Interview with an assault victim

The creator of the facebook page 'I was assaulted by the Vancouver Police' made an appearance via the internet in our class last friday.

I wasn't 'present', as they say, as I was residing in a classmate's computer like a skype sprite, but because I was tethered in I could participate and listen just like a student physically present.

It got me thinking about how the internet has been good for bringing crimes against people to light. From being able to shed light on police abuse, it also keeps other injustices from being swept under the carpet, like the case of Kiera Wilmot who was expelled and charged with a felony for a science experiment gone wrong, which burned up the internet. The charges were dropped, and she and her twin sister are getting a trip to space camp thanks to a NASA scientist. But it's not really a happy ending (Kiera Wilmot tells us what happened in her own words), because she's still expelled and is attending an expulsion school where she is unable to take the classes she once had the opportunity for, and the challenges she once enjoyed.

It's a lot harder to go unheard now, thanks to the internet. This goes for victims and for perpetrators alike.

Forums

Two weeks ago, I set up forum software (phpBB to be specific) for a group writing project with my friends.

I like forums. A lot of sites I've used over the years have phased out their forums for a variety of reasons. In some cases they weren't frequented enough, in others there was trouble hosting it elsewhere, or the major reason is that they've changed how their pages are served. Webcomics specifically have been moving to more dynamic web software like wordpress, comicpress, which allows them to use plugins for special commenting software on each individual update.

Forums have their place. They're indispensable to sites for videogames, for players to bond over the product and tech support. I could lose hours reading the arts forum for City of Heroes, back before the game was shut down. Which is leading me to something I need specify.

When I say forum, I'm talking about a messageboard, which can be divided into several subsections with their own boards and childboards. Writing this, I realized how flexible the term forum actually is.

The one I used, phpBB, I created in two sections. The first section was the important details of the world we were writing in and contained two boards inside of it. One, for biographies, writing details, and scenario details. The second board for resources and actual information we needed for it.

The second section I created is gaining boards as we work, a new board with every leg we complete to keep everything in chronological order. This is the same for most messageboards. Many or few sections, containing boards inside dedicated to a specific purpose.

I enjoy these, as they keep communication organized. But that doesn't mean I dislike the new discussion methods that have sprung up as messageboards become less common. Tumblr, blogspot, twitter, facebook, and to a lesser extent sites like Livejournal, all have native commenting systems instead of dedicated discussion forums away from the page. Some, like tumblr, have plugins you can use to allow even more communication if the site itself is limited. The result is something much more intimate and timely than a dedicated messageboard.

And that's what the internet is becoming, a much more personal, interactive experience. Instead of having to remove yourself to a special area, you can interact directly with the creator of the content.

But if you're running an interactive site that the discussion is the forefront of the site's reason to exist, messageboards definitely still have their place.

News for My Little Pony collectors

Good news! After a dry spell of main 6 releases, new ponies are starting to make their way into stores and pre-orders!

First up is Sunset Shimmer, a yellow and red unicorn, who is the only unique pony in her wave (the other three being repeats):

If you're looking for her, you can find her at the Hasbro online toy shop, at BBTS, or in your local big box store that stocks ponies. The best part of Sunset Shimmer is she features a new eye mold type for unicorns, along with a unique colour scheme.

Last, and certainly not least, is a pony set featuring two brand new ponies!

The Princess Celebration Bakery, featuring Mrs. Dazzle Cake (just Mrs. Cake in the show. In the set her two children and husband seem absent) and a new never before seen filly named Twirly Treats! Not in stores yet, but up for pre-order on BBTS.

It's good to see that Hasbro is still making interesting new ponies, even if it's not close to the volume of unique ones in previous generations. The constant influx of blind bag ponies has soothed the pain somewhat,  however.

Lots of discussion of terrorism-related issues

A youtube video contrasting Dixie Chicks and Pussy Riot was the cornerstone of journalistic slant today.

Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas

The Dixie Chicks were vilified for saying that in the Bush administration, but years later Pussy Riot has wide western support for their own protests. It was our object lesson in Worthy and Unworthy victims. The Unworthy were the Dixie Chicks who insulted president Bush, while the Worthy were Pussy Riot, who insulted the untrustworthy Russian government.

Of course, according to the American media, Bush was a Worthy victim, while Obama is an Unworthy victi. I see regular death threats to Obama from public sources that seem to see no consequences:

Nugent, who last April said, "If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year," and in 2007 stated, "Obama, he's a piece of s**t. I told him to suck on my machine gun. Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless b***h," (Source)

Nugent saw no jail time, no media demonizing, no wide-scale boycotting, and was even invited by a Republican politician to sit in on Obama's state of the union address.

I like Obama a lot more than Bush, to explain my bias, although I'd like him a lot more if he wasn't, you know, droning people to hell, but it's still an interesting contrast.

My podcast

A bit about one of the crime cases that I've thought of a lot since it happened.

Audio recording >>


My sources:  

CBC: Sting operation helps convict Manitoba man of murder

Winnipeg Free Press: Cryptic letter has community on edge

On the topic of my comments about the Brandon Sun...

Three headlines from the day after the Boston Bombing:

bomb, bomb, cat.

Leah commented in this post about my feelings over the Brandon Sun:

I did a work experience with them in high-school and it was the running joke that minor car crashes trump almost anything... except big car crashes.

My exact thought: I KNEW IT.