Party On
Written on July 22, 2009
I didn’t know people were doing this stuff. I should have guessed.
To me, these stories illustrate something about the internet.
At work are basic, understandable human forces and fundamental human problems. Kids like to party.
On the one hand, the internet gives us a power that we’ve never had before. An individual can organize an event that draws 4000 people. Who could ever do that before? The cost of stamps alone would be prohibitive.
On the other hand, the internet is completely and utterly hamstrung by our own limitations.
“What do you wanna do?”
“I dunno. What do you wanna do?”
“Beach Party?”
At the same time that a community is faced with a problem that is genuinely new (How do you break up a beach party of 4000 people? We’ve never had that sort of problem before…), it is facing a problem that is really really old.
People in large crowds tend to misbehave – we’ve know about this for a long, long time. Kids like to party.
I know, let’s ban the internet!
Or is the real answer for 4000 parents to create an event – “Keep your young punk home tonight”. On the night, there will be 4000 arguments and 4000 upset teenagers running to their rooms. (Except the modern equivalent of sending a teenager to their room is to confiscate their cell phone – isolation has a new face)
But the arguments would have happened anyway. The good kids will obey and the bad kids will disobey and the police will beak up the fights and life will go on.
The question of “Can we get 4000 people together?” has been answered. Yes we can.
The question of “Can we stop 4000 people from getting together?” has yet to be answered, but it’s almost certainly, “Yes.” (Look kids! I’ve got brownies!)
The question of “How often should we allow 4000 people get together?” is the most interesting question of all. It’s a people question, and it’s difficult to answer, which is why it’s interesting.
The internet is a tool, don’t be one yourself 
Yay! Morality wins 
Filed in: technical, thehumancondition.