evolution

Since blogging ethics are (or were) a frequent topic of discussion around here, I thought I’d tackle it in my first post “back”, as it were.

Do you, the anonymous blogger, have a right to anonymity? Does anyone have a right to anonymity?

I think that, in general, the answer is “no”. Your identity belongs to you, and you are responsible for protecting it. A lot of people have their own reasons for blogging anonymously — I did it* for a while — and I have no problem with anonymous bloggers. I also have no problems making judgments, positive or negative, as to an anonymous blogger’s credibility. Many bloggers do it — most have good reasons for doing so, and some in less enlightened places put themselves at considerable personal risk to do so.

Is it ever okay to “out” an anonymous blogger who has “wronged” you? I say that depends upon the “wrong.” In my opinion, the following should be included in a list of things for which “outing” ought not be acceptable:

• Simple disagreement, no matter the topic, and
• Petty personal insults (even vicious — but non-libelous — ones)

I have (as have we all) been targets of these, and I have a pretty thick hide — I give and receive each in equal measure. I don’t have a problem with any of it.

There are certain instances when I would find it acceptable, with very little sympathy for the “out-ee”. These include:

• Retaliation for an “outing”, i.e., if you are “outed”;**
• Retaliation for a smear campaign or false accusations (and you’d better be prepared to lose your own anonymity)
• Something for which a case for libel can be made***
• Threats and intimidation

In other words, the fact that you post under the name “BigOilyStud2665″ on your MySpace page shouldn’t exempt you from the consequences of your words, just as some tan-outdoors-hat-wearing and tobacco-pipe-smoking nut calling himself “Jason R. Dunavin”**** cannot stand at the corner of Ninth and Massachusetts streets and incite riots or hand out flyers that claim Boog Highberger engages in deviant sexual practices with barnyard creatures while dressed like Liv Tyler’s character in the Lord of the Rings movies. That’s called libel, and I should expect to hear from Mr Highberger’s lawyer, anonymous or no.

In short — be anonymous, don’t be anonymous; it’s your call. But don’t expect to escape the logical consequences of your actions as a result.

It seems there should be a list for this sort of thing. What do you think should be added (or perhaps removed) from this list?

*: During the Blogspot days, when my traffic was very low roughly what it is now that I’ve been out a while, I blogged anonymously. Now, my real name has been attached to the WHOIS information for this domain since I bought it in 2004, and my association with last fall’s Citizens Journalism Academy effort resulted in my name and picture being published in the Journal-World. No connection between that and my blogging was revealed, but I made known my participation in the enterprise here. Anyone could then take that and within seconds learn who employs me — as well as two of my previous employers. So, I haven’t advertised my name, but it is not secret or hidden. And I don’t blog during or about work, so I doubt there would be anything here that interests my employers.

**: Even though my name’s not secret (and it certainly isn’t after this post), you can bet that I will respond in kind to such attempts.

***: I let an instance of this slide this past summer. I wish I hadn’t. Ah well.

****: Yes, that’s my real name.

More: This was brought on by this post by Jeff Goldstein at protein wisdom, who has been quite the lightning rod for personal attacks by those seeking the rhetorical pat on the head from their blogging “betters” — like some tribalistic “prove you’re a man ritual” for urban douchebags — since I’ve been away. I will keep close counsel on the specifics of his case(s), except to say that this is a worthwhile discussion that should have taken place a long time ago.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 20:17 and is filed under blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.