*Salon.com *Tuesday, Aug 3, 2010 09:01 ET Why I like vicious, anonymous online comments As news outlets push back against trolls, we may be losing something: A glimpse of the real America By Matt Zoller Seitz Three months ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a couple who'd had trouble conceiving a child finally succeeded, and announced the impending arrival of twins with a cleverly edited and utterly harmless YouTube video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snp3rHDHwPg> that turned the final attack on the Death Star in "Star Wars, Episode IV" into a cheesy metaphor for conception. ("Torpedoes away!") Most of the comments were of the expected variety: generic congratulations and cornball "Star Wars" jokes. Then there were the others. "'Thanks for the fuck, should do it again sometime,' should be the ending to this dumb video," wrote one commenter. "Holy fuck was this gay," wrote another. "This is fucking stupid," wrote another. "OH YOU ARE HAVING BABIES? YOU MEAN YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT BILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE DONE THROUGHOUT HISTORY? Big fucking deal. I fucking hate kids." The protective force field of anonymity -- or pseudonymity -- brings out the worst in some people. They say things they would never say in the presence of flesh-and-blood human beings. [...] Continua qui: http://www.salon.com/life/internet_culture/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/201...