Qatarliving angers some Qataris
So what’s new? Somewhere on the exponentially growing world wide web, a site has pissed off someone. Also not suprising, there’s a rude post on QatarLiving.
I first saw this on the front page of The Peninsula:
“Disparaging remarks about National Day celebrations on a popular local website have upset many in the local community, says a young national.
Some remarks against the festivities and the people of Qatar as well as Asian expatriates were in bad taste and smack of racism, said Mohamed Al Jufairi, a civil engineer.
“We are quite upset and writing to some major corporations which advertise on this website to withdraw their patronage,” he told this newspaper in a brief interview yesterday.”
Looking on Twitter, I’d estimate that I’d had around 70% against QL and 30% for QL. I jumped onto a couple of other sites to see what people had to say. Global Voices wrote a great article on this http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/12/21/qatar-critiques-bristle-calls-to-shut-down-popular-online-forum/
What’s my opinion on this? My opinion varies. With QL it’s a love/hate relationship. I’m 100% for freedom of speech and tolerance. Having said that, people should be educated enough to share their opinions in a proper manner to encourage debate. I’m usually on their forums trying to provide a different perspective on things, and I can honestly say that there are many threads which infuriate me; I won’t go into detail as that’s not the purpose.
The thread itself made it seem like Qataris were animals on National day and I agree with a lot of other people’s retorts. In Brazil you have topless celebrations, in Spain you have that Bull race and tomato fight, in San Francisco you have MardiGras, and the list goes on! National Day in Qatar is a day where people let go and had fun; Qatar doesn’t have very many celebrations for everyone (don’t forget we only got National Day 2 years ago!). Yes it’s true that there were some people taking it to the extremes and I also didn’t like the fact that I saw some children hanging off the edge of a cruiser at high speeds, but to make it seem like all Qataris were like that is wrong.
QL, like ILQ, is the gateway to Qatar for many expats, so as ‘ambassadors’, (I think that word is suitable), the way we go about conveying a message is important.
“I hate you”. <— that’s an example of flame bait
“I disagree with what you’ve said because I think that ….” <— That encourage debate.
A lot of people have said “Look, the thread is deleted now”. I’m sorry but personally, I think that it’s a bit too late. You can’t delete a thread just because it’s now getting negative attention. You either stick by what you’ve done, or you should have moderated it ages ago.
So what’s my wish? That QL gets proper moderation and works with other sites to help support alternative views. It’s not about ‘who’s site is bigger’ or ‘who causes the most controversy’, it’s about creating a network of views. What users need to remember is that people are free, they’re free to bookmark a million sites related to Qatar, and it’s up to people to know when to use proper judgement.
Nigel Gourlay said,
Wrote on December 21, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
The article is still available on google cache, so I had a read. It started out as a rant against the loutish behaviour that a woman witnessed on her way home, where she generalised that behaviour to be symptomatic of Qatari society in general. Still, I’ve read much worse, and some of the criticism was fair about the general flouting of road traffic laws. Her tone was angry and argumentative, but you can see that she’d written it while she was still upset.
However, the comments in reply to the article gradually became more and more racist against Qataris. I think it is these comments that angered most readers. It is a shame (if true – reported on qatarfootball.com) that the original author has been fired for the story, when it seemed to be just another angry venting of frustration. Especially when the posters of the truly racist comments will escape censure.
AnteecA said,
Wrote on December 21, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Dear Sir,
I understand you and feelings and i am not here to defend QL but i just want to tell you that not all human are same, even fingers of a human body not same, just this is my point, BEHALF OF QL, I AM SORRY TO YOU AND PEOPLE OF QATAR….
MC said,
Wrote on December 21, 2009 @ 9:35 pm
Now we are not the only group who are noticing the problem on the site.
I wish that they will reform the site with proper moderation and let other bloggers to post their link on their signature. They should allow the real meaning of blogosphere.
Filipino moderators should also be trained for proper moderation. If you can understand tagalog. You will know what I mean.
MC said,
Wrote on December 21, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
QL should really reform their site and have proper moderation. They should also apply the real meaning of blogosphere by allowing members to post their web link on their signature.
Rainbow said,
Wrote on December 22, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
When all hell broke loose, PM asked QL to ban her. Upon her request they did.
She has not been fired from her job over this. About a year ago she was told that her contract which ends in a few months would not be renewed. As this was almost a year ago it is not linked to this incident.
She now appears to regret her actions. But seriously, if you post a vent like that about Qatar/Qataris, and post it on their National Day, you should be prepared to take what’s coming.
Ahmad said,
Wrote on December 22, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
I am with Qatarliving for most of 2 year now. Always i see same thing. Religion and politics ans stupid people who just want make angry everyone everywhere. I give up them long ago and go to another one qatarshub.com . No silly stupid discussion for god or politics or whatever, just people chatting about stuff. and anyone post something bad they quick remove it.
My opinion if QL will say bad things about qatar & qataris then that is no respect to the country we are in and should be shamed!
Sybil said,
Wrote on December 23, 2009 @ 1:20 am
Just for the record, I’m an American expat that loves Qatar, its people and its expats. I have found that QL can be a great source for those with questions and concerns, but sometimes one person can get off track and a post becomes a total bashing event. Indeed there are a few bad apples amongst the group who do not understand the difference in hate speak and constructive criticism. I hope a peaceful resolution is in store and that we can all just get along
Fahd said,
Wrote on December 23, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
I have seen the comment made by the owner of QL and he didn’t seem to make any sign that they will moderate the site better. He just said these opinions are those of users and not of the site. Well I personally don’t think it’s enough. I was sent this online petition and I think something should be changed with these people! This is an online petition to try to force QL to change its ways. Please sign & spread the word. A peaceful resolution can’t be done unless they see we mean business!
http://www.petitiononline.com/bcottql/petition.html
Fahd said,
Wrote on December 23, 2009 @ 6:13 pm
I have seen the comment made by the owner of QL and he didn’t seem to make any sign that they will moderate the site better. He just said these opinions are those of users and not of the site. Well I personally don’t think it’s enough. I was sent this online petition and I think something should be changed with these people! This is an online petition to try to force QL to change its ways. Please sign & spread the word. A peaceful resolution can’t be done unless they see we mean business!
Kei said,
Wrote on December 23, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
Looks like Qatar Living is deleting any old threads as well… are they trying to delete any evidence? Thank God for google cache
QatarVisitor said,
Wrote on December 28, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
Don’t think you can really blame them under the circumstances.
Sandman said,
Wrote on December 28, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
Why not? You want to run a community forum then you take the responsibility to manage it. They are pretty fast at deleting OTHER threads. In this case the reaction isn’t to one thread it’s due to a constant barrage of racist posts (be it against Qataris or any other thread).
I’m KuwaibutAne I’m on QatarLiving but i can empathize with Qataris for feeling anger.
It’s the owner of the site who can shape the community.