Google's Orkut The Target Of Misplaced Blame In India

from the try-again dept

Mon, Nov 20th 2006 9:11pm — Mike Masnick

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.

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19 Comments

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Devin, 20 Nov 2006 @ 10:20pm

Same old story
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.
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me, myself, and i, 20 Nov 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.
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PS, 21 Nov 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!
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techreader, 21 Nov 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
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techreader, 21 Nov 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!
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techreader, 21 Nov 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.
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Tim, 21 Nov 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...
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PS, 21 Nov 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?
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j, 21 Nov 2006 @ 3:09am

i have orkut and live in india... no prostitutes approched me... can i sue Orkut ?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Nov 2006 @ 6:20am

So what? craigslist is full of prostitutes and scammers, and nobody cares...
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Ashwin Mudigonda, 21 Nov 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.
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Click, 21 Nov 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.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Nov 2006 @ 7:50am

Re:
good research .....
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PB, 21 Nov 2006 @ 9:19am

Hatemongers are here too
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
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Aginst You, 21 Nov 2006 @ 1:34pm

Are these people really understand others comment?? Hmm... one bad cockroache..
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sam, 13 Jan 2007 @ 9:04am

why dont it stop
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
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Edson Braga, 23 Feb 2007 @ 3:25am

Re: Hatemongers are here too
Quero usar o orkut e nao estou conseguindo abrilo por causa do progama que nao estar abrindo, me ajudem!!!
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Pavan Akula, 20 Jan 2008 @ 6:39am

MISUSAGE OF THE WEBSITE
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
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irfan, 16 Jul 2008 @ 12:38am

Re: Why bother banning such sites?
everybody have right to use such sites
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