Reddit apologizes for "Online Witch Hunts" regarding Boston events

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I think the Boston bomber sub-reddit was interesting because there was a very real possibilty that the bombers could have been identified via that method. Thousands of pictures pouring in, all with the possible clues to tell the story, it's a very tempting prospect.

There was a very real lesson in conduct for such a method, that in being dont harass possible suspects, and unfortunately the Reddit community as a whole will most likely not follow that rule (which could be controlled by the voting system), so the next time this happens I'm sure it will play out exactly the same way.

I can't help but feel sad that such great potential in the structure of Reddit is lost on a populace of imbeciles. But I suppose that could be said for all of humanity.
 
Devolution said:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540021&postcount=3458
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54539304&postcount=3319
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538290&postcount=3108
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538449&postcount=3144
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538572&postcount=3175
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54530709&postcount=1668
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54530481&postcount=1622
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540372&postcount=3537
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failezxir.gif
 
Reddit/4chan changed the way the entire investigation played out.

If the witch hunts hadn't gone on it's possible that both of the perpetrators would have both been nabbed alive, uninjured.

On the other hand, if they hadn't "forced" the FBI to release those photos, resulting in the perps panicking which led to the manhunt, they might've fled the country with the extra time they had (edit: or planned more attacks, or hid in the wilderness, etc).

Hindsight is 20/20.
 
Korey said:
Reddit/4chan changed the way the entire investigation played out.

If the witch hunts hadn't gone on it's possible that both of the perpetrators would have both been nabbed alive, uninjured.

On the other hand, if they hadn't "forced" the FBI to release those photos, resulting in the perps panicing which led to the manhunt, they might've fled the country with the extra time they had.

Hindsight is 20/20.
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They weren't leaving the country, but the FBI didn't know that back then.

Harder question is if they were planning more attacks and when.
 
 
see5harp said:
Really though how could anyone have known that the suspect was not middle eastern or hindu but actually czechoslovakian?
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By waiting for him to be identified?

It'd be like assuming a very dark-skinned person is "African-American". They could be Australian, or Brazilian, or Haitian, or one of many other ethnicities.

The overwhelming response to the first images of the two suspects brought out the worst in some people.
 
doctorcdcs said:
I would love to hear what the above people in the quoted posts have to say now. This is why you wait until you hear a confirmed I.D through an announcement from authorities.
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My favorite has to be the last one. Uncle shit that happened has to be a close second though.
 
ElFly said:
They weren't leaving the country, but the FBI didn't know that back then.

Harder question is if they were planning more attacks and when.
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I'd guess they probably were planning more attacks with the amount of home made bombs they had.
 
I like minor subreddits for the gathering of folks on topics that most people would otherwise not give two shits about. The bigger ones seem to be afflicted with the same bug that plagues any other major internet forum.
 
inm8num2 said:
By waiting for him to be identified?

It'd be like assuming a very dark-skinned person is "African-American". They could be Australian, or Brazilian, or Haitian, or one of many other ethnicities.

The overwhelming response to the first images of the two suspects brought out the worst in some people.
Click to expand...

That was meant to be a joke.
 
Devolution said:
My favorite has to be the last one. Uncle shit that happened has to be a close second though.
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Gustav's post?
it's actually the one i think that doesn't fit your list, because i read it like he ment that everyone saying it definitely is or is not Sunil should chill out.

You people claiming it's definitely (not) Sunil should chill or you're going to eat a lot of crow soon.
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Always-honest said:
I will never forget the Sunil shit and the people who were 100% sure that the 19 year old suspect and Suhil were the exact same person.
Some thought they looked similar, but some also were 100% sure and even ridiculed the people who said they were different.
The suspect and Sunil have very different faces, even at first glance. Now it's not a crime to have bad eyesight or if you're not able to see differences in faces. But please, in future facial recognotion threads, don't participate and realise that you are not able to judge these faces. Seriously. You have bad eyes/ bad judgement in faces.
And with those bad eyes you (unknowingly and without bad intentions, i'm sure) contributed to the pain of the family members of Sunil.

People will probably feel offended and say that these two people were very similar. But in reality, that's only true for people who have poor judgement in faces. Sorry, there is no way around it.
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Yeah, there's a reason why witness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
 
Devolution said:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540021&postcount=3458
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54539304&postcount=3319
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538290&postcount=3108
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538449&postcount=3144
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54538572&postcount=3175
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54530709&postcount=1668
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54530481&postcount=1622
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540372&postcount=3537
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Look at that MThanded guy what a damn tool.

My comment came after Reddit claimed they heard his name on the scanner. I did then call bullshit really quickly after realizing I never heard that on the scanner. Still I deserve the shame. Got egg on my face yo.

Edit: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54530937&postcount=1706
cp7mphU.png
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I think its pretty shitty that I ended up getting put on the list of shame after I recanted when realizing the source of the info. Someone came in the thread saying that they said Sunil's name on the scanner. No clue it was a Reddit troll.

Ymh3Y7C.gif
 
Jacob said:
I remember reading the Uncle conspiracy theories. I had to step away from the computer for a while after that.
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That's when I started to have fun with the whole thing...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540429&postcount=3553
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54541656&postcount=3786

You know what was REALLY surprising? That so many people (including rational "Occam's Razor" would-never-believe-ridiculous-conspiracy-theory types like Meus) would have their minds blown by the fact that an old pudgy white dude with grey hair was among the tens of thousands of people in the vicinity of the bombing when the culprit Sunil has a relative who is a pudgy old white dude, I mean that can't just be a coincidence...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540084&postcount=3472
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540702&postcount=3602
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54541647&postcount=3783
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=54540795&postcount=3620
 
There is a larger lesson here, not just about "internet detectives" but about the more general issue of people at home thinking they can do the job better than people out there in the field with all the information and experience.
 
There were as many people on GAF calling out the idiocy as there were participating in it, so I give our community some credit.
 
The problem with social media, new websites, and message boards is that everyone wants to be the first to find something. It's like how assholes sometimes post "First!" on some message boards when a new thread or article is posted.

I'd say that people will learn from this, be we all fucking know they won't. Everyone will continue to try to decipher things and manipulate facts to fit whatever conclusion they want. This is the age that we live in now, unfortunately. I just hope that no one is ever seriously injured or punished as a result of morons posting shit and calling it fact.
 
BobLoblaw said:
The problem with social media, new websites, and message boards is that everyone wants to be the first to find something. It's like how assholes sometimes post "First!" on some message boards when a new thread or article is posted.

I'd say that people will learn from this, be we all fucking know they won't. Everyone will continue to try to decipher things and manipulate facts to fit whatever conclusion they want. This is the age that we live in now, unfortunately. I just hope that no one is ever seriously injured or punished as a result of morons posting shit and calling it fact.
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I was really fearful for this guys family safety. No hyperbole. Being linked to Terrorism is some scary shit with the potential for vigilante nutjob 'justice'.
 
 
zoku88 said:
I'm not a legal person, but wouldn't safe harbor apply?

You'd have to take the individual posters to court. But since they are anonymous...
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Reddit isn't anonymous. No more so than 4chan. Moot will cough up IPs with a court order and has never said otherwise. The same will go for reddit I would imagine.
 
JonnyBrad said:
Reddit isn't anonymous. No more so than 4chan. Moot will cough up IPs with a court order and has never said otherwise. The same will go for reddit I would imagine.
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Libel would require the people making false claims to 1) know they are false and 2) intend to harm the victim.
 
 
Sunhil graduated from my high school a few years before me... I know a lot of people who knew him well. The whole thing was very strange.
 
 
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