Sept. 22, 2011 —
We are compelled to start this editorial with a disclaimer:
The Morehead News is not involved in the ownership or management of the social media Web site called Topix. Some of our news content appears there because it is linked to our public website.
Nor are we proud of the fact that Topix, based in Palo Alto, Calif., is partially owned by three major newspaper companies — Gannett, Tribune and McClatchy.
We hasten to add that those companies own barely a third of Topix and the site has totally independent editorial control.
Like painkilling drugs which have been perverted to become killing drugs for their abusers, Topix also has been diverted from its original purpose.
Topix was created as means of pulling together, or aggregating, many news sources so that citizens would be better informed.
The plan was to create a separate news page for each community in the U.S. Hence, we have a Morehead forum, a Mt. Sterling forum, and so on. Although targeted to the entire nation, most of the growth of Topix has occurred in small cities and towns.
However, instead of providing a forum for discussion of public issues, the community sites have been hijacked for spreading gossip, much of it mean-spirited, even destructive.
To encourage freewheeling discussions and to make it easier to report political corruption and other wrongdoing, Topix allows posts to be anonymous.
Anonymous means you literally can write whatever you choose without giving your name.
Today, Topix commenters try to outdo each other with posts more negative and scandalous than those already visible on each discussion “thread.”
No topic is safe from comment as shown by the fact that the Morehead Forum on Topix, as of Thursday, had more than 12,400 “threads.”
According to various sources, Topix posts in some communities have provoked fights, caused divorces, and worse.
The forums have been condemned by local governments, resulted in numerous lawsuits and been blamed for tragic outcomes.
Earlier this year, a woman in Indiana killed herself and her three children just hours after posting this cryptic message on Topix, where her divorce had been discussed:
“Now it's time to take the pain away."
In our opinion, one person quoted in the New York Times this week accurately described Topix as a "cesspool of character assassination."
In Carter County, a business owner filed suit against five unnamed persons who had labeled him a sex offender on Topix.
His lawsuit could force Topix to divulge the computer addresses of those five commenters which, in turn, could lead to their exposure.
Topix represents a frontal assault on the privacy rights of each of us. It is a perfect tool for “cyber-bullying” and other vicious tactics.
Such nameless, faceless, slanderous speech has no rightful place in America.
Opinion
‘Topix’ must change or disappear
- Opinion
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‘Down ticket’ races still worthy of voter interest
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Will junkies and shady junk dealers steal it all?
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‘Beaker Bucks’ make cash registers sing
We tip our hat to Bill Redwine, Doug Snedegar and the others at Morehead State University who last year introduced “Beaker Bucks” into the Morehead area business community.
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Compensating tax rate is still an increase
The politician who created the concept of the state’s so-called “compensating tax rate” could have played quarterback because even that terminology is a classic example of misdirection.
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‘Topix’ must change or disappear
We are compelled to start this editorial with a disclaimer:
The Morehead News is not involved in the ownership or management of the social media Web site called Topix. Some of our news content appears there because it is linked to our public website.
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Legion vets still giving their all…for all of us
We proudly render a snappy hand salute today to the officers and members of Morehead’s Corbie Ellington Post 126 of the American Legion.
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Autumn Arts and Eats – a tasty idea
We tip our hat to those agencies and individuals responsible for conceiving and planning the new Autumn Arts and Eats Festival scheduled in downtown Morehead on Saturday, Sept. 17.
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A better side of our junior U.S. senator
While we haven’t agreed with many of the comments, actions or political positions taken by our new junior U.S. senator, we are proud of what he did last Sunday in Lexington.
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Teamwork pays off with chicken ‘n dumplins
We tip our hat today to those involved, publicly and behind the scenes, in the wooing of Cracker Barrel which resulted in that company’s long awaited decision to locate in this community.
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Time is running out for tax reform in Kentucky
