Weblog Etiquette
Among my extended circle of Chicago weblogging friends, there have been a couple incidents recently in which a weblogger posts strong feelings in the heat of the moment, people get offended, and the weblogger sheepishly retracts the post.
I think this sort of retroactive self-censorship is a double-edged sword that should be wielded more lightly. On the one hand, it makes amends towards the offended parties, while on the other; it prevents everyone else from knowing how the weblogger felt.
Waxing paternal for a moment, I think it’s a fairly common mistake for novice webloggers to go too far and post something too personal and offensive. They might think that since their weblog doesn’t get a lot of hits, only their close friends will read the post. They don’t realize the attention that one juicy post can attract. Also, the solitude in which most webloggers compose their entries can seduce the writer into a false sense of privacy. And often sarcastic jokes are misinterpreted as flamebait. So, when composing a post, keep in mind not only the people you know will read the post, but your potential audience, i.e., everyone. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it on your weblog.
Now let’s say a weblogger posted something and somebody leaves a comment saying that they’re offended. The default response should not be to delete the offending post (though sometimes it is appropriate). As with every communications medium, information on the Web cannot simply be deleted, erased, and gone forever. It leaves a trace in the memories of the people who read it. People still know what you said. (And Web caches may know as well.) Deleting a post fuels the gossip engine that popularized the post in the first place, and almost certainly polarizes the original sentiments.
Furthermore, being offended isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’ve become a better person because people have had the forthrightness to tell me things that, at the time, offended me. I’d rather be occasionally offended than mollycoddled with bland opinions and PG-rated stories.
So… (this is a list so people will read it)
- Think before you post: even if you delete it, people will still know what you said.
- Deleting a post appeases the offended party, but does a disservice to everyone else who would have read it.
- Instead, consider clarifying the language in the post, or adding a postscript.
- Allow your weblog to be a two-way medium, either through comments or e-mail, so you know how you’re being received.
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June 5th, 2003 at 2:59 am
I think this sort of retroactive self-censorship is a double-edged sword that should be wielded with more lightly.
Did you mean “should not be wielded
with morelightly?”In any case, I agree that instead of removing the post, a postscript is sufficient to explain your point of view. If you don’t stand behind what you write, your writing loses its force.
June 5th, 2003 at 3:01 am
Argh. It says HTML is allowed, but the <strike> tag was removed. The phrase “with more” was supposed to have a line through it.
June 5th, 2003 at 4:59 am
I think you could also add the simple email rule of thumb on your list. Don’t post/send anything while you are still mad. Allow yourself some time to cool down before you click post/send. It is often that something written in the heat of the moment doesn’t accurately capture you feelings on the issue. It somehow captures your short fuse.
June 5th, 2003 at 8:46 am
I am offended by this post, and I demand that you retract its contents right away. jerk.
June 5th, 2003 at 11:49 am
I can’t help but think you are thinking of my relationship with your weblogging circle. ;) “I’d rather be occasionally offended than mollycoddled with bland opinoins and PG-rated stories.” Couldn’t agree with you more dude.
the dude abides.
June 5th, 2003 at 12:06 pm
Dan, thanks for the heads up. I fixed the error. The reason the strike tag isn’t showing up has to do with the MT Sanitize function that strips comments of malicious code. Basically, it has a list of allowable html tags, and strike isn’t one of them. I’ll try to figure out how to customize the settings.
Thanks to everyone else for the feedback as well.
June 5th, 2003 at 4:29 pm
Ah, fuck it.
June 5th, 2003 at 6:05 pm
Aaron: Ah, I thought you had made your own sanitize spec already. It’s not a big deal, and I should have used preview first, but if you want to add the <strike> tag you can put your own tags in the Blog config -> Preferences -> General Settings. The MT sanitize docs have more details.
June 5th, 2003 at 7:09 pm
Thanks Dan. It’s fixed.
Ruthie’s “fuck it” is referring to her recent break up. Hrm.
June 6th, 2003 at 10:45 pm
Well said :)
June 9th, 2003 at 5:43 pm
What a timely post. Last night I stumbled onto a veritable war amongst a few bloggers including comments about deleted posts, posts made in serious anger, hard feelings, and spill over into other blogs. Egads! It was like watching a train wreck.
June 9th, 2003 at 9:47 pm
Weblog Etiquette
An interesting article about Weblog Etiquette from Aaron at Ktheory.
June 13th, 2003 at 3:31 pm
Laura Holder on fotolog was having this issue. She handled it pretty darn well. Someone was offended because she posted a picture of a black person. Hmm.
June 20th, 2003 at 2:03 pm
Well said. I agree with Dan as well. I have an opinion blog which is not always popular, but it is always open for rebuttal. I have been disagreed with many times, but I have only been asked once to edit my comments. I chose not to edit the post because I stand behind the statements made. Thanks for the heads up and the information.