Public Shaming

April 24, 2010 7:02 AM

Violation Report is a New York-based bulletin board for "the public shaming of discourteous people to procure a community that is more aware of the people around them." Includes submitted photos of offenders, "Courtesy manuals," and fake tickets. Via: 1, 2.

Related:
* The Web is still the Wild, Wild West when it comes to defamation, and it's not all in fun
* Previously on MeFi
* BusinessWeek Editorial: The Era of Behavior is "a time when what we do and how we do it is under greater scrutiny and is essential to our ability to succeed in business and in life."
* Public Shaming of Prostitutes Misfires in China (From 2006)

posted by zarq (68 comments total)

Most of the pictures on Violation Report fall into the category of irritating but not worthy of public shaming. I had to scan every picture to make sure I wasn't in any.
posted by sswiller at 7:15 AM on April 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

I was ready to support this site, as I think bringing back shame is something we should all rally 'round. However, a lot of those violations were pretty weak!
posted by theredpen at 7:15 AM on April 24, 2010

I just looked at ten of these and eight didn't seem like any big deal at all.
posted by pinky at 7:16 AM on April 24, 2010

There's only one word for the implementation of this concept: Rude.
posted by leftcoastbob at 7:17 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

So we should submit a screenshot of the website then? It's rude to point etiquette violations, even worse than the original violation!
posted by mkb at 7:20 AM on April 24, 2010

Comments
Jeff:
here's a degree of courtesy for you: "excuse me, can you move your legs?"

that's all it takes. enough whining, you yuppie fucks.

amen.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:20 AM on April 24, 2010 [5 favorites]

Why do I get the feeling the people who make these kinds of websites should never go outside?
posted by The Whelk at 7:22 AM on April 24, 2010 [3 favorites]

So they're going to publicly shame most of these "violators" by not saying anything on the train itself, surreptitiously taking photos, fuming over the (mostly minor) infractions the rest of the way and then going home and posting on a website the person will likely never see.

I know there's been some discussion here lately about what constitutes passive aggressive behavior...this qualifies, right?
posted by JaredSeth at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2010 [6 favorites]

Evidently there are a lot of easy to annoy people with camera phones riding the subways of NY.
posted by nangua at 7:25 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

My advice to the authors of this website:

You live in New York. You live and breathe and die surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other human beings, many of whom will have annoying habits or personality traits you can't fucking stand. That's life in the big city. This state of affairs is not expected to change at any point in the near or distant future.

Grow a thicker skin and learn to deal, OK?
posted by jason's_planet at 7:26 AM on April 24, 2010 [14 favorites]

I know there's been some discussion here lately about what constitutes passive aggressive behavior...this qualifies, right?

Yeah, I think so. (I even put that in the tags.)

Even the ticket is a tool to avoid any sort of meaningful confrontation.
posted by zarq at 7:27 AM on April 24, 2010

Oh hell, that's what I get for not checking the tags.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:29 AM on April 24, 2010

Someone send these people some post-it notes, on the double!
posted by KokuRyu at 7:32 AM on April 24, 2010

No one ever checks the tags! :D

That's where I'm a Viking!
posted by zarq at 7:32 AM on April 24, 2010 [4 favorites]

"the public shaming of discourteous people to procure a community that is more aware of the people around them."

Whoever wrote that is in dire need of some public shaming. Yikes.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:32 AM on April 24, 2010

Wish I'd found this site before I posted. Would have included it in the FPP:

Subway Douchery
posted by zarq at 7:37 AM on April 24, 2010

I think this is both funny and awesome, even if it is ridiculous. I deal with crowded hallways of students who engage in a variety of clogging behavior, and I often fantasize of snapping and getting all Joe Clark on them, or perhaps incorporating air horns or high pressure water hoses to discourage cell-phone squats in the middle of the hallway.

Sure it's thin-skinned and narcissistic, but if I have to get somewhere, I don't really care about someone else's cell phone conversation, I care about myself. Sure, that's terrible and selfish, but so is holding up the 2,000 people that have to walk around you. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.
posted by mecran01 at 7:39 AM on April 24, 2010

Comments lol:
jesus fucking christ, the passive aggressive level on this site amazes me... your judgement of this girl based on her having a shoulder around the subway pole speaks volumes about the type of person you are. when you're this miserable, it's easy to be pissed off

Yeah...
posted by delmoi at 7:39 AM on April 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

This is just stupid. Really.
posted by kaseijin at 7:40 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

In other news, I am 99.9% sure that the lady in delmoi's link is somebody I know.

If so, it's extra funny...because she's one of the most self-effacing, polite-to-a-fault people I have ever known.
posted by kaseijin at 7:44 AM on April 24, 2010

I'm very much in favor of public courtesy and mutual respect, and I am about the biggest pacifist around, but if you whip out your trendy intrusive cell phone and take my picture with it, I will cram it down your boorish gullet without benefit of lubrication.

In my mind at least.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 AM on April 24, 2010

Wish I'd found this site before I posted. Would have included it in the FPP:

Subway Douchery

Someone at the National Post 'recognized' Jason Shelowitz's idea and posted their own versions for us to use in Toronto.
posted by gman at 7:49 AM on April 24, 2010

Communication technology is forever directed by nerds who can't directly deal with people. Onward we march to a passive-aggressive future!
posted by The Whelk at 7:50 AM on April 24, 2010

The Web was built on two things -- bullying and porn. It's saddest when the bullying comes in the form of a self-righteous huff. Strangely, that's when porn is at its hottest.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:52 AM on April 24, 2010 [3 favorites]

Most of these postings don't even understand the "rules" of the subway. It is not a "violation" to lean on a pole or spread your legs out if the car isn't packed. The only violations that really piss me off are people that sing or rap out loud or people whose earphones suck and you hear whatever crappy music they are listening to. And I'm wary of confronting the people that sing and rap out loud because they've already demonstrated they don't give a fuck about social niceties so I doubt they would respond reasonably to a request to shut up.
posted by Falconetti at 7:56 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Can we just call them Thundering Dorks and have that be it?

I'm not sure what is worse, that this site was made with a sincere intent, or on the idea "Oh people love bitching on the internet, and it's all user-submitted, so we won't have to do anything and then we'll get faaaaaaaaamous and mentioned on the Daily Show!"

I think I need to disconnect for a bit.
posted by The Whelk at 7:57 AM on April 24, 2010

At least our government didn't pay for it, like these hilarious signs in Japan.
posted by melissam at 7:58 AM on April 24, 2010

OMG someone walking and swinging their arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!

OMG POEPLE SITTING ON TEHN TRAIN!!!!!!!!!11111111111

GRAR THIS GIRL IS PRETTY AND I DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS IN NYC BECAUSE I AM OBNOXIOUS AND PASSIVE AGRESSIVE AND WEIRD ABOUT TAKING CELL PHONE PICTURES OF PEOPLE DOING NORMAL THINGS AAAARRRRRGGGGGG I'M SAD AND PATHETIC AND I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH EVERYONE!!!!!!111111111
posted by fuq at 8:03 AM on April 24, 2010

The entry delmoi linked to about the woman resting on the pole has disappeared in the last few minutes. I think we may have someone's attention.
posted by regicide is good for you at 8:06 AM on April 24, 2010

Someone is loading up goatse photos as violations. The site won't last too long if there's no control over who can load photos.
posted by plastic_animals at 8:07 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

You people are pussies and are far too thin-skinned and whiney... just f*cking step aside, there's plenty of room in your picture. Not condoning clogging the sidewalk but, f(ck, give him a sharp elbow or curse at him, don't work this passive-agressive shit out on some web site!
posted by fixedgear at 8:07 AM on April 24, 2010

Porn clips appearing, already.
posted by edbles at 8:09 AM on April 24, 2010

Hahah, looks like Damn That Television followed through.
posted by delmoi at 8:09 AM on April 24, 2010

I hate everyone else as much as the next guy, but this is a terrible idea badly executed.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:12 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

It is a little distressing when men and women are doing the "alpha male spread" and someone with a cane/a huge pregnant belly/obvious infirmity comes on and they don't blink an eyelash. It's one thing to not give up your one seat for these people, but another to take up TWO seats when you don't need to. When I moved here I promised myself I would NEVER date a man if I saw him do this. Maybe it's because I'm originally from the South, but I just think it's unacceptable.
posted by melissam at 8:14 AM on April 24, 2010 [4 favorites]

This is way better for the goatse mockery being uploaded as I type than it is for the actual concept.
posted by indubitable at 8:14 AM on April 24, 2010

No offense, zarq — thank you for facilitating this interaction.
posted by indubitable at 8:16 AM on April 24, 2010

There needs to me a lot more shots of assholes taking photos with their phones.

(And less shots of actual assholes..........ew.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:16 AM on April 24, 2010

Damn That Television: "This is stupid as fuck and I hope the bullshit graphic designer who made the site dies in a fire and I'm going to spend the next hour uploading goatse to his site. Move out of the city you sniveling fuck."

I never really thought I'd have to start checking the comments to see whether sites had vandalism from Mefites before clicking on them. Thanks.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:17 AM on April 24, 2010 [3 favorites]

People wasting their time on that site are missing out on the sublime pleasure of making an unpleasant person squirm uncomfortably by calling them out immediately in public. I don't understand.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:18 AM on April 24, 2010

The pole-leaning lady is still on the site, but there's no point in linking, because links change as new pictures are added, or something. So, there's another aspect of this site that is more annoying than the people its "shaming."
posted by dirigibleman at 8:20 AM on April 24, 2010

Looks like this comment was deleted. Talk about touchy.
posted by blucevalo at 8:20 AM on April 24, 2010

You know, I had "it's" and changed it to "its" on preview.
posted by dirigibleman at 8:22 AM on April 24, 2010

Good job loser goatse posters

How old are we here? 5?
posted by melissam at 8:25 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Metatalk
posted by roll truck roll at 8:25 AM on April 24, 2010

Doh.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:25 AM on April 24, 2010

and I'm going to spend the next hour uploading goatse to his site.

I really, really hope this wasn't actually you doing it, Damn That Television. That's just really not cool.

There's a metatalk discussion about this, fwiw.
posted by cortex at 8:25 AM on April 24, 2010

Report:
This asshole was in the middle of the train, just fucking GLOWING. Just shining her FUCKING HALO everywhere. I was like COOL IT, ASSHOLE but only in my head
posted by KokuRyu at 8:28 AM on April 24, 2010

Maybe it's because I'm originally from the South, but I just think it's unacceptable.

Ah, perhaps you've not been on Nashville Metro Transit lately! It's considered de rigueur there. I've been on many public transit systems, but I've never seen the churlish seat-guarding (completely ignored by the drivers, even when someone gets on board who's elderly or who has a disability) anywhere else that goes on here.

That said, I wouldn't go around taking photos of these people and posting them on the web, complete with Gawker-esque snarky remarks. Among other things, I value my physical safety.
posted by blucevalo at 8:30 AM on April 24, 2010

I agree that a lot of those don't seem like there's much going on... but I sort of wish I had taken a picture of the woman who decided she could just plop her heavy pocketbook down on my lap...
posted by fermezporte at 8:36 AM on April 24, 2010

Is it just me or are the links not working properly? For example when I clicked KokuRyu's link:

This asshole was in the middle of the train, just fucking GLOWING. Just shining her FUCKING HALO everywhere. I was like COOL IT, ASSHOLE but only in my head

The text on the page said this:

This is the one that really gets my goat. You're driving along, minding your own business, and the stupid sun just decides to SET on you. WTF? Hello?!?!?!?! Some of us were USING that light! Sheesh.

With a picture of the sunset.

In fact, now that I'm trying editing the URLs it seems like the most recent entries have lower numbers which means, I guess, that every time a new entry is posted, the old entries have their URLs changed.

I noticed fuq's links didn't seem to match up, and now my old link doesn't work either.

Complete web design fail.
posted by delmoi at 8:37 AM on April 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hmm, it looks like they admin is deleting stuff now, all the goatse is gone, and now the clipart stuff ones are mostly gone too.

It's a PITCHED BATTLE!
posted by delmoi at 8:39 AM on April 24, 2010

So, not only is the site annoying and stupid, but it is poorly designed?! Someone is not going to succeed in the web-design business.
posted by fuq at 8:39 AM on April 24, 2010

The Subway Douchery site posted by zarq is so much better.

It has charm, entertainment value and doesn't take itself so seriously. More importantly, it blurs the faces of the people being photographed.
posted by stringbean at 8:49 AM on April 24, 2010

Just stepping in to give appreciation for zarq calling the site a "Bulletin Board".
posted by jscott at 8:50 AM on April 24, 2010

If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen! This web site is pathetic. Just like Improv Everywhere, it could not have been created by a true New Yorker. I wonder where the asshole who came up with this idea is from!
posted by ReeMonster at 8:50 AM on April 24, 2010

Take this site and your midwestern politeness and shove it up your ass.
posted by any major dude at 8:53 AM on April 24, 2010

Violation Report, in addition to complaining about other adults' bad behavior, also is happy to go after children. Despite their spate of clip-art deletions and goatse deletions, they seem to have zero problems keeping up a picture of what looks like a SEVEN-YEAR-OLD in the interest of "public shaming."
posted by Greg Nog at 8:53 AM on April 24, 2010

I think bringing back shame is something we should all rally 'round.

The problem with shaming is that those who most need it are incapable of feeling it.
posted by Obscure Reference at 8:54 AM on April 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm fairly unimpressed with these ridiculous passive aggressive attacks against people who obviously aren't doing anything particularly annoying, all the goatse posts are an improvement.
posted by jeffburdges at 8:54 AM on April 24, 2010

Site is down now.
posted by LarryC at 8:57 AM on April 24, 2010

OK, the site is down and it's time to nuke this fucking post.
posted by fixedgear at 8:57 AM on April 24, 2010

The site's not down, they're blocking requests with metafilter.com as the referrer. Copy and paste the link and it works fine.
posted by asterix at 9:00 AM on April 24, 2010

Finally -- a place to post a picture of that awful pregnant lady who always takes the last seat on the bus!

And don't call me passive-aggressive, I'm not afraid to give her the stink eye.
When she's not looking.
posted by mazola at 9:01 AM on April 24, 2010

The Violation Report has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

It seems to have been made by passive-aggressive holier-than-thou sphincter-tights unable to interact with fellow human beings on any meaningful level.

If I was doing something that pissed someone else off, I'd like to know. I'd appreciate a friendly reminder. That at least gives me a chance to change my ways.

Surreptitiously taking a photo and posting it to the web? That's a bigger violation than anything I've seen on their ugly, crappy site.

One day, Violation Report will post a photo of a lawyer with some time on his hands or one of their users will get killed or maimed trying to pass one of their idiotic fake tickets to the wrong person. I hope Violation Report has good lawyers. Actually, on second thought... No, I don't.

Their tagline sucks, too:

"Modern, real-life public shaming"

There is nothing modern about public shaming lynch mobs. Real life? No, Violation Report needs to get a life.
posted by stringbean at 9:03 AM on April 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

Grant A. Gold, the creator of violation report, explains his shitty, mean-spirited idea right here. It seems it was his thesis project for art school.
posted by Greg Nog at 9:05 AM on April 24, 2010

Wow, those Japanese signs have really gotten direct, Melissam! Are those for real? My Japanese isn't great, but don't those signs all say "yaro"? Isn't that like calling someone a bastard? "Hey, you bastard: don't sit in the priority seats." or "hey, you bastard: don't get drunk on the train."
posted by Kirk Grim at 9:16 AM on April 24, 2010

....Site seems to be down.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:29 AM on April 24, 2010