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A
big part of the Zipper app is the ability not only to
get and offer local news in real time to your smart
phone but also do the same with local gossip. The shear
ease of adding, reading, and finding local information
with this app was bound to result in some local gossips
whiter by design or by accident. It's almost
impossible to avoid it since after all, we're human and
gossip is as much a part of human civilization
as....civilization itself. That being said, there's got
to be some rules to keep it someone what clean. Some
people immediately assume the two are mutually
exclusive. You can't have gossip that's clean. Well,
you can and have to for some very simple reason. Let's
take a look at how to handle mean or untrue gossip.
First, what's the definition of mean gossip? Good
question. First, let's take a step back and decide what
gossip is. Essentially, gossip is third party news of a
personal nature. It's that simple. Gossip also has a
certain unverified quality about it. Otherwise, it's
just news. There are bits of personal news though that
are mean or hurtful, especially with younger people.
The Zipper has no tolerance for this. How do you handle
mean gossip when it pops up on the Zipper? We have the
first two rounds of weapons to use against mean or
incorrect gossip built right into the system. The first
defense is the Thumbs. This is a quick and easy way to
not only discredit (with a Thumbs down) any piece of
info on the Zipper or support a piece of info (with the
the Thumbs up button). If a particular mean or vicious
piece of local gossip hits the wire, hit the Thumbs
down. Too many of these Thumbs down votes will quickly
dismiss the mean local gossip to the depths of Zipper
oblivion. The second tool is the process or ReZips or
responding via the thread like message of Zips. If you
know something is not correct or just generally want to
show your discust for a particular message, you can add
your 2 cents to the ReZip or thread from the original
message. To some extent, ReZips figure into how long
the message stays aloft but sometimes, you just need to
express your view on something, or better yet add a
piece of information or vantage point not available yet
which refutes the original mean gossip. SO that's our
toolkit to start. The Thumbs down is the fast and
effective way to Vote down on the message. Too many of
those and it disappears. The ReZips lets you add
information set the record straight. In the real world
of local gossip, you usually can't do this on a wide
scale with mean gossip that travels in the typical
routing. Al least you now have a voice to counter mean
gossip.
What
if there's something particularly mean or abusive not to
mention wrong. Keep in mind that the Zipper is just an
electronic tool. It magnifies and makes easy all means
of communication local news and local gossip that
already exist. Hopefully, it does more good than harm
(if you believe that people generally weight towards the
good side of the scale). The Zipper does not preclude
local, State, and Federal laws however and if you break
the law online, you are still breaking the law. If
you're not sure if something is legal, don't do it! The
anonymous post of the Zipper for local news will not
protect libel, slander, or hateful posts and you run the
full affront of the law if you break it.
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