Analysis / Internet Safety Aesop

Depending on the situation, both sides can have a legitimate point about their activities online and the consequences.

What the poster thinks about their situation:

• Everyone makes mistakes and simply didn't know how they could have upset someone with their activities. They just need a chance to explain their side of the story and explain how their actions were a result of stupidity and incompetence, not malice.
• Users may have bad social skills; whether due to a condition, a poor choice of words, using a second language, or because they're from a place with different etiquette standards than the people reading the posts.
• The posts were made in the past and the user simply forgot about them. They didn't really expect someone to dig it up in the future for the sake of an argument. They also weren't the ones who uploaded that embarrassing picture, video, or message.
• They may have been venting online or venting privately and underestimated the consequences.
• Critics are thin-skinned and easily offended so they may have just overreacted or tried to overcorrect what they saw as an injustice.
• They really didn't know who they were talking to and didn't expect the outcome of their activities.
• Users may be too young and/or naïve to understand the weight of their words and actions online.
• Users simply don't know how to identify and then avoid scammers, fake accounts, and cybercriminals.
• Other users can be too hard on them for making a bad decision.
• Other users are obsessed with them and won't respect their boundaries or won't take "no" for an answer.

How people criticise the poster for their online activities:

• It's a content creator's responsibility to set a good example for their audience.
• People do need to acknowledge how their own behaviour could have caused their problems. As they should have known by now that there are some things you just shouldn't post online.^note This only applies if they are more experienced with the Internet.
• You need to look at a post from outside your own head; what's funny to one person may be grossly offensive or damaging to another. You need to be careful about what you post online because you don't know who could be watching. ^note  For example, a harmless photo of a friend may not be that impactful but it could either expose an affair or out them as LGBT.
• You should have enough self-control to not add strangers online, to not encourage a certain behaviour from your audience, and you shouldn't present yourself online as something you don't identify with. You should make your boundaries clear and put up safeguards to protect your identity.
• You should not have been on that website or forum in the first place.
• You could have just walked away or logged off if someone is antagonizing you online. You can't let them get to you and they should have better things to do. ^note This one only works if the antagonist doesn't know your personal information and identity. Even then, comments can be hurtful and upsetting to people who don't know how to handle them and/or at a vulnerable time in their life.
• You need to evaluate your relationship with the person you're talking to. ^note Did they continuously refuse to show their face? How long have you been friends with them? Have you seen them in person? Is the relationship still the same after all this time? Do you even consider them your friend?
• Venting online is not a healthy way to handle a problem, therapy is a healthy alternative if it's serious enough and there are people you can privately talk to in real life.^note If it's just a run-of-the-mill bad day, then venting online is probably not as unhealthy as it seems. It can, however, be rude, so you should still tread carefully.
• You should have asked for permission before you uploaded that picture of your friend and family member. Children aren't mature enough to recognise how they are being presented online and lack a personal filter of what is and isn't appropriate to talk about. Under the Federal Wiretap Act, it's actually illegal to record conversations and while it is legal to record someone in public, it can violate their expectation of privacy.^note  You could be endangering your family and friends by uploading private and embarrassing information about them online. They also never gave you their consent and they may not fully understand how their actions are going to be perceived online. Filming a stranger in public (whether they've done something to deserve it or not) can leave a massive impact on their livelihood and humiliate them.
• Posting memes and fanworks of your favourite content creator can be flattering but you need to respect a creator's personal boundaries once they've established it.
• Exposing someone online can have very serious consequences if done in the wrong way and without a warranty. ^note  Without evidence or witnesses, not everyone will be inclined to believe you and you can't always take back what you say on the Internet. People can just as easily out you as a liar or continue to believe the lie even when it's proven to be false. Depending on the accusation, real victims can become more worried about coming forward for help since they're already concerned that nobody would believe them. The thing you're exposing may be based on outdated information, a misunderstanding, one side of the story, or a false accusation and it will seriously damage the accused's livelihood. They can go to jail, still be treated like a criminal despite being proven to be innocent, and they can lose their families and employment because of these allegations.
• If a relationship or friendship ended on a really bad note, you should have blocked their accounts immediately so they can't access any of your personal information. ^note  That option isn't always necessary since they may lose interest and they should find other ways to get over your argument, not beg for forgiveness or swear revenge. Either way, you should block them anyway as a precaution in case they decide to stab you in the back or abuse your naivety by harassing, humiliating, or threatening you.

How the situation may be beyond their control.

• Websites and apps have rules and regulations in place to protect a user's privacy and personal safety, the websites themselves may have been hacked, not the accounts.
• Users can be a victim of doxxing, identity theft, revenge porn, hacking, malware, etc. so it's not their fault and they may have to take legal action.
• A creator can't force their fanbase to do anything, and can't control every member of their audience. Someone acting in a way that reflects badly on the creator isn't their fault if they never told anybody to act that way.invoked
• A creator may not know how they are perceived on the Internet. Some creators can be embarrassed, uncomfortable, or outright disturbed by how people react to their content and can give very strong responses in turn. Especially since the erotic fanworks can be easily found online by a young audience or the creator's family members.invoked
• Internet celebrities, content creators, and users may not know how to handle success and popularity in a healthy way because they were continuously venerated online. Being spoiled and enabled online will affect their behaviour, their personal businesses, and their careers because nobody ever told them what they were doing wrong in the first place.