deleted the message before finishing it).  Oh, and please, if you are playing a game and a player insults, threatens or attacks you, file a complaint via your console immediately.  If enough people file feedback then these problems users will be removed from the system making it better for the rest.