“Let’s make sure those who should never forget their actions never do. Public shame? Private regret? Whatever the outcome, I see both as a positive ending,” reads a post on the “Vancouver 2011 Riot Criminal List” blog. The site encouraged readers to match names to the photographs and video footage.
And matched they were. A Canadian water polo player with Olympic aspirations was photographed lighting a police cruiser on fire. A blond in a “Free Hugs” shirt took a bat to a car, smashing its windows. A University of British Columbia student appears in a YouTube video looking as if she’s looting a store.
Surely the thuggish behavior deserves to be punished in the criminal courts, but in 2011 the fiercest punishment is often meted out in the court of public opinion. Twenty-four people turned themselves in to police, and they have been vilified online and off. Nathan Kotylak, the water polo player, has been suspended by his team from playing. He and his family moved out of their home, fearing retribution.
The same mob mentality that can fuel a riot can also fuel online vigilantism. The social message board 4Chan became well-known last year for tracking down animal abusers online. One woman identified by the site received death threats, forcing the police to provide round-the-clock protection.
As quickly as online crowds can be whipped into anger, their activism can also be funneled into helping others. People missing friends or family now use social media to get out the word and alert police and the media about possible leads.
Washington resident Danny Atcitty seemed to have vanished in late June, and the police struggled with little information to go on. A Facebook page was launched to help the search.
A day later, a red-faced Atcitty replied,“I’m okay!” explaining that he was out of touch because he had lost his phone. A few days later he wrote: “Man, how the world goes into turmoil when one loses his phone. Just over a phone. But it fills my heart to know that so many people cared and kept me in their prayers.”
Tracking down identities — either to help or to punish someone — will get even more straightforward in the near future. Some sites, such as Redditt, are working to keep personal information offline. That site just banned users from posting the personal data of others, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, blood types and Social Security numbers. Last month, Google launched “Me on the Web” to help people track what others post about them online. The program also offers tips on how to remove that information.
Other sites, though, are working to make people all the more accessible. Facebook already uses facial recognition to tag photographs. Identifying Vancouver rioters will be a lot easier when the technology does it all on its own. Whether that will strengthen or weaken the online community remains to be seen.
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