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Overhype

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Nov 20th 2006 9:11pm





Google's Orkut The Target Of Misplaced Blame In India

from the try-again dept

Neat Justin writes in suggesting that we absolutely must cover the latest story about Orkut "in trouble." However, reading through the long list of links he provided, it doesn't seem like Orkut (Google's social networking play) is really in very much trouble at all. Basically, it sounds like a lot of people are (perhaps reasonably) pissed off that some Orkut users created a "We Hate India" group. If you know how Orkut works, basically anyone can create a group in seconds, and anyone else can join it. Soon after that, there were stories about how Indian prostitutes were using Orkut as a way of finding clients. Then, a couple of weeks ago there were even more complaints about Orkut concerning tricksters putting up fake profiles of others, urging people to call or visit people, falsely claiming they were pornographers. Finally, this weekend, there were more complaints over some additional hate messages that had been posted to the site. Some of these articles cite India's Information Technology Act-2000, which apparently bans this type of activity, suggesting that Orkut may get banned by the government. However, it would seem that this is very misplaced anger. Once again, the problem isn't with Orkut, specifically, but the people using Orkut. If Orkut is blocked, the same people will simply go elsewhere and do the same thing elsewhere. It doesn't solve the problem, it just sweeps it under the rug for about half a day until the same things pop up somewhere else. Blaming the site pretends that if you block the site that the people who are actually responsible go away too. It doesn't work that way -- and, if anything, only emboldens them to find more and more places to make their point. The real answer is to go after the people directly if they are breaking the law -- not the site that carries their words.

19 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    Same old story

    identicon
    Devin, Nov 20th, 2006 @ 10:20pm

    Brazil went through the same thing blaming orkut for prostitution and drug dealing. While probably true it's not the majority and if orkut shut down they would go somewhere else.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    me, myself, and i, Nov 20th, 2006 @ 10:39pm

    why don't authorities USE orkut to root out these supposed drug dealers and prostitutes? maybe i'm just being too logical and don't know how it works, but banning a possible crime prevention system just sounds stupid, not to mention ending up culling the bad sect from the userbase after some time.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    PS, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 12:37am

    Orkut is just a victim of misplaced and irrational anger as you suggested. I'm betting that there are a lot of 'I hate Pakistan' communities as well on Orkut, that too created by Indians.

    A classic example of the misuse of an otherwise beneficial technology!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    techreader, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 2:40am

    It's nothing sort of adamant on Google's part that in spite of lots of people asking it to remove a particular group from Orkut, the company doesn't care the damn thing about it.
    And this is when it's an Orkut's policy that if enough users raise an objection against a group, the group would be removed from the site.
    http://alootechie.com/News/1565.asp

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    techreader, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 2:45am

    India has not banned Orkut.com or any group on the site.
    Interestingly, none of the news reports talking about Orkut's group being banned in India has mentioned the actual group which reportedly was banned in the country!
    Even the much reported We Hate India group in Orkut has not been blocked in India!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    techreader, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 2:46am

    Mike, you have a point that India, instead of banning Orkut, should actually go after the real culprits who are creating the hate messages on the social networking site. But what could India do, when the hate-mongers are based not inside the country but beyond its borders, as was reported in a section of the Press.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    Tim, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 2:52am

    `But what could India do, when the hate-mongers are based not inside the country but beyond its borders, as was reported in a section of the Press.'

    Create more groups of a positive / pro-India nature?

    Google is the great leveller...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    PS, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 3:05am

    Why bother banning such sites? I'm an Indian, but I ak: What happened to freedom of speech and all that jazz?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    j, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 3:09am

    i have orkut and live in india... no prostitutes approched me... can i sue Orkut ?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 6:20am

    So what? craigslist is full of prostitutes and scammers, and nobody cares...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    identicon
    Ashwin Mudigonda, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 6:48am

    As a chronic Orkut user and also someone who has benefited from Orkut's groups (just check my website) I think the article has hit the problem on the nail. I have been very frustrated with the scores of idiots and retards trolling communities and posting messages like "Let's play a game. check my profile and rate me". And this was in communities called Physics, Mathematics. This had resulted in many genuinely interested physicists and mathematicians leaving in a huff, creating tightly moderated communities and kicking out trolls (I am now a moderator of 4 communities (one MATLAB)). The system corrects itself over time and no external force is needed.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  
    identicon
    Click, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 7:22am

    1. 'I hate India' community has been removed from Orkut because it was having 'burining Indian flag' in it.
    2. I have checked there is no "I hate Pakistan' community created in Orkut.

    but interestingly there is a community called 'We hate I hate india community', which is against 'I hate India'.
    It seem that Indians respects their ex-brother still a brotherhood.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  

    Re:

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 7:50am

    good research .....

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  

    Hatemongers are here too

    identicon
    PB, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 9:19am

    There is at least one hate monger trying spark a hate-chain in these comments too. Thankfully he is ignored.

    There cockroaches are everywhere. The best practice is just to ignore them

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  
    identicon
    Aginst You, Nov 21st, 2006 @ 1:34pm

    Are these people really understand others comment?? Hmm... one bad cockroache..

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  16.  

    why dont it stop

    identicon
    sam, Jan 13th, 2007 @ 9:04am

    neat justin ,
    your comment about the getting the peoples behind it is pretty impressive if it i possible but again i have a wonder why after all this problems Google is not blocking just one site ,
    i smell some commercial needs by Google behind it ,i went through many of my chatting room and its just like advertising
    orkut , if its so , for making bad emotions part of so many of them ,such case Google is to be blamed ,so , i don't feel that the blame is misplaced ,
    "and for the kind detail for other some comments" the topic is on "we hate India"group and the group is still there

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  17.  

    Re: Hatemongers are here too

    identicon
    Edson Braga, Feb 23rd, 2007 @ 3:25am

    Quero usar o orkut e nao estou conseguindo abrilo por causa do progama que nao estar abrindo, me ajudem!!!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  18.  

    MISUSAGE OF THE WEBSITE

    identicon
    Pavan Akula, Jan 20th, 2008 @ 6:39am

    Dear Readers and ORKUT team. I would like to inform you about the worst things I have found out on the ORKUT site. I was searching through different communities and found people using sick photographs and keeping them on their profile and also noticed that ORKUT has been used as place of unuseful things rather making the site a best place to keep in touch with family and friends.. I would here by request ORKUT team to keep and eye on the profiles like these and delete them for the safety of the genuine user.. Thank You
    Pavan UK

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  19.  

    Re: Why bother banning such sites?

    identicon
    irfan, Jul 16th, 2008 @ 12:38am

    everybody have right to use such sites

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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