Playing Nice In the Blogosphere

There's an effort underway to create a formalized bloggers code of conduct to prevent the type of grief created by ranters and malcontents who use the anonymity of the medium to behave in ways that are rude and in some cases unspeakably cruel. So the New York Times - never missing a chance to slam new media, even while they're hearing footsteps - promptly went to press with this snide headline: 'A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs' - highlighting some of the most egregious examples of antisocial netiquette.

Sure it sounds like a great idea. Discourse in the Internet is often besmirched by the ravings and off-topic hatred brought in by fools who would never say the things they do without the protection of anonymity.

But some of the wise old men of the men of the blogosphere like Jeff Jarvis (whose must-read post also has links to others) think an official code is a terrible idea. Anonymity in some cases is valid - imagine a whistleblower or a political dissident post from inside a regime like Iran. And furthermore the issue of liability is very problematic. If a blogger who has adopted the code accidentally fails to moderate an abusive comment on their website, or one that may leak sensitive information, do we want them held responsible in a court of law?

Philosophically this is yet more evidence of a society that reflexively chooses to make more and more meddlesome rules in the absence of individual responsibility. The best solution to unruly Internet discourse is the same as the prescription for many social ills. We need a society comprised of serious and courageous grownups who take responsibility for their words, promises, and actions - and who raise children accordingly. In such a world people are actually empowered, and not the wards of nanny governments, corporations, and centralized bureaucracies.

Tags: Blogs, Responsibility