Wednesday, May 30, 2012

State legislator says he can't control Topix, sorry

Looks like folks in Tennessee have been talking to their state legislators again. This time, it's to freshman Republican State Rep. Jeremy Faison who went on Facebook over the Memorial Day weekend to ask his constituents (and everyone else on the planet who is his friend) if they would like him to try to do something about "cyber-bullying." According to David Oatney of the Tennessee Statehouse Examiner, Faison's constituents were actually asking him to do something -- please -- about Topix. Which, as many in rural communities know, "has become a catch-all for discussing all kind of local events anonymously around the country, but it has become something of an Internet gossip hall or a sort of cyber hair-salon in rural East Tennessee." Or rural (insert your state here).

Faison told the Examiner: "I think people need to understand that we aren't really in a position to regulate the Internet from Nashville, and is that something you'd really want us to do?" Faison went on to say that the Topix site is advertiser-driven, and if you wanted to stop it from existing, stop visiting the website.
(Read more.)

2 comments:

Sabine Faustin said...

At the end of the day, these people only respond to their emptying pockets, that's why I started a petition against Topix targetting their advertisers. I'd love to get as many signatures as possible because I really think that's the only thing Topix and it's CEO, Chris Tolles will respond to. There are lots of anti-Topix petitions, but none target their advertisers. Here's the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-the-advertisers-on-topix-com-let-them-know-you-will-no-longer-do-business-with-them

John said...

This particular legislator later came back and admitted Topix was a huge problem and that something probably did need to be done. He admitted he was amazed at how many people told him how wrong he was regarding Topix and has rethought his position. Topix is a website for cowards.