OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Who here relies on the internet as a source of truth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 The internet is not a source. It's a resource where you can find all sorts of things from a bazillion different sources. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 The internet is a mechanism for accessing or providing information. So are books. The method by which information is exchanged has nothing to do with the accuracy of the content of that information. Determining whether the information content is true, false, or somewhere in between requires the same effort it always has required. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 Determining whether the information content is true, false, or somewhere in between requires the same effort it always has required. You think so? The same effort as always? The Internet opened up the world to self publishing with little or no vetting. So we agree the Internet is not a reliable source of truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 The internet is not a source. It's a resource where you can find all sorts of things from a bazillion different sources. Actually the Internet is a source. Some hypothetical web site maybe a secondary or an ancillary source but it is a source non the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted June 4, 2017 Super Moderator Share Posted June 4, 2017 The Internet is neither true nor false any more than a library of books from Mein Kampf to the Bible to Gone with the Wind is true or false. One might as well ask if human speech is true. It's a nonsense question. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 The Internet is neither true nor false any more than a library of books from Mein Kampf to the Bible to Gone with the Wind is true or false. One might as well ask if human speech is true. It's a nonsense question. So you are saying your statement "It's a nonsense question" is neither true or false. I do agree I worded the title poorly. The title should read "The internet as a source of truth" as expressed in my OP. Does that change your response? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Arguably the printing press did the same when it was originally brought out, people were able to put whatever they wanted on paper and mass produce it. Print hasn't ever really been reliable because everyone is biased. Same for the internet. You have to study multiple books on a subject just like you have to look at multiple sources online. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 Arguably the printing press did the same when it was originally brought out, people were able to put whatever they wanted on paper and mass produce it. Print hasn't ever really been reliable because everyone is biased. Same for the internet. You have to study multiple books on a subject just like you have to look at multiple sources online. I'm not claiming that books are always true. The printing press allowed people to publish lies and still does today, but the degree to which the internet allows the publication of lies is much larger. Not because of a difference in kind but because of a difference in degree. The whole idea of large scale unvetted self publishing is new to the internet. It goes much further than that. With the internet not only can you self publish on a whim you can even craft corroborating sources across the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted June 4, 2017 Super Moderator Share Posted June 4, 2017 What is your point? That people can either lie or tell the truth? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I'm not claiming that books are always true. The printing press allowed people to publish lies and still does today, but the degree to which the internet allows the publication of lies is much larger. Not because of a difference in kind but because of a difference in degree. The whole idea of large scale unvetted self publishing is new to the internet. It goes much further than that. With the internet not only can you self publish on a whim you can even craft corroborating sources across the internet. So you have to use a little more elbow grease when you're acquiring your sources? There's ways to cross and fact check. You should always look at everything critically and not take it with a grain of salt anyways. The internet is a huge and valuable resource, if we didn't use it what would you suggest we use instead? Note: If this is a set up for you to say, "The Bible" that's not gonna fly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Actually the Internet is a source. Some hypothetical web site maybe a secondary or an ancillary source but it is a source non the less. Try citing "internet" as your source on a term paper and see how that works out for you. No, the internet is NOT a source. It is a resource with a crapload of sources, and those individual sources vary widely in reliability. Also, it's strange that you'd even ask a silly question about us taking the internet as truth, as if there would be anyone who could possibly agree with everything posted on the internet. Even you can post on the internet, so it obviously can't be totally reliable. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 What is your point? That people can either lie or tell the truth? My OP was a question. I wanted to know if people accepted the internet as a source of truth. If people simply admit that the internet is more prone to lies than other sources then I'm content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 The internet is a huge and valuable resource, if we didn't use it what would you suggest we use instead? The same sources people used before the Internet, but that said I'm also not saying the Internet should not be used as a source. Simply that it's more prone to bullshit than other sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 My OP was a question. I wanted to know if people accepted the internet as a source of truth. If people simply admit that the internet is more prone to lies than other sources then I'm content. It's not because you're viewing the internet as a solid entity when it's a multimedia. There are things from TV, books, newspapers, movies, you name it that are posted online. Is that their original source though? Your question isn't viable because you're framing things too broadly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 Try citing "internet" as your source on a term paper and see how that works out for you. No, the internet is NOT a source. It is a resource with a crapload of sources, and those individual sources vary widely in reliability. Also, it's strange that you'd even ask a silly question about us taking the internet as truth, as if there would be anyone who could possibly agree with everything posted on the internet. Even you can post on the internet, so it obviously can't be totally reliabe. My college days are long past so I honestly don't know what is allowable in today's schools. Are you saying web sites are never allowed as sources in term papers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted June 4, 2017 Super Moderator Share Posted June 4, 2017 My OP was a question. I wanted to know if people accepted the internet as a source of truth. If people simply admit that the internet is more prone to lies than other sources then I'm content. The Internet is no more prone to anything, it's just currently the most efficient conduit. Perhaps if you had been born to an earlier time you might ask if the invention of movable type made books more prone to lies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 My college days are long past so I honestly don't know what is allowable in today's schools. Are you saying web sites are never allowed as sources in term papers? He's obviously not saying that. What he's saying is you need to cite your sources the same way you would a book or thesis. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 It's not because you're viewing the internet as a solid entity when it's a multimedia. There are things from TV, books, newspapers, movies, you name it that are posted online. Is that their original source though? Your question isn't viable because you're framing things too broadly. Where did I assume the Internet was not a collection of posted information? Of course it s a collection of posted information, and there in lies it's weakness. See my previous post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 The Internet is no more prone to anything, it's just currently the most efficient conduit. Perhaps if you had been born to an earlier time you might ask if the invention of movable type made books more prone to lies. See my previous post ... The printing press allowed people to publish lies and still does today, but the degree to which the internet allows the publication of lies is much larger. Not because of a difference in kind but because of a difference in degree. The whole idea of large scale unvetted self publishing is new to the internet. It goes much further than that. With the internet not only can you self publish on a whim you can even craft corroborating sources across the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 He's obviously not saying that. What he's saying is you need to cite your sources the same way you would a book or thesis. Ah, okay good, and those sites are more prone to lies than other sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Ah, okay good, and those sites are more prone to lies than other sources. You do know that like... entire libraries are online and you can access those for papers and stuff right. There's a standard like there is for anything else. Where did I assume the Internet was not a collection of posted information? Of course it s a collection of posted information, and there in lies it's weakness. See my previous post. So are anthologies also a weakness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 This post here is a good example. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2455.The_Most_Disturbing_Book_Ever_Written On what authority was the Bible judged the 7th most disturbing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightcore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 This post here is a good example. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2455.The_Most_Disturbing_Book_Ever_Written On what authority was the Bible judged the 7th most disturbing? Oh my god that's just someone's list of opinions about books. That's how Goodreads works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryClay Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 You do know that like... entire libraries are online and you can access those for papers and stuff right. There's a standard like there is for anything ele. So are anthologies also a weakness. My claim is not invalid just because there exists truth online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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