• How Singapore Got Hooked on the Internet of Public Shame
    36 replies, posted
[IMG]http://i.embed.ly/1/display/resize?key=1e6a1a1efdb011df84894040444cdc60&url=%2F%2Ffarm8.static.flickr.com%2F7054%2F13850967474_f9953c17f9_z.jpg&width=490[/IMG] [IMG]http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2014/04/01/Stomp1_.png[/IMG] [QUOTE]"Not only has he taken three extra seats, his slippers are dirtying one of them." [/QUOTE] [QUOTE]On the online portal [URL="http://www.stomp.com.sg/"]STOMP[/URL], owned by Singapore's top newspaper, [I]The Straits Times,[/I]Singaporeans upload photos and videos of each other indulging in behaviors that, anywhere else in the world, might be considered mundane. Typical entries include images of people eating on the subway, or making out in a public park. Of course, Singapore's government has a well-earned reputation as a killjoy. This is a city-state, after all, perhaps best known for its attempts to control behavior by caning people for vandalism or imposing the death penalty for some drug offenses. Singaporean STOMPers—those who tattle on their peers—in this way join rather than challenge their government in monitoring the public. Certain themes particularly resonate on STOMP, such as 'bad' behavior on public transportation, substandard hygiene, and ill-mannered foreigners. In one recent [URL="http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/what-bugs-me/hello-the-bus-is-not-your-sofa-and-your-bag-doesnt-need-a-seat"]post[/URL], STOMP contributor "mav" calls out a man for taking several seats on a bus and putting his feet up: A more extreme example comes courtesy of a group of STOMPers calling themselves the "Kampong Boys," who [URL="http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/what-bugs-me/foreign-workers-one-with-pants-down-sprawl-at-bugis-mrt-after-binge-drinking-session"]posted[/URL] a photo of South Asian workers passed out from drinking in a subway station on New Year’s Eve. Comments on that post ranged from xenophobic vitriol ("So many garbage all around this once clean country...sigh!") to more reasoned sentiments ("not all foreign workers are in this sorry state .. majority are doing fine earning a decent living"). Just how big of an influence does STOMP have? According to the site's editors, last year STOMP had a total of 1.2 billion pageviews and 18 million unique visitors. Singaporean journalist Kirsten Han notes that residents often joke that they are afraid to sit down in a reserved seat on mass transit for fear that they will "kena STOMP," meaning get posted on STOMP, for taking a space designated for the disabled, pregnant, or elderly (even if the train is half empty and no one on board needs those seats) Alex Coulston, a 26-year-old American living in Singapore, says he and his friends "half joke" that they will be "STOMP’d" if they do anything out of the ordinary in public. Coulston once participated in the Hindu celebration Holi, in which revelers throw colored dye at each other. “My friends and I were taking the [subway] home with dye all over us,” he says. “Everyone was staring, and we thought to ourselves, ‘Uh-oh, I hope we don’t get STOMP’d!’ Later, we went on the site and found photos—not of us, but of others—with the caption, ‘Why didn’t these people take a shower?’” Han and Coulston are both critical of STOMP. Coulston describes it as “only a site for gawking and gossiping.” Han argues that while citizen journalism is important in a place like Singapore, where the mainstream media “isn’t free,” STOMP panders to small-mindedness. “The problem is that a lot of people are still drawn to it,” she says. STOMP editor Azhar Kasman's response? "What STOMP's citizen journalists contribute are matters that are of concern and importance to them and their community." And STOMP has indeed won accolades, such as [URL="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/sph-wins-11-awards-asian-digital-media-awards-2013"]first place[/URL] for “Best in Online Media” at the 2013 Asian Digital Media Awards.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2014/04/how-singapore-got-hooked-internet-public-shame/8777/[/url] And now other media are picking this up. Honestly, as much as I'm okay with internet freedom, I'll be happy to see this website get closed down. Its mostly ugly ladies in their mid 40s who think they are somebody, and want to prove how much of a hero they are by putting pictures of people online, while being anonymous. The one thing that I hate the most is how this website had affected conscript soldiers and the regular soldiers. Many of these ladies which we call 'aunties' think they deserve a seat because they consider themselves 'old', and many expect the soldiers, which only often get to go back home on weekends to give up their seats to them. Doesn't matter if they are fucking tired from all that training! If you don't give up, they'll take pictures of you, and put it up on the website. Worse, they don't even censor your face, and because its a website run by the only newspaper, its quite popular. So, chances are, your friends probably seen it. Like this picture: [img]http://2x43di7fqtr1359hx1tnjj0te6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/stompnsman-450x450.png[/img] [editline]25th April 2014[/editline] And of all places, only my country has this shit. And its approved by the 'only' newspaper here.
[QUOTE]Singaporeans upload photos and videos of each other indulging in behaviours that, anywhere else in the world, might be considered mundane. Typical entries include images of people eating on the subway, or making out in a public park. [/QUOTE] God that sounds like the way my sister uses Instagram
I am trying really hard to understand what is going on, carefully reading it, but I'm still confused as fuck
[QUOTE=Egevened;44640566]I am trying really hard to understand what is going on, reading it, but I'm still confused as fuck[/QUOTE] tl;dr if you do something that is out of the blue or socially unaccepted, you are 'stomped'. Basically let's say you place your feet on the chair of a public transport(doesn't matter if its fucking empty), and the person taking the photo, called a 'stomper' sees you doing that, he or she will snap a pic and upload the picture of you onto the website, normally with a catchy title. Because its operated by the state run newspaper, its also sometimes printed on one of its popular tabloid. And because the country is having a influx of foreigners/foreign workers recently, it makes it even more sensational. Because many of the people here are anti-foreigners. And because its fucking popular and since its sometimes printed on the tabloid, chances are, whoever on the article is gonna be shamed, because most of the time pictures aren't blurred, and it'll spread quickly through friends.
There should be a social media campaign against it, people trying to get pictured doing silly stuff with some kind of caption. Would catch on really well and shit this crap right down. Or an vast influx of people uploading pouting selfies to the site.
This sounds like kindergarten tattletales all grown up.
whoever wrote these articles should be fired 15 minutes in and I'm baffled how this is journalism, it's literally illegible
I remember how people took a pic of us when we got back from Pulau Ubin by bus and we were sleeping.
I'm still fascinated at how chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.
A+ site. [t]http://i.imgur.com/SV4BOYx.png[/t]
Okay here's a better video+article from Al Jazeera: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6SxZVdgMo[/media] [QUOTE]Singapore's notorious "citizen journalism site" STOMP is suffering public backlash as many users are calling for it to be shutdown. Netizens say the website run by the state-owned Singapore Press Holdings picks up insensitive and false articles "at the expense of other citizens" as well as promoting public shaming. Some said the petition is counterproductive and closing down the site would go against freedom of expression. With one of the highest internet access rates in Southeast Asia with a penetration rate of 73 per cent, cyber bullying in Singapore goes beyond STOMP. Many use their own accounts sometimes to post images of what some say is online shaming. There are also concerns cyber bullying is fueling xenophobia. A British businessman fled Singapore in January after his Facebook comments mocking the poor caused an uproar. [/QUOTE] [url]http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201404141124-0023641[/url]
[QUOTE=Ignhelper;44640754]Okay here's a better video+article from Al Jazeera: [url]http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201404141124-0023641[/url][/QUOTE] "There are also concerns cyber bullying is fueling xenophobia. A British businessman fled Singapore in January after his Facebook comments mocking the poor caused an uproar." Quite possibly the worst example of xenophobia (which does seem to be heavily present in Singapore), the guy sounds like a monumental knobhead. Forcing him to flee was a bit much, though.
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;44640779]"There are also concerns cyber bullying is fueling xenophobia. A British businessman fled Singapore in January after his Facebook comments mocking the poor caused an uproar." Quite possibly the worst example of xenophobia (which does seem to be heavily present in Singapore), the guy sounds like a monumental knobhead. Forcing him to flee was a bit much, though.[/QUOTE] Here's the stuff that caused an uproar: [img]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/22/article-2543851-1ADF367A00000578-7_634x560.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Ignhelper;44640787]Here's the stuff that caused an uproar: [img]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/22/article-2543851-1ADF367A00000578-7_634x560.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Sgt. Doom was wrong. This guy doesn't sound like a monumental knobhead. This guy [b]IS[/b] a monumental knobhead.
Singaporean Daily Mail
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;44640822]Sgt. Doom was wrong. This guy doesn't sound like a monumental knobhead. This guy [b]IS[/b] a monumental knobhead.[/QUOTE] Doesn't help that he looks like a knobhead as well: [img]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/22/article-2543851-1AE0533D00000578-370_634x906.jpg[/img] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qipT0YqCtBs[/media]
Singapore is like this utopia that is actually really really dystopic when you look closely enough.
[QUOTE=person11;44641443]Singapore is like this utopia that is actually really really dystopic when you look closely enough.[/QUOTE] Where is the utopia part?
[QUOTE=Ignhelper;44640754]Okay here's a better video+article from Al Jazeera: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6SxZVdgMo[/media] [url]http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201404141124-0023641[/url][/QUOTE] video not available in the US ok enjoy your business
Report on your neighbours, Big Brother style. Yeah, that totally sounds like the kind of country I want to live in.
[QUOTE=person11;44641443]Singapore is like this utopia that is actually really really dystopic when you look closely enough.[/QUOTE] I remember when I went there, there were large barriers that say stuff like "Men at work" and "Safety First" with pictures of happy people with hardhats. I peak over the barrier and there are like 20 indonesians working in the hot sun with no protection. I ask my driver about it and he says casually that they ship in these workers because when they die you can just replace them.
[QUOTE=anis;44641601]Where is the utopia part?[/QUOTE] The city is clean with a low crime rate and high literacy etc etc. It scores really high everywhere besides "press freedom" and "racial harmony" and "not getting caned"
[QUOTE=FlakAttack;44642524]Report on your neighbours, Big Brother style. Yeah, that totally sounds like the kind of country I want to live in.[/QUOTE] Funny that you mentioned this: [img]http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/original_images/Nov2013/20131128_camera_shinmin.jpg?itok=kGjc6RWL[/img] [QUOTE]SINGAPORE - A recently installed surveillance camera at Block 33 Balam Road is causing residents to complain about prying eyes. Shin Min Daily News reported the camera, mounted on a corridor railing on the 7th floor of Block 33, faces the bedroom windows of the opposite Block 31, which is 20 metres away. Residents at Block 31 said they are uncomfortable over the camera, and added that it is an intrusion of their privacy. A resident who felt affected said he is concerned about his female family members' modesty when they are changing in their bedrooms. Another resident in her 60s has no idea who installed the camera and why it has been installed. As she is afraid of being watched, she has kept her bedroom's window closed. Some residents added that the camera's red blinking light is distracting. Shin Min also reported that many residents are unaware of the new camera. Most of them are surprised when they learned about it. Some residents believe that camera may have been installed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to monitor high-rise litterbugs in their neighborhood, where high-rise littering is a regular occurrence.[/QUOTE] [url]http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/residents-complain-about-nea-cameras-facing-their-bedrooms-4478523.html[/url] Oh ya, if you're nude in your own home and the neighbour next door sees you, if he/she feels offended, she/he can report to the cops and you'll be fined.
[QUOTE=Ignhelper;44640594]tl;dr if you do something that is out of the blue or socially unaccepted, you are 'stomped'. Basically let's say you place your feet on the chair of a public transport(doesn't matter if its fucking empty), and the person taking the photo, called a 'stomper' sees you doing that, he or she will snap a pic and upload the picture of you onto the website, normally with a catchy title. Because its operated by the state run newspaper, its also sometimes printed on one of its popular tabloid. And because the country is having a influx of foreigners/foreign workers recently, it makes it even more sensational. Because many of the people here are anti-foreigners. And because its fucking popular and since its sometimes printed on the tabloid, chances are, whoever on the article is gonna be shamed, because most of the time pictures aren't blurred, and it'll spread quickly through friends.[/QUOTE] Shouldn't be putting your feet up on the chairs though, it's public transport, not your sofa. I don't want to deal with people putting mud and shit all over the seat. Especially when there's usually a "Do not put feet on seats" sign up.
[QUOTE=zeromancer;44642721]Shouldn't be putting your feet up on the chairs though, it's public transport, not your sofa. I don't want to deal with people putting mud and shit all over the seat. Especially when there's usually a "Do not put feet on seats" sign up.[/QUOTE] I was merely stating an example. There are worse examples. One guy who is serving his conscription got 'stomped' because he drank plain water in the train, and one guy took photo because its 'not allowed' on trains. But people were nice enough to defend the soldier.
Rofl in Germany you can even drive naked.
It is easy to control a population if you can get them to fight among themselves. Divide and rule.
I have no idea how anyone could survive in that environment. How can you do anything if your law and culture is based on not offending anyone? [editline]25th April 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Getherder;44644048]It is easy to control a population if you can get them to fight among themselves. Divide and rule.[/QUOTE] You have to admit, crowd sourcing morality policing was a stroke of genius. This is some straight up new age dystopia huxley shit.
[QUOTE=Egevened;44640566]I am trying really hard to understand what is going on, carefully reading it, but I'm still confused as fuck[/QUOTE] They say that the education level in singapore is one of the highest in the world but the images imply the contrary.
A friend of mine landed in singapore when he was traveling from new zealand. He said it was the most emotionally cold and dystopian city he's ever visited.
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