Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2020, Blaðsíða 2

First 06: Covidiots in Iceland08: The Lovesick God10: The Evolution Of GY!A 16: Bergur And The Future18: Autumn Activity Guide 23: Track By Track: Logi Pedro
W h en I b e g a n
working as an
editor-in- chief
at The Reykjavík
Grapevine in 2017,
my news editor
asked me a simple
question: What’s my opinion of news
article comment sections?
My answer was not simple. But the
most simple answer I could give her
was, it’s complicated. I hate them, but
in some odd way, I like the freedom they
give the readers. An active comment
section can keep the media on its toes.
Reader comments have even helped me
before, when working as a journalist, to
add more information to the story.
We had a simple discussion about
it, where we weighed the importance
of the comment section on Grapevine.
And our considerations centred around
two questions: Do the comments
add something to the stories we are
publishing? And, more importantly,
are we able to actively moderate the
comment section? The answer to both
questions was ‘no.’ So, we decided to
close the comment section as an exper-
iment and see what would happen. In
short, nothing happened. Readers were
still free to comment on articles on
the Grapevine’s Facebook page, but the
distinction was that we were not the
hosts of the party in the same way as if
the comments were directly on Grape-
vine.is. We do moderate Facebook
comments, though; we do not allow
racism or hate speech. It’s a simple rule
to follow.
The reason I bring this up is because
of two women who were flung into the
British and Icelandic media recently
when two England footballers invited
them to their Reykjavík hotel room,
breaking lcelandic quarantine laws. The
players were fined 250,000 ISK (around
1,300 GBP) and, though they weren’t
breaking any rules, the women were
viciously slut-shamed in the comment
sections of Icelandic and British media.
This was revealing. Sexism is still
very much alive, if anyone was wonder-
ing. But it also revealed, at least in
Iceland, that the Icelandic comment
sections are largely unregulated. This
turned out to be the hardest part for the
Icelandic women.
We have seen instances of public
shaming again and again, as well as all
other kinds of bullying. And a lot of it is
hosted by respectable media organisa-
tions. The comment section, perhaps,
had its use in the beginning, but things
have changed. There is no one left
in these comment sections that has
anything remotely intelligent to say.
Although we value some of the opin-
ions, they are largely outnumbered by
hate, over-hasty judgment and often,
just basic stupidity.
It’s easy to tell people to ignore it, but
it’s still the inflammatory comments
that stand out even after reading
what could well be an intelligent and
balanced article. It drags everything
down. I’m not saying we should abolish
the comment sections, but if the media
wants to be taken seriously, it needs to
put more stock into closely moderat-
ing comments and, more importantly,
follow their own guidelines.

Valur Grettisson
Editor-in-chief
Outdated
Comment Sections
Elín Elísabet is an illus-
trator and cartoonist
born and raised in
Borgarnes. At the
tender age of 15, Elín
moved to Reykjavík
and hasn’t looked
back, except for the
annual springtime
impulse to move
someplace quiet
and keep chickens.
Elín likes folk music,
stationery, seal vid-
eos, the country of
Ireland, and eggs.
Hannah Jane Cohen is
based out of Iceland
by way of New York.
She's known for her
love of Willa Ford,
David Foster Wallace,
and other such
"intellectuals." Her
visionary work is
known for expand-
ing the definitions of
emotion, introspec-
tion, and above all
else, taste. Hannah is
also the current Drag
King of Iceland, HANS.
Catherine Magnúsdóttir
studies social sci-
ences and came to
the Grapevine for the
internship her stud-
ies mandate. And for
fun of course. When
she’s not reconnect-
ing with her Icelandic
roots, she’s either
watching video es-
says or attempting to
finally come up with
a good story idea
that she can actually
finish writing.
Nico Borbely is
an American-
Italian language and
geography nerd
from Michigan and
Viadana, Lombardy
with stints in several
other countries. He
can usually be found
brewing espresso,
hoarding books,
singing along to
multilingual Disney
videos, or cooking
experimental noodle
dishes.
Sveinbjörn Pálsson
is our Art Director.
He's responsible for
the design of the
magazine and the
cover photography.
When he's not work-
ing here, he DJs as
Terrordisco, hosts
the Funk#átturinn
radio show, or sits at
a table in a Laugarda-
lur café, drinking
copious amounts of
co$ee and thinking
about fonts.
Samuel O'Donnell
Sam is an English
major from The
United States. He
has his Bachelor’s
Degree, and keeps
telling himself that
this is the year he
will begin pursuing
his Master’s. In his
spare time, he enjoys
playing video games,
writing short horror
stories, listening to
all kinds of metal,
and reading.
Andie Sophia Fontaine
has lived in Iceland
since 1999 and has
been reporting since
2003. They were the
first foreign-born
member of the
Icelandic Parliament,
an experience they
recommend for
anyone who wants
to experience a
workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
Jess Distill intern,
is a musician, artist
and wannabe writer
from St. Albans, Eng-
land. As a long time
lover of Iceland, and
recent copywriting
diploma graduate,
Jess came to the
Grapevine to expand
her writing portfolio
whilst seeing if she
could hack it as an
Icelandic resident.
Valur Grettisson is
an award-winning
journalist, author
and playwright. He
has been writing for
Icelandic media since
2005. He was also a
theatre critic and
one of the hosts of
the cultural program,
'Djöflaeyjan' at RÚV.
Valur is not to be
confused with the
dreadful football club
that bears the same
name.
COVER PHOTO:
Gy"a Valt%sdóttir is on
our cover this time. Vi"ar
Logi took the pictures in
Reykjavík with live snails.
Photographer: Vi"ar Logi
Makeup: Sunna Björk
Assistant: Jón Albert
EDITORIAL
24: Hekla And The Horror
26: Daví" Örn Has A New
Exhibition
30: My Voices Still Have
Tourettes
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