Logistically, I don’t understand how doxing happens if you don’t need to register for the site/provide any personal information to comment. If you don’t provide your location and identity, how do others figure it out to dox you? And if doxing is possible (so that your location and identity are discernible by those who want to dox you), is this really anonymous at all?
I am troubled by the rationalization of hate speech in the section “The Economy of Offense.” While I understand the author’s reasoning at a conceptual level, I think it goes too far. The participants are crafting extraordinarily racist commentary, and I don’t agree that we can just chalk this up to anonymity and self-referential irony and suggest that the participants are not necessarily racist. Spouting racist commentary is racist, it is what it is, and I don’t think it can or should be explained away.
While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the content in this article, I appreciate that this article is thoughtful and well-written. That being said, I question whether the reading in its entirety is appropriate for this class/school in light of some of the excerpted content (e.g., the section regarding rape). I suggest that future classes be provided with a redacted version of the article that excludes at least the rape portion which I found to be particularly inappropriate.