Facebook: Dead Baby Jokes

[Rincewind]

Not looked but these type of jokes have been around for years. I may even have smiled at some in the past as with jokes about race colour and gender. There are sites devoted to Mamma jokes. Some may find them offensive so should they be shut down? Personally I like a mixture. If I see too many on the same theme I find it boring. I am sure in amonst the many posts in the joke thread there will be one or two dead baby jokes. This forum is still going strong despite of it.

[Guest]

I haven't clicked on the link because it doesn't interest me. Why didn't others who are now offended do (or not do?) the same?

[Rincewind]

I've been warned now and if I did look it would be out of curiosity and I would not have the right to complain.

[flowwolf]

Facebook has said they can't shut it down as they're not breaking any of the rules. Apparently Facebook are monitoring it though.

Yes it's sick, but just ignore it, it'll just be a group of 14 year old's craving attention.

Bit like this site then. :thumbup: :D

[Guest]

If something offends, you already have the ability to censor it by not reading it.

No rules have been broken, even Facebook has said so.

By complaining indignantly, you are drawing more attention to the page.

[Charl91]

I love dead baby jokes. It's just shock humour, no-one actually wants babies to die....Obviously not the best jokes to bring out in an audience you don't particularly know well, but me and my friends always make them.

How many dead babies does it take to paint a wall?

Depends how hard you throw them.

[Zingari]

If something offends, you already have the ability to censor it by not reading it.

No rules have been broken, even Facebook has said so.

By complaining indignantly, you are drawing more attention to the page.

I tend to agree somewhat , but the same reasoning “if it offends don’t read it†could be used regarding any remarks made about anything, such as any sexist or racist inflammatory language.

There may be laws against this sort of language now, but there must have been a time before this when complaints were made just because of the offensiveness rather than any transgressions of laws .Would you have said the same thing then?

It can also be reasoned that if you believe these complaints are irrelevant, there’s no obligation for you to read them either.

I’d say if there’s enough complaints then Facebook will act accordingly regardless of any laws that may be in place , in the same way moderators on here do just that .

And quite rightly so .They could try lead by example rather than hanging on to the shirt tail of legality .

[Ashley]

[Houdini Logic]

How do you make a dead baby float?

2 scoops ice-cream, one scoop dead baby

[Fox96]

Bit like this site then. :thumbup: :D

[Captain...]

I've not seen the comments he is referring too, but obviously there is a difference between making tasteless jokes and racially abusing someone, (but then people are too quick to call racism).

I'm pretty sure it is not an offence to make a tasteless comment about paedophilia and dead babies though, but it is pretty stupid to post something offensive on facebook, and have your work details there for everyone to see.

I would be able to take it more seriously if it wasn't for the awful text speak/spelling.

[davieG]

A Facebook page that depicted Aboriginal people in Australia as drunks and welfare cheats has been removed after a public outcry.

The Aboriginal Memes page had allowed users to post jokes about indigenous people.

An online petition calling for the removal of "the racist page" has generated thousands of signatures. The government has also condemned it.

The page's creator is believed to be a 16-year-old boy in Perth, reports say.

"We recognise the public concern that controversial meme pages that Australians have created on Facebook have caused,'' Facebook said in a statement to local media. A meme is an idea that spreads through the internet.

"We believe that sharing information, and the openness that results, invites conversation, debate and greater understanding.

"At the same time, we recognise that some content that is shared may be controversial, offensive, or even illegal in some countries.''

"I think it's absolutely inappropriate," Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told ABC television.

"We don't live by American laws here in Australia, we live by Australian laws and this is an Australian who is using the fact that Facebook is based in the US to get away from Australian laws."

Australia's communication and media authority launched an investigation into the page on Tuesday, reports say.

An online petition against the page on website change.org has gathered more than 17,000 signatures in just two days.

"The page Controversial Humor Aboriginal Memes is an attack on the Aboriginal people of Australia and violates this term," the petition states, adding that racist terms were used "that completely belittle the rich heritage of the Aboriginal people".

[Rincewind]

If someone is going to make a reasonable complaint and make Facebook take notice it may be a good idea if they have a better understanding of English than the one complaining about. Replying ito them in the same way does little to help the cause.

Threatening like this may be regarded as defamatort.

[Rincewind]

Probably the most Facebook can do at the moment is inform the person that there havwe been complaints and ask them to respect that and tone the posts down so they do not offend.

Any reasonable person would do this. If they persist thengive them a warning..

[Babylon]

I saw that some bloke on twitter was sending Gary Barlow these jokes yesterday referencing his daughter. Big difference between some sick ****ers getting a kick out of these jokes and actually sending them to someone who recently lost a child.

[Rincewind]

I don't know what but there must be something that bloke can be done for even if he thinks he may be done.

[MooseBreath]

Call me el empty, but doesn't the recent sustained furore over what have consistently been fairly innocuous tales of internet debauchery seem to be paving a wonderfully clear and gracious route towards the implementation of further controls over the internet? I find it hard to believe that people would ordinarily be particularly bothered by pages such as this and they certainly haven't been in the past. Is this a result of people's real life and the internet coming more closely linked, or is it all part of a plan to allow a clamp down on the internet?

[ADK]

Call me el empty, but doesn't the recent sustained furore over what have consistently been fairly innocuous tales of internet debauchery seem to be paving a wonderfully clear and gracious route towards the implementation of further controls over the internet? I find it hard to believe that people would ordinarily be particularly bothered by pages such as this and they certainly haven't been in the past. Is this a result of people's real life and the internet coming more closely linked, or is it all part of a plan to allow a clamp down on the internet?

Pretty much.

[Darkon84]

Call me el empty, but doesn't the recent sustained furore over what have consistently been fairly innocuous tales of internet debauchery seem to be paving a wonderfully clear and gracious route towards the implementation of further controls over the internet? I find it hard to believe that people would ordinarily be particularly bothered by pages such as this and they certainly haven't been in the past. Is this a result of people's real life and the internet coming more closely linked, or is it all part of a plan to allow a clamp down on the internet?

Essentially, yes. The powers that be, have wanted more control and dominance over the internet for a long time now.

Problem.

Reaction.

Solution.

Create a problem to get people disgusted and shocked.

The reaction is to tell authorities to save the day.

The solution then becomes giving more liberty and privacy away.

[Leicfox]

Check out the vile things this cnut is spewing about Gary Barlow's stillborn baby Poppy.

http://twitter.com/MrKennethTong

willy puller.

[ADK]

Why would i want to "check it out". I knew as soon as that news was reported there would be at least someone posting something "shocking" on twitter.

[Nick]

Check out the vile things this cnut is spewing about Gary Barlow's stillborn baby Poppy.

http://twitter.com/MrKennethTong

willy puller.

If that's not causing fear alarm or distress (the definition of affray) I'd be surprised.

Freedom of speech and unwarranted harassment and abuse needs to be balanced.

This guy, well.

[Nick]

Why would i want to "check it out". I knew as soon as that news was reported there would be at least someone posting something "shocking" on twitter.

Why would you want to make a post about not checking it out if you already knew about it and it didn't surprise you?

[Guest]

I tend to agree somewhat , but the same reasoning “if it offends don’t read it†could be used regarding any remarks made about anything, such as any sexist or racist inflammatory language.

There may be laws against this sort of language now, but there must have been a time before this when complaints were made just because of the offensiveness rather than any transgressions of laws .Would you have said the same thing then?

It can also be reasoned that if you believe these complaints are irrelevant, there’s no obligation for you to read them either.

I’d say if there’s enough complaints then Facebook will act accordingly regardless of any laws that may be in place , in the same way moderators on here do just that .

And quite rightly so .They could try lead by example rather than hanging on to the shirt tail of legality .

The difference is, bad taste may offend, but it doesn't necessarily stir up hatred towards any given group.

[AdamN]

I'm very much on the side of 'all or nothing' when it comes to jokes. Either everything is acceptable, or nothing is, otherwise where do you stop? Racist jokes? Dead celebrity jokes? Any jokes that offend anyone, anywhere?

The fact is, the whole point of a joke is to make someone laugh. That's it. It's an incredibly self-centred attitude to take when you start wanting to censor everything that isn't to your taste, because obviously there are people out there who do enjoy that sort of humour (myself included, as I say - all or nothing).

And as has been said with this particular case - if you know you're not a fan of jokes about dead babies, then don't click on a page that is clearly labelled DEAD BABY JOKES. How fucking hard can it be?