O’ Reilly has drafted a blogger’s code of conduct. Here are my first thoughts:
1. We take responsibility for our own words and for the comments we allow on our blog.
always, if not being influenced by C2H5OH
We are committed to the “Civility Enforced” standard: we will not post unacceptable content, and we’ll delete comments that contain it.
We define unacceptable content as anything included or linked to that:
– is being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others
– is libelous, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
– infringes upon a copyright or trademark
– violates an obligation of confidentiality
– violates the privacy of othersWe define and determine what is “unacceptable content” on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list. If we delete a comment or link, we will say so and explain why. [We reserve the right to change these standards at any time with no notice.]
laws in most states will already prohibit copyright infringments
2. We won’t say anything online that we wouldn’t say in person.
that is polite, isn´it?
3. We connect privately before we respond publicly.
When we encounter conflicts and misrepresentation in the blogosphere, we make every effort to talk privately and directly to the person(s) involved–or find an intermediary who can do so–before we publish any posts or comments about the issue.
although this is always helpful, it will not be always possible – will you get an appointment with your president?
4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.
When someone who is publishing comments or blog postings that are offensive, we’ll tell them so (privately, if possible–see above) and ask them to publicly make amends.
If those published comments could be construed as a threat, and the perpetrator doesn’t withdraw them and apologize, we will cooperate with law enforcement to protect the target of the threat.
is it really necessary to state that explicitely?
5. We do not allow anonymous comments.
We require commenters to supply a valid email address before they can post, though we allow commenters to identify themselves with an alias, rather than their real name.
sorry, there is no more anonymity at all
6. We ignore the trolls.
We prefer not to respond to nasty comments about us or our blog, as long as they don’t veer into abuse or libel. We believe that feeding the trolls only encourages them–“Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it.” Ignoring public attacks is often the best way to contain them.
… depends on how much power they have – I like the pig quote.
Summarizing my comments: Instead of more and more rules I am more interested in an informative disclaimer – the Opel label works, but we do not want further Lonelygirl15 or Calvin Klein fakes.