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Comment by GotAnyMegadeth | Hacker News Reader

> He likely wouldn't have announced the same remarks in real life

I don't know, I think people jokingly threaten to do all kind of violent things to each other in conversation. I certainly do.

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Seriously? You "jokingly" threaten people all the time. To me that seems a little unstable. Maybe I'm just too much of a hippie but I never say anything like this kid did. While he shouldn't be in jail what did he think would happen? It's a public forum that he threatens very real violence - other parents of children that go to school with him would have a very real fear of this not being a joke. Just saying lol isn't really much to go on.

I guess it the kid has a history of violence, hurting animals for example. If so then it seems like a good idea to keep him out of society until this is investigated. If he's the school prankster then forget the case and ground him for the summer. Remember Woz made a similar threat (bomb) when he was in high school ...

lol. Certainly my two main groups of friends spend most of the time joke insult and threatening each other. One layer of sarcasm is the bare minimum.

In private conversation - yes. But posting on Facebook and Twitter is the equivalent to standing in a busy street and announcing your comments loudly for all to hear. Which was my point; Facebook isn't a tool you use if you want to make private jokes.

I am a very loud person, and am not always aware of how loud. I'm sure that I have said such a thing in a situation, probably in a busy street at one point, where many people have heard me.

If you heard someone saying something in a joking manner to their friend in public, however many people hear, you might think they were dumb for being so loud, but not so much that they deserved any more punishment than being told to quieten down/move along.

    I NEVER SAID HE DESERVED HIS PUNISHMENT!

In fact I said what has happened to him was unacceptable (several times in this thread!). The problem here is yourself and a few others are looking at this in a very black and white way so applying the same good vs evil logic to my argument. What I actually said was that I think the teenager was in the wrong, but less so than those who jailed him. He definitely doesn't deserve this and I would never imply otherwise.

Sorry I wasn't trying to suggest that you were saying he deserved any punishment. I was just trying to say that I think that people, or at least I, act more similarly on Facebook and in real life than you were suggesting.

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