Online football abuse targeted by police

[jonthefox]

'I love Forest and Derby.'

Just sayin'.

http://news.sky.com/story/1132181/football-fans-face-online-abuse-prosecution

[Callabinho]

This won't apply to forest fans due to their staggering historical background.....

[Fox92]

[Guest Bilo]

 

I've just had this weird image of plod scouring this forum and finding one of TBJS's posts....

[Renart]

Just wondered what people thought about this considering we are an online football forum and discussions of 'abuse' in the stands and cyber bullying have both come up in recent threads:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23796712

 

 

[Guest MattP]

Oh ffs.

More infractions. As if the police will really be able to distinguish between humour and nastiness.

What of time and money.

[Fox92]

It has been posted already, and as I said in that thread, it's a joke imo.

[Super_horns]

Different people will have their own standards as to what is real abuse and what is just banter - could get a bit messy.

[Renart]

It has been posted already, and as I said in that thread, it's a joke imo.

 

Sorry, I must have missed that (I did have a look as I thought it strange that it hadn't). 

 

Oh ffs.

More infractions. As if the police will really be able to distinguish between humour and nastiness.

What of time and money.

 

Hello Matt. I do like annoying you. In this case I think you are right: it is a real grey area. Apart from the clear cases of offense/abuse, I think  that policing the blurred lines between humour and abuse is nearly impossible. There does need to be some protocol laid down though, especially as we are living in an ever evolving tech savvy world, where it is difficult for the law to keep up. It is easy for offense on something like twitter to get out of hand without guidelines.

[Strokes]

Sorry, I must have missed that (I did have a look as I thought it strange that it hadn't).

Hello Matt. I do like annoying you. In this case I think you are right: it is a real grey area. Apart from the clear cases of offense/abuse, I think that policing the blurred lines between humour and abuse is nearly impossible. There does need to be some protocol laid down though, especially as we are living in an ever evolving tech savvy world, where it is difficult for the law to keep up. It is easy for offense on something like twitter to get out of hand without guidelines.

The mods do a pretty thorough job policing on here anyway, abuse isnt really tolerated even when things get heated.

[Renart]

The mods do a pretty thorough job policing on here anyway, abuse isnt really tolerated even when things get heated.

 

Agreed. Wasn't really questioning that.. 

[Stadt]

Possibility of getting banned for using flares and fireworks?I'm already assuming this won't apply to foreign fans

[Guest MattP]

Hello Matt. I do like annoying you. In this case I think you are right: it is a real grey area. Apart from the clear cases of offense/abuse, I think  that policing the blurred lines between humour and abuse is nearly impossible. There does need to be some protocol laid down though, especially as we are living in an ever evolving tech savvy world, where it is difficult for the law to keep up. It is easy for offense on something like twitter to get out of hand without guidelines.

 

I love it 

 

I think most sensible people know what should fall under abuse, anything that is debated I don't think should be.

 

I just hope we don't end up with situations like the Charlton fan who ended up with a three year ban for singing dirty northern bastards.

[purpleronnie]

More unnecessary control, they wont be happy until all english fans sit in complete silence scared to utter a word to anyone....no-one will give a shit about it though and just accept it.

[Guest Bilo]

Possibility of getting banned for using flares and fireworks?I'm already assuming this won't apply to foreign fans

 

Pretty sure that possibility already exists, unless it's a club one rather than a police ban I'm thinking of?

[MooseBreath]

Pathetic really. We used to be a nation who bonded through a bit of humourous piss-taking. Now the gimps who couldn't handle it at school have grown up and started banging on about how everybody is being offended all the time and how it should all stop. No normal person is offended by a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing, especially not over football. Just another example of the sad, nerdy and weak pushing the country further into the mummy state with it's associated blame-culture. Depressing.

[Guest MattP]

Pathetic really. We used to be a nation who bonded through a bit of humourous piss-taking. Now the gimps who couldn't handle it at school have grown up and started banging on about how everybody is being offended all the time and how it should all stop. No normal person is offended by a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing, especially not over football. Just another example of the sad, nerdy and weak pushing the country further into the mummy state with it's associated blame-culture. Depressing.

 

Very.

 

Has a country ever gone so quickly as one from being the embodyment of the stiff upper lip to the quivering limp wrist?

 

Pathetic.

[Captain...]

Very.

 

Has a country ever gone so quickly as one from being the embodyment of the stiff upper lip to the quivering limp wrist?

 

Pathetic.

 

But it has also turned very quickly into a country full of malicious vicious vindictive bitter little cvnts who have nothing better to do with their time than hide behind the anonymity of the internet and give people abuse. Something like Twitter should be a great way for fans to connect with players, but when pathetic bored little shits start using it to abuse people anonymously, issue death threats, make jokes about dead offspring, to famous people or otherwise, then I don't see any problem with the police getting involved. Just because it is on the internet doesn't mean it is above the law. 

 

There needs to be sensible application of any measures, but I am not surprised something is being done, especially on twitter where you have direct access to someone, anything said on twitter should be taken the same way as if it was said in person, and threatening someone or racially abusing someone in the street is a criminal offence.

[Guest MattP]

Easiest thing would be to stop allowing anonymous twitter accounts. Everyone should have to verify themselves.

[Guest MattP]

I'm not sure if we should be charging people over the net either.

If every Muslim who had racially abused me on Twitter was charged we'd have thousands of young men wandering around now with convictions that would render them unemployable.

I wouldn't want that on someone for life for something they typed in a heated moment of madness.

[Captain...]

I'm not sure if we should be charging people over the net either.

If every Muslim who had racially abused me on Twitter was charged we'd have thousands of young men wandering around now with convictions that would render them unemployable.

I wouldn't want that on someone for life for something they typed in a heated moment of madness.

As I said it would have to be applied sensibly, and I'm not advocating charging everyone who has a heated argument on the internet. It is a very fine line, but if a fan starts making monkey noises to a black player he should be thrown out of the ground and punished. I'm not sure whether they get charged or not, but it is no different to abusing someone on twitter, and the punishment should be the same. As for you being racially abused by Muslims, I might actually sign up to twitter just to follow you I think it could be quite amusing. Ultimately I think it is a good thing that it is being looked at, but I reckon it will be unpoliceable until companies like twitter stop people signing up anonymously. In an ideal world people would stop being cvnts, but then we all know that ain't gonna happen.

[Guest MattP]

Wouldn't disagree with much there, think this is going to cause huge problems though, if we actually do start following through on Twitter abuse the CPS and Police force will need to double it's staff and we're going to need hundreds more courtrooms across the land.

 

Believe me my Twitter account isn't anything special, it's mind numbing bollocks most of the time.

[Super_horns]

Are they going to have people sitting down checking every comment made?

[oxford blue]

Quote from Wookie: "Possibility of getting banned for using flares and fireworks?"

I'm not clear whether you think that because it seems to be tolerated in other countries (as is racial, homophobic abuse) it should be here. I'm not sure why fireworks, flares are set off and if the fan who let off a flare at the Derby game was banned, I wouldn't mind. There's far more chance of standing being allowed if everyone could attend a match with supporters do no more than sing, chant etc. This adds to the atmosphere in a ground -as Roy Keane recognised when he referred to Man Utd fans as the prawn sandwich brigade.

The above may be slightly off topic, but is a responses to another posting. Referring to the actual topic,the point of 'targeting' on line abuse is not to stop discussion on forums but any trolls on a website. I don't have any problem with that.

[Danno]

If you don't like abuse on the internet turn your computer off. Simple. Too many muppets around.