[comment deleted]

“Digital equality: how can women get engaged online?”

Um, the usual way? Sign contact with ISP, get connected, find site involving one’s interests, join in.

@1

“Look at how the wheels have come of the global warming wagon because of their dishonesty.”

Not that I’m defending any proven inaccuracies, but how is that different from trying to discredit the mountain of evidence about the human contribution to global warming with reference to a couple of well publicised snafu’s?

That has about as much credibility as those arguing in favour of intelligent design because of gaps in the fossil record.

By all means, let’s ensure rigorous standards of accuracy…but let’s not fall for a-scientific clap trap whilst we’re at it eh?

People paid for this?

Sounds great. I look forward to Netroots North.

@2 – http://www.netrootsuk.org/workshops/digital-equality-how-can-women-get-engaged-online/ Perhaps you should go along to it.

“The TUC’s John Wood has especially worked tirelessly on this event, in addition to his day job, so he deserves special credit.”

I second that – he’s a star!

@ 7 earwigca

I had a look already. It’s not very informative, which is fair enough as it’s advertising rather than presenting a seminar.

I just wonder if it’s trying to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist. If more men want to engage with politics and/or the internet, then fair enough. And I think the number of female campaigners isn’t as low as people make out – women may be less inclined to comment on (and argue about) existing blog posts, but let’s face it, us lot just gabbling away down here below the article aren’t really making a difference to much.

@1 “you cannot sustain a serious campaign on any issue without a valid, consistent, honest foundation”

Really? Because the Tea-Party seem to be doing okay. And the anti-vaccination lobby. And the pro-lifers. And the climate change deniers. And the creationists. And the alt-med lobby…

“Really? Because the Tea-Party seem to be doing okay. And the anti-vaccination lobby. And the pro-lifers. And the climate change deniers. And the creationists. And the alt-med lobby…”

Be happy to read your debunking of those positions – what’s dishonest about the Tea Party or pro-lifers for instance? Just because you disagree with them it doesn’t mean their stances aren’t honest and plausible, does it?

@ 10

Both groups have a tendency to use lies and false logic to advance their aims, but I guess you could say that about any large faction.

@10. Yes, his contention that their beliefs are invalid, inconsistent or dishonest is clearly wrong. But surely the real point is that they didn’t need to spend any time figuring out how to campaign for the things they want. They just got on with it, because they already knew what they wanted. No “grassroots” seminars funded by huge organisations, such as the TUC, were necessary to establish *what* was wanted and how it should be achieved.

Surely the astroturf groups you cite didn’t need any “honest foundation” because their purpose and policies had already been decided in boardrooms across the US?

@12

“No “grassroots” seminars funded by huge organisations, such as the TUC, were necessary”

No, just a “grassroots” movement funded by a couple of billionaires… *facepalm*

Word of advice ‘speaks for Boskone’ – if you’re going to come here to lecture others about honesty and misuse of stats – it doesn’t help to be a global warming denying tea-party supporting nutjob. I have no real interest in engaging trolls like you – everyone pls stick to the topic, thanks

Chaise – the session will be a lot more interesting and productive than what you’re making out. Best to wait for the blog posts after.

@ 15 Sunny

“Chaise – the session will be a lot more interesting and productive than what you’re making out. Best to wait for the blog posts after.”

Fair dos. I was making with the silly in my first comment anyway.

@ 15 Sunny (again)

“if you’re going to come here to lecture others about honesty and misuse of stats – it doesn’t help to be a global warming denying tea-party supporting nutjob. I have no real interest in engaging trolls like you”

SpeaksForBoskone hasn’t given any indication of supporting any of those causes. He (?) was just pointing out that pro-lifers and the Tea Party haven’t been fully “debunked”, unlike Creationists, and the fact that we disagree with them doesn’t change that. They’re essentially moral positions at base and therefore can’t be debunked, just argued with.

And even if SpeaksForBoskone WAS all those things, that wouldn’t make his opinions on this topic irrelevant.

Chaise – Oh I know ‘speaksforboskone’ is – he’s a notorious troll who wastes his life telling lefties they’re fascists for talking about global warming. He’s already banned from this site – he was just trying a different pseudonym.

I see the Twitter 101 workshop is being tutored by Richard Casson of Oxfam.

How does this work, then? Shades of Atlantic Bridge and all.

I thought Oxfam (being a charity) wasn’t supposed to involve itself in explicitly political activities.

You can hardly claim that Netroots isn’t political after all Sunny has said on the focus of the event.

Maybe Mr Casson is doing this in his own time. But if so, should Netroots be billing him as an Oxfam employee?

What would Dame Suzi say? Or Barbara Stocking for that matter?

Just askin’

I thought Oxfam (being a charity) wasn’t supposed to involve itself in explicitly political activities

They can be political, they just can’t be party political.

@ 18

Ah, understood

@ 20

Yes, but when a charity does get political, isn’t it always supposed to be in pursuit of its own charitable purposes?

It’s hard to see how teaching lefties to use Twitter is going to help feed the hungry or eradicate poverty in the developing world.

And isn’t Netroots, with its TUC sponsorship, more or less a “party political” outfit anyhow?

Good luck and hope the streaming comes off so those not able to travel or are housebound can be involved. And roll on Netroots North, we’ll reserve a pint of shandy for you Sunny!

[deleted]

@24 SpeaksForBoskone

Don’t be silly. Any blog owner/editor can block someone by IP address/email account if they feel that person is trolling.

@ 25

I think the issue isn’t the blocking, it’s the revealing of the name.

(especially if they’re engaging in sock-puppetry, as you clearly are…)

@26

I’m guessing our friendly troll has used his name here before, hence coming back under a different one..

intelligence never was his strength.

flowerpower – not everyone there is party political nor will everyone discuss things in political terms. Some sessions are merely about training others.

@ 28

That’s my assumption too. The point is that if Sunny HAS identified him using his email address from previous comments and then revealed his real name online, that probably is illegal, albeit not in a way that people are likely to get particularly excited about.

@30

Is it, though? I knowledge of data protection is not perfect but I don’t think the CPS would be very interested in that an online troll was unmasked via email address. Talking hypothetically I mean.

(I’ve changed name to reflect current debate .. ha)

The masks are certainly falling to the floor pretty fast around here! Yo, S Pill.

I don’t know if it breaks the rules, and certainly don’t know if the authorities would care even if it does, but it’s certainly against the spirit of privacy, isn’t it? When you enter your email address, it says it won’t be published… I don’t think it’s a massive presumption to assume that it also won’t be used to identify your name and announce it to the world.

I also remember some stupid business on another forum where people started using the (real) names and photos of people they disliked to create fake accounts and try to damage those people’s credibility, and I believe the police took the case in that instance.

Lol at the shandy!

Aren’t pseudonyms sectarian?

Do you really need to go for London for a pointless circle-jerk when you can do that here? Never seen such a load of bollocks masquerading as some sort of campaigning workshop in all my life.

35. septicisle

Sorry to disappoint, but I doubt people will be put off the event just because someone who disagrees with its politics sneers at it.

Try a bit of content next time?

Chaise: That’s the problem, I don’t disagree with the politics. And it really is difficult not to sneer at a load of middle-class wankers telling each other how to use Twitter to you know, really hold the coalition to account. Perhaps if some of you got outside the Twattersphere every once in a while you’d realise just how insular you really are.

@ 37

So what would you prefer? People unconnected, doing nothing? People marching on the streets over every single Tory proclamation? Or maybe just politics becoming the sole preserve of the working and upper classes, if the middle class gets up your nose so much?

By the way, what’s a Twattersphere? If it just means Web 2.0 and all that, then you’re here too.

@32

To an extent I agree, but a troll sorta waives their rights to privacy when they start acting trollish. I don’t mean “yeah, fine, publish their email address (or real address)” or whatever, just that if they’ve used their name in the past & are sockpuppetting to troll again they’ve no moral authority to wave the flag of anonymity. If I started trolling under the name “Steve H Alberts” (I’ve no idea if such a person exists, just as an example) then Sunny would be within his rights to call me out as Mr S. Pill, if you get what I mean.

Jeez septicisle, I hadn’t realised you’d become this sneering and shallow in your politics. I’d also expected you to, you know, spend more than 5 secs going through the site to see how the other sessions look at ‘offline’ campaigning and ‘countering the cuts in your area’.

Ah well, you can’t please everyone. I’ll let the brainless ‘middle class’ sneering slide.

Sorry Sunny, I’m appreciate you’ve put a lot of effort into the organising of the event, I just wonder whether it’s just going to be yet another failed opportunity focusing on the medium rather than the reality. That and I’m realising more and more I don’t have anything in common with almost anyone I’m involved with online.

septicisle –
http://www.netrootsuk.org/2011/01/social-media-or-off-line-action/