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Apparently the Web is public! Who knew?

Candice reads a Web forum about wedding-related stuff over at WeddingBells.ca. WeddingBells is a major Canadian bridal magazine, so the forums there are both popular and high-profile. As on any Web forum, discussion often branches far away from on-topic, and one discussion there started talking about Karla Homolka’s upcoming release.

Today, a story went out on the CP newswire about Internet discussions about vigilante action against Homolka:

A much publicized online death pool may be gone, but speculation on vigilante action against Homolka has found its way onto the most unlikely of cyber places – websites ostensibly dedicated to weddings, rock bands and babies.

“I give it max six mth’s (sic) before someone puts a bullet between her eyes,” reads chat forum participant Margherita’s offering to the ongoing discussion of Homolka at WeddingBells.ca. “If I saw her walking down the street, I would pitch whatever is near right at her head.”

Cue panic! It turns out that when you write things on public forums on the Web, other people might read them!

For full impact, note how many newspapers and radio stations ran the story, at least on their websites.

(Substitute mentioned a particularly apropos Dr. Fun comic.)

Rich

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10 responses to “Apparently the Web is public! Who knew?”

  1. People on that messageboard have obviously never heard of the “no more than 4 lines, 80 chars in your signature” etiquette rule that I so dearly remember seeing people flamed for repeatedly 10 years ago.

    Am I out of touch with the times or something?

  2. You’re out of touch with wedding web-forums. :-) I can’t think of a less Internet-culture-absorbing group — even my whistlepeople figure it out quicker, and I’m expecting them to discover AYB any day now :-)

  3. I think I’ll stay off the wedding web-boards even when planning to get married. :)

    I see enough of that “OMG SO IN LOVE [insert 300×200 picture] BABEH ON TEH WAY” stuff in looking at 18-year-old girls’ journals while doing abuse work that it’s probably become a trigger for me when I see it outside LiveJournal.

  4. I think I’ll stay off the wedding web-boards even when planning to get married. :)

    That’s a fine plan, right there. :-)

    It is fun to watch Candice get annoyed with people Not Getting It the same way I do.

  7. It’s weird — I don’t remember what Homolka did, only that when I read about it many years ago I was more appalled than I generally am when I read about serial killers. I remember that she horrified me but I don’t remember why! I think I don’t want to be reminded, either.