Whitney Phillips Quotes & Sayings

there is no guarantee that an anonymity-free Internet would be a kinder, gentler Internet. — Whitney Phillips

while the ludic impulse may be strong in some, it is not, and cannot be, strong in everyone, for the simple reason that not all people have access to the technologies in question, the time to devote to learning the ins and outs of specific systems, or the energy to play with the tools they've been given. — Whitney Phillips

Trolls may be destructive and callous; they may represent privilege gone berserk; they may be a significant reason why we can't have nice things online. But the uncomfortable fact is that trolls replicate behaviors and attitudes that in other contexts are actively celebrated ("This is how the West was won!") or simply taken as a given ("Boys will be boys"). Trolls certainly amplify the ugly side of mainstream behavior, but they aren't pulling their materials, chosen targets, or impulses from the ether. They are born of and fueled by the mainstream world - its behavioral mores, its corporate institutions, its political structures and leaders - however much the mainstream might rankle at the suggestion. — Whitney Phillips