Sunday, February 25, 2007

Stop Digg’s Abuse! – An Open Letter to Digg

So long as someone takes what I have to say into consideration I’ll be more than happy.
Dear Digg Team & Digg Users

Little Green Football has apparently been organizing a campaign of hatred towards Muslims using Digg. While I in no way am in support of stopping freedom of speech they are actually abusing the Digg voting system to meet their own end while ruining the quality of content that reaches the front page on Digg.

Digg is all about a democracy, no one group or entity should have a higher say than anybody else. What Digg should reflect is the community not individual groups who are in fact not at all related to Digg but rather have agenda's they wish to push forward they do so via Digg's voting system.

Little Green Football is in fact abusing Digg, I doubt the majority of members even knew what it was about before this campaign started as he says in the comments section on Little Green Football

"Who is/are digg.com and why does anyone care?
Until you recently linked to it at LGF I'd never heard of it."

As you can see this group is not using Digg for what it was created for, they are exploiting Digg to further their own political agenda's, they don't care what Digg is so long as it helps them further their own personal agenda's.

If Digg really turns into some sort of political tool for such groups then it will be a problem for all core Digg members who visit the site for the stories, not furthering political agenda's.

Of course I'm not as well versed on Digg's system and am not claiming to be a speaker on behalf of everyone who uses Digg. However it is upsetting to say the least that these people can use Digg as a political tool rather than what it was made for. It ruins the quality of content that reaches the front page on Digg as the system turns into a means for war, one way or the other.

Anyway, I'll leave it to you guys to decide whats best and if what I'm saying should matter at all. Just please understand I don't support censorship, but I don't support abusing Digg like this either, which is why I would like some sort of action taken against Little Green Football.


Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Obsessed Digg Fan
- Ahmed (Digg user linkedList)

As a personal note I’ve already mentioned on one of the wonderful Digg submissions from the Little Green Football campaigns that I am a Muslim, I have more Atheist and Christian friends than I do Muslim friends and I do not at all want to blow anyone up (least of all me :-P).

Do I need to say more? I pray five times a day, I read the Quran but I still have non-Muslim friends I still go to university and I still support freedom of speech. I support scientists who do research into evolutionary biology and the origins of the universe amongst other things, in fact I love learning about the world around me and like most Digg users always look forward to hearing about the latest discoveries in most fields of science.

Come on people, no matter what the people at LGF say they can’t change who I am, they can take verses out of context from the Quran to their hearts content and post trumped up news reports but at the end of the day I as a dedicated Muslim am not interested in blowing myself up and I definitely do not hate non-Muslims simply because they are non-Muslims.

Like almost every Digg member I’ve come across the only people I am intolerant towards are those who are intolerant, I’m intolerant to intolerance. No I am not lying to anyone when I say this either. So to all the people from LGF and other extremist right wing groups, stop trying to tell me I am not following my religion because of such and such out of context verse from the Quran.

I am a Muslim and I know how it is best to be a Muslim, and this is how I am a Muslim and all my friends regardless of religious background don’t give two bits that I am a Muslim (save for the fact I’m not too keen on going to the pub Friday nights).

It's sad to say but this came to my attention when a six month old comment from the ultra neo-conservative Australian Treasurer Peter Costello made it to the front page on Digg. He simultaneously vilified Muslims as if they did not uphold the laws of Australia while making himself look like a great person who believes in separation of Church and State. Nothing can be further from the truth, he's pro-life, he has blocked RU486 based on religious grounds (of course he doesn't admit it) while also making derogatory comments on homosexual's. His party is allied with 'Family First', an extremist right wing conservative party which promotes such things as 'Christian values' being taught in public schools, such as prayers being recited before classes.

Peter Costello's brother is a 'humanitarian' who shares the same ultra conservative views, going to countries like Africa on humanitarian missions and god knows preaching what to the people there (I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of those people who claimed it was a sin to wear condoms).

I know a lot of my fellow American Diggers think it would be great if politics in the US was like here in Australia, I would gladly swap our governments, our prime minister is still increasing troop numbers in Iraq and our Health Minister is a religious nut case while our treasurer likes to speak outside his portfolio to gain political ground.

Oh what we'd do for a Barrack Obama equivalent here in Australia! As it stands our leading opposition party has been at each others necks for the leadership for the past decade! So please, I know the majority of people on Digg are North American based, but please understand our plight!


Yes, I’m sorry, blogspam *cough* but I’m not doing it for evil (well at least not trying to). Sometimes you have something to say you want everyone to hear, you submit it to Digg.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

why are you so apologetic though?

Anonymous said...

You're just mad because LGF tells it like it is, and you tell it like it might be.

gabriel sutherland said...

Ahmed: I've asked you to post some evidence to support your claim that LGF is organizing a campaign of hatred towards Muslims using Digg. Please respond or else I will have to bury your post for lack of evidence.

http://digg.com/political_opinion/Stop_Digg_s_Abuse_n_An_Open_Letter_to_Digg#c5427719

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Waa waa waa..

Does the widdle babee need a pacifier ?

Waah waa waa..

Dem LGF's being so rude to me.

Anonymous said...

You got your facts wrong regardng Peter Costello, he did not reject RU486 that was Tony Abbott. If you cannot get Costello's facts right how can I believe you about LGF?

You ruined your own case with your vent against Costello.

Anonymous said...

horse crap

Anonymous said...

from blob-
Digg is all about a democracy, no one group or entity should have a higher say than anybody else. What Digg should reflect is the community not individual groups who are in fact not at all related to Digg but rather have agenda's they wish to push forward they do so via Digg's voting system.


Hey moron author, true democracy is mob rule. Enjoy.
Sucks to be the minority in a democracy...eh.
You want dig to go Commie- everyone equal as long as they agree with you.

Thank you Digg for the proof that democracy has many short comings.
Long Live the Republic!

So did Muhammed pork a 9 year old?

Anonymous said...

It never ceases to amaze me... how quickly freedom is cashed in to bolster up the opinion of one who is frightened in losing face or in losing an argument.

Freedom is lost on people like you.
Manipulating a system of checks and balances to defer to the wisdom of a collective group... that is abuse.

TR Daggett said...

Hello, I followed the link from your comment on digg.com (where I left a comment).

I agree with you, and the gutless delinquents who posted 'anonymously' aren't worthy of our time [to read]. Most have the intellect and maturity of a 7-year-old. They're embracing hatred and bigotry and reinforcing it within they're own 'little green footballs' echo chamber. Now they're mad because most of us reject their thoughts and hatred.

Thanks for your comments/post.

Ahmed said...

Okaaay, so the LGF crew have finally trucked in.

To all those concerned my problem isn't with the stories (as I mention countless times) it is the fact LGF has hijacked Digg as a political tool. There are probably over 100 LGF members, when a single story is submitted all these LGF members digg it to the front page, it has gotten so ridiculous that some stories have reached as far as 300 diggs before it has been removed from the front page. Of course this is due to the simple fact that while LGF members and a few non-LGF members were digging it up a whole heap of non-LGF members were trying to bury it off the front page, simply becuase they were bored of the continuous repetitive stories.

As much as they'd hate to say it and I love to admit it, I don't mind freedom of speech but I do mind abuse of a very cool service.

Kevitivity said...

LGF is anti-Islamist, not anti-Islam. This is an important subtlety that is often lost on knee-jerk reactionaries.

Furthermore, LGF gives a lot of support to moderate Muslims that decry terror.

Anonymous said...

As a devout Muslim, I take a different view. I feel it's vitally important that LFG posts make it to a wide audience. The vast majority of Muslims are peace loving people, however Islamists pose such a dire threat to the free world that it can't be ignored. It's important that people educate themselves and thats what LGF does

IgnorantInfidel said...

What is really being proved by the attacks against Captain’s Quarters, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Jihad Watch, Jawa Report, LGF, etc?

The only thing they have in common is that they offer critical analysis of Islam, Muslims, and the political left. They also provide links to their source stories so readers can verify that their comments and quotes are accurate. Perhaps this is what upsets the detractors of these sites, the transparency. They are not afraid to provide links to the sites or blogs they are discussing.

When ever a party to a discussion resorts to elimination of the oppostion in order to win an argument it makes me very suspicious. A one sided argument or discussion is not really an argument or duscussion it is just preaching to the choir. If your argument can not stand on its own merits then you don't have a valid argument.

If my research and study of the issues were restricted to these sites I might be guilty of having tunnel vision. But I read dozens of sites and blogs world wide. I use wikipedia, not for a definitive referecne, but as a pointer to related sites and additional resources. In addition I use off-line resources.

The more I read, study and learn, the more I trust these sites. If this make me islamophobic so be it. When I read report after report of terrorist attacks against civilian targets around the world and I read report after report of an Islamic or Muslim leader making excuses for the attacks and attempting to justify them I become more and more apprehensive about Islam.

Why has LGF suddenly become an enemy? Is it because the Digg button was added as a convience? What percentage of LGF links were buried and dugg down prior to the addition of the Digg button compared to now?

For what its worth I was using Digg long before the Digg button was added to LGF. By forcing LGF off of Digg there will be no good reason to go to Digg. Banning LGF and it readers from Digg will only lessen the likelyhood they will see any of your comments.

Ahmed said...

@ignorantinfidel

Did you read my letter? I dislike LGF because it has not developed within Digg, it is an external community that has suddenly started using Digg to reach its own end.

If you look at diggspy for example you'll notice how insane it gets with one in every ten submissions being anti-Islam and provocative to say the least. There is nothing wrong with that, digg always used to get such submissions, but now it is being congested with them and they are continually reaching the front page by the diggs the submissions are getting from this same external group.

Kevitivity said...

Can you give one example of an "antu Islam" post at LGF?

Ahmed said...

@Kevin

By anti-Islam I obviously mean submissions that are simply out to provoke and are more than a little likely to be skewed.

Heres one So two muslims killed a non-Muslim, now all Muslims are evil and OMG look how prone they are to violence? Yep, two Muslims killed a Jew (for whatever reason).

Why is it that they are Palestinians (i.e. Muslims) suddenly makes it like it is front page material? There are many murders in the US and most don't get to the front page (why would it?).

IgnorantInfidel said...

@ Ahmed
I have bad news for you.
The sites that make me most apprehensive about Islam and Muslims are CAIR and MAS. Their stated goals are to make the United States an Islamic state controlled by Sharia Law. The only thing LGF is guilty of is pointing out the extremes CAIR and like minded groups will go to to create victim status over trivial issues. One prime example is the manipulation of the Somalis cab drivers in Minneapolis.

@Ahmed said...
"Did you read my letter? I dislike LGF because it has not developed within Digg, it is an external community that has suddenly started using Digg to reach its own end."

Yes I read your letter. It is what inpired my post. Question: What community/communities is/are totaly internal to Digg and owes it/their very existance soley to Digg?

I started using Digg because I believed it was a service providing a central clearing house for sharing information that individual Internet users felt was important or interesting enough to be shared. It also provides each user with a convenient location for creating a personal library of information.

Now certain special interest activist groups are trying to censor what other users are allowed to add to their libraries. Makes one think of China, Iran, Egypt, or Russia.

If it makes you feel better just stick your fingers in your ears and scream loudly so you can not hear voices of disagreement. Just because you may not want hear voices of disagreement does not mean others do not want to hear alterantive views.

Aren't you acting in exactly the same manner you recklessly accuse LGF of acting? You are being LGFophobic because you don't like their comments. Your actions only inpire me to work harder to resist the dhimmi you are trying to impose on the Internet community in general and Digg in particular.

Ahmed said...

I've got bad news for you too ignorantinfidel.

That group does not represent the majority of Islam, in fact they don't even represent Islamic law if that is what they want. When LGF puts that up and pushes it as fact like all Muslims agree it kind of pisses us off.

Like if George Bush says something and then someone submits it like all Americans agree with him ;-)


Once again I don't mind what people submit, but to put it quite frankly the quality of content is ruined when every post out of ten seems to be 'Muslims did this, Muslims did taht', it has reached the point of ridiculousness now 'Muslim killed non-Muslim over there'. You know why stories like 'American killed non-American over there' doens't make it to the frontpage on Digg? Because nobody cares, it's a fact of life. LGF likes to trump up stories and make them sound like they have any significance, furthermore they add to it by somehow making the claim that it reflects of the entire Muslim community.


THats what I have against it, I was pretty upset when Digg was having pro-wii anti-ps3 stories hitting the front page so regularly, it was annoying, and I'm a Nintendo fanboy. But I, just like others, like a certain amount of variety.

Anyway, like I said, LGF formed outside Digg, now they have gotten their members to sign up for Digg to digg up anti-Islam stories over and over again, unlike before were the nintendo fanboyism was from Diggs own community (i.e. couldn't be combatted, it's waht the majority of Digg members wanted to read) it has become literally something Digg members don't want anymore. You know somethings amiss when a 300 dugg story gets kicked off the front page, it indicates that more than likely there is an artifiical third force digging the story while there is another force trying to get it off the frontpage.3

IgnorantInfidel said...

Ahmed said...

" I've got bad news for you too ignorantinfidel.

That group does not represent the majority of Islam, in fact they don't even represent Islamic law if that is what they want. When LGF puts that up and pushes it as fact like all Muslims agree it kind of pisses us off."

LGF had nothing to do with my going to the CAIR and MAS web sites. I went to their sites because of stories I read on other sites. I have been monitoring them for months not just since LGF added the Digg button.

While CAIR and/or MAS may not be represntative of Islam or the majority of Muslims they are the public face of Islam and Muslim in the American press and will continue to cause criticism.

If you are so concerned about he public and perceived image of Muslims and Islam, organize all the moderate Muslims and put CAIR and MAS out of business. Why don't you criticize them for mis-representing Islam? If you combined forces with those evil people at LGF, instead of fighting against them, maybe you could eliminate CAIR and MAS as effective voice of/for Islam.

Ahmed said...

"While CAIR and/or MAS may not be represntative of Islam or the majority of Muslims they are the public face of Islam and Muslim in the American press and will continue to cause criticism."

And they will continue to be the public face of Muslims as they are taken seriously, LGF simply contributes to the problem by implying these groups are what they aren't.


I'm not so concerned about them, THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEACH, however they are being taken waaaay too seriously (rather delibreately) by the likes of Muslm hate groups (hey, anyone who can hate all Muslims because one happened to kill someone is just looking for an excuse).

Like I said, I'm not a moderate muslim, I'm an extremist Muslim, there is nothing in Islam I do not follow, but unlike others I follow the whole of Islam, I don't selectively take out parts that I find inconvenient (not that there are such parts I find inconvenient to begin with).

How about LGF stops with negative Muslim press and focuses on attacking these groups WITHOUT making it reflect on the entire Muslim world.


Ayway, this has nothing to do with the letter, LGF is free to do as it so wishes and believe what they want and do what they want. The only thing that is upsetting me about LGF is the fact they are ruining the content of Diggs front page stories with the same negative tripe over and over again.

However either thye have stepped down on their little campaign or the majority of Diggers have realized how stupidly ridiculous it has become wiht all these stories clogging up the front page that they aren't digging them anymore.

I don't know but at least there isn't a 'muslim did this, muslim did that, we must hate them all now' story every twenty minutes hitting the front page.

I kind of hoped Digg would correct itself in this manner, I'm not sure if it has or if LGF just needs to find more people to digg up their warped twisted stories sending out messages of hate (face it, you get your blood boiled with hatred against muslims when you read those stories, don't take the respectable way out, your alias speaks for itself ;-)).

Ahmed said...

Ok, heres what I dislike:

admiraladama says it was buried by 'diggmob' and he points to another digg submission with the very same story

So one story didn't make it, now he resubmits it himself, because this one didn't make it to the front page.

Not abusing the system?

IgnorantInfidel said...

Alternate sources for much of the same news that LGF links provide:
http://www.thememriblog.org
http://www.roozonline.com/english
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com
http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.freemuslims.org
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2006/03/bloody-borders-project.html

This link provides some interesting insight into the 'peaceful history' of Islam.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/history/chronology

Your narrow focus on LGF implies you are wearing intellectual blinders. You keep harping about the 'hate' campaign being waged by LGF but you have yet to disprove any of the stories described and linked to on LGF is false. Granted that sometimes a commentor will go too far that does not invalidate the story or its source(s).

Ahmed said...

My narrow focus on the LGF is because it is the source of the congestion of stories on Digg.com, if the BBC started a campaign of having its own stories continuously dugg up to the front page by getting its readers to digg them I"d be just as upset.

As it stands LGF is doing that, not the BBC.

I never claimed all the stories on LGF were false, I claimed they were all skewed and bias, trumped up etc. Surely you agree if someone shock jocks they aren't doing it to inform but to get attention.

IgnorantInfidel said...

ahmed said "How about LGF stops with negative Muslim press and focuses on attacking these groups WITHOUT making it reflect on the entire Muslim world."

The negative press generated regarding terrorist attacks is not the fault of LGF. It is the fact that the groups that claim responsibility for the attacks identify themselves as jihadist or Mulsim or Islamist and make their attacks in the name of Allah

Ahmed said...

@IgnorantInfide

Then LGF is nothing more than a news outlet with the intent of spreading hate against Muslims, simple no? 'This guy killed that guy in Palestine, all Muslims are prone to violence!', and thats spreading fact or hate then?

IgnorantInfidel said...

Ahmed said...
"Then LGF is nothing more than a news outlet with the intent of spreading hate against Muslims, simple no? 'This guy killed that guy in Palestine, all Muslims are prone to violence!', and thats spreading fact or hate then?"

This is a bogus argument. The argument is not that 'This guy killed that guy in Palestine, all Muslims are prone to violence!'

The arguement is that, with very very few exceptions, acts of terrorism are conducted by radical Islamic/Muslim activists - in the name of peace and Allah yet.

If the stories posted on LGF were limited to stories regarding Islamic/Muslim terrorists acts then you could make a more valid argument. However, stories on many other topics appear just as frequently. If you even bothered to monitor LGF over a period of days you could verify this.

Sites that carry stories of Islamic and Muslim terrorist acts. Notice anything strange? Like LGF is missing from the list

http://www.thememriblog.org
http://www.roozonline.com/english
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com
http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.freemuslims.org
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2006/03/bloody-borders-project.html
I even see stories about terrorist attacks on the proverbial MSM.

This link provides some interesting insight into the 'peaceful history' of Islam.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/history/chronology

Yes your suspicions are true I have repeated parts of previous posts.

Ahmed said...

Actually it isn't a bogus argument, it is an indication of the maturity of the members on LGF. However I"m not at all against it, they have a right to say what they want. What I am against is the front page on Digg being congested with the same repetitive stories. It isn't happening anymore, which is good.

I don't care what gets posted on LGF, what I do care about is what stories continuously makes it to the front page on Digg by force from immature LGF members who keep digging them up.

Ahmed said...

and another one then

So you tell me thats not abuse.