Feedback on Religious Dialogue in Comments
We got this email today, and I requested its use for a Sift Talk post, because it's a discussion we need to have.
This message was received from [anonymous] at [anonymous]@yahoo.com:
I've enjoyed visiting VideoSift for some time now. I think it does a great job of drawing attention to new and interesting videos. But even though I've considered joining the community, there's something that I find quite disturbing--the level of harsh, hateful language directed towards religious beliefs in the posts and comments. For example, see the comments on this video:
http://www.videosift.com/video/No-arms-No-legs-Nick-Vujicic
The comments on this post are absolutely shocking in their rabid, nearly psychotic intolerance. I see in your community guidelines that videos making fun of race are not permitted. I would ask you to make similar guidelines to discourage videos or comments that talk about religion or spirituality in ways that are intolerant, prejudiced, and hateful. Discussing religion in a frank, probing, and respectful way is vital in the world we live in, and I have no problem with videos or comments that encourage me to think critically about these issues. However, the kinds of comments I've seen on this website only degrade the VideoSift community and discourage visitors like me from joining. The same would be true of any other hateful, intolerant language, whether about race, gender, or sexual orientation. Please consider taking steps to ensure that VideoSift will be more welcoming and as a result more successful. Thank you.
This message was received from [anonymous] at [anonymous]@yahoo.com:
I've enjoyed visiting VideoSift for some time now. I think it does a great job of drawing attention to new and interesting videos. But even though I've considered joining the community, there's something that I find quite disturbing--the level of harsh, hateful language directed towards religious beliefs in the posts and comments. For example, see the comments on this video:
http://www.videosift.com/video/No-arms-No-legs-Nick-Vujicic
The comments on this post are absolutely shocking in their rabid, nearly psychotic intolerance. I see in your community guidelines that videos making fun of race are not permitted. I would ask you to make similar guidelines to discourage videos or comments that talk about religion or spirituality in ways that are intolerant, prejudiced, and hateful. Discussing religion in a frank, probing, and respectful way is vital in the world we live in, and I have no problem with videos or comments that encourage me to think critically about these issues. However, the kinds of comments I've seen on this website only degrade the VideoSift community and discourage visitors like me from joining. The same would be true of any other hateful, intolerant language, whether about race, gender, or sexual orientation. Please consider taking steps to ensure that VideoSift will be more welcoming and as a result more successful. Thank you.
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