My Blog, My Rules!
Normally I refrain from expressing my opinion in the first person point of view. I prefer the third person point of view because it gives the illusion of impartiality and the other ‘valued’ skills of unbiased journalism (even when there is a blatantly obvious bias in the tone of the article). However, there is something that I came across today that crosses the line for me.
Some two-bit blogger (Tim O’Reilly*) has decided that we need a ‘Blogger’s Code of Conduct’. Who is he to say that we need one? What is he, the school yard teacher who is going to break up a fight between a blogger and a troll?
[* EDIT - Ok, so it seems that I've been corrected on a small tidbit. O'Reilly heads a large publishing company. However, that still doesn't change the fact that he's a moron spouting contradictory bullshit about wanting the internet unregulated while suggesting that bloggers follow his blowing-out-the-ass bullshit guidelines. ]
This blog is my playground; my sandbox. I make the rules here and I can break the rules. I don’t need someone else to make the rules for me. If I did, I’d just be another sheep keeling to the whim and desire of some authoritarian jackass who is about as charismatic as my cat’s ass.
Most bloggers are civil. We don’t need to follow a code of conduct; we have our own code of conduct had has been indoctrinated into our minds and souls from the moment we stepped onto the internet and ventured onto a political forum. There was a certain level of decorum expected and a code of conduct to follow there that was generally accepted on many different areas of the web. They are the unwritten rules of the web.
It doesn’t change that no matter where you go on the web, there is always some random twat there waiting to pounce on you and maim your delicate sensitivities with nauseating verbal diarrhoea that sounds like something you wrote in grade two and your parents kept to show the grandkids…
Just as there are trolls in real life, there are trolls on the internet. The only difference is, one is your Fred Phelps type that whores himself out on street corners, chanting antiquated slogans about how the gays are the cause of terrorism and the other cowers behind a screen name; both hocking the same cheesy wares.
Trolls are a fact. They are attention whores. And there are two ways to deal with attention whores. Treat them like the little brats they are by belittling them and mocking everything they stand for (nothing like logic to drown a troll), or ignore them. Both work, but the drowning process is gratifying because you can get the last word in and that’s what really matters.
The key with trolls is, that many are hit-and-run posters. They make their statement, but they don’t stay around to substantiate their claims and the ones that do suffer from the incurable Foot-In-Mouth Disease.
The blogger’s code also concerns itself with the protection of private data. But, if it’s already published on the internet, how do you intend to protect it with all those hackers out there, hunkering down stealthily in the bushes, watching the prey dance carefree in the meadow. The protection of data lies with the individual. You have to pick responsibly; what do you want published on the internet about you?
If you don’t want your information to be public domain, don’t post anything anywhere! FaceBook, MySpace, et cetera; ad nauseum, are social websites (part of the Web 2.0 era) where you can post and freely share information. Don’t whine when someone digs up dirt on you that you posted there. Google is another good way to find information if a person has been foolish enough to post data relating to themselves.
If you allow for comments, you should be prepared for the fact that there are people who will agree with you, people who won’t and people who are just plain jackasses with a Bachelors in Grade-A Assholery.
Yes, there is an increase in cyber-bullying and threats via blogs, nevertheless, there is a general trend amongst those who leave such comments, anonymity. If the threat comes from a known source, it’s your responsibility to report it to the right legal entity for help, if it’s proven that there is a real threat and not some nubling coming through, making a general pest of himself; trolling to get attention.
Don’t take this to mean that I condone cyber-bullying. I am only saying that if there is a threat, take it up in the real world and don’t give bloggers a series of bullshit rules for us to follow. We’re human and we can make our own judgement. Our blogs, our rules.
Blogger Jeff Jarvis said it right:
“This effort misses the point of the internet, blogs, and even of civilized behavior. They treat the blogosphere as if it were a school library where someone… can maintain order and control. They treat it as a medium for media.
“It’s a place. And when I moved into the place that is my town, I didn’t put up a badge on my fence saying that I’d be a good neighbor.”
Weblogs ‘need content warnings’
Oh and as for the warning on the content on my blog, here it is – whatever I say goes here! Read and post at your own discretion, I’m not your mother. If you don’t like what you read here, go crawl back under your rock and put on your rose coloured goggles. You’re not ready for the real world if you can’t deal with different opinions and jackasses.
Stumble It!
