cover of episode What econ says in the shadows

What econ says in the shadows

2023/12/16
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Florian Ederer
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Kyle Jensen
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Florian Ederer: 与朋友的谈话引发了对经济学领域网络论坛上攻击性言论的关注,并最终促使了对Economics Job Market Rumors (EJMR)网站匿名机制的研究。研究的动机是探究该网站上的负面言论是否源于少数边缘人士,还是反映了经济学界更深层次的问题。 Ederer及其团队利用EJMR网站匿名机制中的漏洞,通过数据分析技术,成功识别出大量帖子的来源机构,揭示了恶意言论并非仅来自少数个人,而是广泛存在于经济学界的各个机构,包括一些顶级大学和政府机构。 Ederer强调,研究的目的是揭示经济学界普遍存在的问题,而不是追究个人责任。他认为,进一步追究个人责任可能会带来更大的伦理问题。 Kyle Jensen: 作为一名工程师,Jensen发现了EJMR网站匿名机制中的漏洞,该漏洞在于缺乏'salt'(盐值),这使得研究人员能够追踪到许多帖子的来源。他与Ederer合作,利用其编程技能协助数据分析,为研究提供了关键的技术支持。 Mary Childs & Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi: 作为节目的主持人,Childs和Horowitz-Ghazi对EJMR网站的匿名性和负面言论进行了深入的探讨。他们介绍了EJMR网站的运作方式,以及该网站上存在的性别歧视和种族歧视等问题。他们还报道了Ederer团队的研究结果,以及该结果对经济学界的影响。 他们采访了匿名教授Terry,展现了该研究结果对EJMR网站用户产生的影响,以及他们对个人信息被公开的担忧。 Terry: Terry是一位匿名在EJMR网站上发布评论的经济学教授。他承认自己曾发布过一些具有争议性的言论,并对Ederer团队的研究结果感到担忧。他担心自己的评论被公开后会造成职业后果,并表达了对个人信息被公开的担忧。 尽管他认为EJMR网站对经济学界和社会有害,但他表示不会停止使用该网站,因为他认为该网站会继续存在。

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The podcast starts by introducing the Economics Job Market Rumors (EJMR) website, an anonymous platform for economists to share job information and discuss various topics. The anonymity, however, led to a surge of toxic and hateful posts, prompting an investigation into its origins.
  • Economics Job Market Rumors (EJMR) website is a platform for economists to anonymously post information and engage in discussions.
  • The site contained a significant amount of racist and sexist posts.
  • A flaw in EJMR's anonymity system allowed researchers to identify the sources of many toxic posts.

Shownotes Transcript

Economics Job Market Rumors is a website that's half a job information Wiki, where people post about what's going on inside economics departments, and half a discussion forum, where anyone with an internet connection can ask the economics hive mind whatever they want. All anonymously.People can talk about finding work, share rumors, and just blow off steam. And that steam can get scaldingly hot. The forum has become notorious for racist and sexist posts), often attacking specific women and people from marginalized backgrounds. Last year, economist Florian Ederer and engineer Kyle Jensen discovered a flaw in the way the site gave anonymity to its users. The flaw made it possible to identify which universities and institutions were the sources of many of the toxic posts on the site. And helped answer a longstanding question that's dogged the economics profession: was the toxicity on EJMR the work of a bunch of fringey internet trolls, or was it a symptom of a much deeper problem within economics itself?*This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi. It was produced by Willa Rubin with help from James Sneed and Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Keith Romer and engineered by Josh Newell. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)