Bad language in Comments

Recently I wrote about a problem that exists between Microsoft and Google in relation to embedding YouTube videos into PowerPoint that has resulted in Microsoft withdrawing support for using YouTube's embed code - they simply removed the option to embed.

Image source: Genius Outside the Bottle.

This situation has led to many comments on my YouTube channel about the features I describe not working, and in many cases viewers get confused and make a comment on the video. Usually these comments are polite, and are written seeking help. I get an email any time a viewer comments on the channel, and I do my best to respond to each comment - usually pointing the viewer to a work-around video that does work. Today I have put a large message on front of each video warning the user that some features might not work.

Recently some of this frustration has boiled over into an increased use of bad language. In the past week I have been called an "a**hole", "c**k sucker", "mother f**ker", "bitch", as well as "dumb", and "stupid". Charming! This is a tiny percentage of the total number of comments, and I must credit one viewer who apologized for calling me "dumb" when I pointed him to the work-around video.

Bad language has been with us forever, and will not go away. I use bad language - I think my use is low and restricted to "f**", "sh*", and "boll**ks" - I don't use it on the Internet and try to keep it to a minimum in conversation. I do not judge people who use bad language, but there is something different about using it on the Internet such as in writing a comment. Seeing it in written form seems to make it worse, why do people want to leave this trail of bad language behind them? Perhaps to regret later? It's already possible to trawl through Internet comments to analyse for sentiment, maybe the day is not far away when employers could run a scan of a job applicant's on-line behaviour before deciding if they want to employ that person.