Information block: Yei or ney?

[old.Tohtori]

This was on the banking thread;

I dont know about you, but i'll rather have all the information delivered to instead of some media mogul deciding what i should and shouldnt know.

It has a name too. Its called independent media. Its not supposed to serve business interests.

First, Gorb, i know that's not what you mean but it got me thinking)

And i didn't want to derail as it's a very taboo thing here D), so made a new thread.

So;

If information would cause large scale panic, hysteria, or some other such "mass effect"(without porn scenes), should information be limited?

Let's take an example;

Meteor might hit earth. All could die. Possibility is at a 99% that the government can blow it up and no harm will cmoe to humanity. information of said meteor would cause mass panic, looting etc. Death-promise-chaos really.

Should the government tell about it or not?

 

[Belgerath]

Although it would help by limiting some information.

Do we really think it would help.

With so much information avaiable via the internet.

How long do you really think the governments could keep a lid on something like that.

Something would be leeked somewhere and I think that in it self could be a problem.

EDIT: I dont think I answered your question at all.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Not always about answering, discussion is sometimes simply a stack of guesses and opinions.

It's a good point, would it be kept a secret even if the government tried to keep it as such?

Most likely not. Depending on the issue ofcourse.

I think it comes down to control. The government should try and avoid mass panic, but at the same time, they should keep their "position" intact regarding the people and how much they trust them.

Some information control should be done, even if i'd personally like to know if things like that happened.

 

[Gorbachioo]

Well as you already pointed out there a meteor hitting the earth and a stock market crash are not the same things so:


In that case i would support a media black out.

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

This was on the banking thread;



First, Gorb, i know that's not what you mean but it got me thinking)

And i didn't want to derail as it's a very taboo thing here D), so made a new thread.

So;

If information would cause large scale panic, hysteria, or some other such "mass effect"(without porn scenes), should information be limited?

Let's take an example;

Meteor might hit earth. All could die. Possibility is at a 99% that the government can blow it up and no harm will cmoe to humanity. information of said meteor would cause mass panic, looting etc. Death-promise-chaos really.

Should the government tell about it or not?

A person may be smart enough to deal with it, but people as a group are stupid, stampeding animals. Preventing some news may prevent a lot of damage, and especially if the necessity of people having that information is minimal, I wouldn't mind the gov't withholding that info.

 

[Gorbachioo]

A person may be smart enough to deal with it, but people as a group are stupid, stampeding animals. Preventing some news may prevent a lot of damage, and especially if the necessity of people having that information is minimal, I wouldn't mind the gov't withholding that info.

India stampede death toll passes 200 - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com

Im sure you get the point.

 

[old.Tohtori]

The funny conclusion one might take, is that yes, we need information black-outs but we would need to see what is "blacked out" to say personally if we want that info "blacked out".

Nice lil irony there :lol:

 

[Belgerath]

Thats probably the craziest bit of logic that makes sence.....:lol:

 

[Lamp]

Something like a meteor wouldn't stay secret for long. There are enough amateurs with telescopes (hell, my mate built one in his back garden) and plenty of universities with telescopes that would spot it soon enough. I think the govt has a moral duty to let humanity know.

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

Something like a meteor wouldn't stay secret for long. There are enough amateurs with telescopes (hell, my mate built one in his back garden) and plenty of universities with telescopes that would spot it soon enough. I think the govt has a moral duty to let humanity know.

What's moral in possibly killing hundreds of people due to looting and whatnot? :/

 

[Lamp]

You don't have to loot when you hear bad news. If people loot they deserve to get shot. I have no sympathy for looters. The moral obligation is letting people know so they can make the most of the time they have left. Not that it matters if its a planet buster. But most people will want to be with their families at The End.

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

You don't have to loot when you hear bad news. If people loot they deserve to get shot. I have no sympathy for looters. The moral obligation is letting people know so they can make the most of the time they have left. Not that it matters if its a planet buster. But most people will want to be with their families at The End.

Like I wrote before, and gorba pointed out, and history proven time and time again, people will loot. You not having sympathy for them isn't generally going to stop them. Besides, due to peer pressure, herd mentality and mass panic you might join them aswell. You wouldn't be able to envision how you're going to (re)act in those circumstances.

 

[Bahumat]

I didn't wanna say anything, but I just did a 2000kg shit in Lamp's toilet.

 

[soze]

Your example would cause looting murder rape and general hardship so I would not mind being left in the dark about that. If i am honest if the government knew a meteor was going to hit the earth tomorrow and kill us all but they could do nothing about it i would still rather not know. I would rather go to work a die here than live in all the panic that the information would cause.

 

[Lamp]

If I knew the world was going to end in hours I'd spent the rest of the time I had left with my family. You go and loot if you like. By the time you manage to work out how to connect your new plasma HD TV you've just stolen.... BANG !

 

[old.Tohtori]

If I knew the world was going to end in hours I'd spent the rest of the time I had left with my family. You go and loot if you like. By the time you manage to work out how to connect your new plasma HD TV you've just stolen.... BANG !

The thing is, it's not to avoid looting, it's to avoid looters etc criminals killing or injuring you, the law-abiding citizen.

 

[Lamp]

Yep, fair point.