The greatest crime isnt that STOMP is still around, but that we allowed 18 million unique visitors (last year) to gawk at its low resolution images accompanied by equally lowbrow commentaries. If you havent had a cringe in your life, or dont know how to, STOMP might just be the remedy for your faces inability to express itself. STOMP (pronounced as: I-dont-want-to-be-associated-with-that) is a pseudo online court built to criminalise pettiness. Its weapon of choice is public shaming. Where todays capital punishment aims for the cleanest execution, STOMP advocates a slow and painful variety that is thinly-veiled behind convenient justice. Because qwerty wants a crack at it. Their citizen journalists (or STOMPers, or how-are-we-even friends, as they are endearingly known) zero in on these wrongdoers most prized asset: their privacy. STOMP succeeds the most grotesque of medieval punishments. If executioners from the Tang dynastys signature a thousand cuts, or the Romans all-time favourite public crucifixion, or the Arabs stoners were STOMPed they would just I cant even and probably retire. Because cannot compete (and compute.) The entry level to be a public executioner may be considerable, but to be a citizen journalist, STOMP is all about quality control. You will need to know how to spell your name, email address and contact number. Once you go through that backbreaking hurdle, you will need to upload up to five images or videos. Once the day has ended, you can start writing a report or captions. Personally, I believe anyone who can tie their shoelace would be able to do that. No offence to those who cant. Heres a starter pack: wikihow/Tie-Your-Shoes. Got GIF for the illiterate. I dont blame the astute observations of these small-minded writers. Hey, everyone got to start somewhere, never mind if its one of the most dumbest products in Singapores history since the advent of Point of Entry. But it takes demand to encourage supply. See, while STOMPs readers not only pom-pom on by clicking on their existence, their commenters participate in the best way they know how: with a considerable artistic disregard to grammar, driven by the beautiful aesthetics of emoticons, all while channelling their inner schoolyard sociopaths. If content is king, comments are a kings concubine on the verge of signing a tell-all book deal. But then the question beckons: which kingdom are these online vigilantes from? Or rather, which barbaric digital village? Even the indigenous tribes of Pulau Ubin arent this uncivilised. Facts and balanced reporting are the cornerstones of journalism. In an opinion piece, if you are unable to suggest a solution to a problem, then you are basically part of the problem. And what happened to basic human empowerment, instead of disempowerment? If the former is a challenge, theres really no need to stoop below its level. So sign the petition at change.org/en-GB/petitions/sph-stomp-com-sg-close-down-stomp-com-sg. It might not be the be-all and end-all, but readers deserve better.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 16:19:30 +0000
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