Blog Comments: A New Civility Barometer?

While in L.A. on a recent business trip, I heard an ad on the hotel TV for the new BMW hydrogen 7. I was up to my elbows trying to repack my suitcase, so I didn't actually see it, but back here in Vermont a little googling brought me to a blog about it on treehugger.com. As I read down through the comments, I noticed something at the bottom: The "post a comment" button doesn't say "post a comment"; it says, "post an intelligent and civil comment." Hey now--that's a little different. The next day, two different friends forwarded me this piece on civility in commenting from the Miami Herald. Seems like the fates are trying to bring something to my attention, so I'm going to play nice with karma and bring it to yours, too.

I'm cringing a little as I type, knowing that a blogger blogging about a code of conduct for leaving comments is the electronic equivalent of putting a "kick me" sign on my backside. All the same, here goes. There has long been a debate in the blogging community about whether or not to police comments. Almost a year ago, The New York Times did a piece on this topic, and I think it's worth a revisit. This may not come as a big shocker, but I'm all for a little civility on the web.

In essence, the internet is (for better or worse) the last Wild West we have left to us; a place that is slowing going the way of Dodge City, but that still has lots of places that are, if not ungoverned, at least governed with the lightest touch. It makes a for a pretty raw reflection of who we are and how we express ourselves--a true barometer of our civility, if you will. But I think it's also something else--I think it's a forum to decide who we want to become as a society.

Our society here in America is synonymous with freedom of speech, yes, but not freedom from accountability. Words have power, and with power comes responsibility. The words in blogs and their comments are a form of communication, a form of interaction between anyone who writes and/or reads them. I'm going to lean on an old quote from Emily Post herself: "Whenever two people's lives affect one another, you have etiquette." You may not see or even know the person whose words you are reading, but they can engender very strong, personal reactions all the same.

If part of blogging and commenting is to take part in a global conversation--an exchange of ideas--I believe it's important to think about what our purpose is when we choose to participate. In most cases, it's to share a thought you're excited about, or to make a counterpoint to someone else in an effort to set a record straight or make a clarification. I can't think of a single case where leaving a profane or hateful comment will bring about a positive, constructive change. This doesn't mean that I think people can't disagree; in fact I'd encourage people to talk about points of difference, as it invites communication, something I talk a lot about on the job. The better our communication, the greater our understanding becomes, and the more connections we can make with people who hold similar interests. All of this hopefully leads to the generation of exciting new ideas and possibilities. I simply add my support to expressing yourself with the principles of etiquette: consideration, honesty and respect. Who wouldn't want to be treated that way?

 

Comments

[Stephen]

I am all for blogging. I beleive that blogs have evolved from simply being online diaries to being a form of independent news. There is so much out there that does not get covered in the mainstream press. It also gives ordinary people a voice in society they would not have otherwise. Some of the topics I have learned from various blogs include "peak oil", the music file sharing crisis, and others.

As for the internet being "dodge city", I beleive that this is true to a point. There is so much out there that is not regulated, nor fact checked. A lot of false rumors get circulated, and if you don't beleive me check out HoaxBusters.org. You can also find many things that are unlicensed, illegal, or controversal, too if you know where to look such as pirated music, movies, software, pornography, bomb making material, gambling, etc. Also, like "Dodge City" some of the things invented stretch the court systems to its limits, because of different laws applying because the servers are in one country with a client in another. The event of decentralized file sharing systems like Gnutella, KaZaa, Blubster, LimeWire, essentially built networks that can't be shut down entirely with a lawsuit due to no central server, and open sourcing of the sharing protocols. Policing what is online is a very difficult, if not impossible task due to too many owners and the dynamic nature of the internet.

This does not mean that civility cannot exist, nor kindness cannot exist online. For example, I beleive that comments on blogs and discussion forums can be done in non-insulting ways. People can easily express their agreement, disagreement, or somewhat agreement on an issue without making others feel bad. In fact, hearing more than one side on an issue makes the discussions more interesting! For example, Chevron's WillYouJoinUs.com discussion board was one example of a interesting discussion about our energy future, when they discussed the different sides of Nuclear, Natural Gas, Biofuels, and other new fuels as well as consveration efforts.

I would also like to see more done in improving civility online. For example, simply reducing the amount of spam, phishing, and hacking would be a start. I would also like to see more general public involvment in copyright policy and technology policy decisions when it comes to music and movies online.

I am all for "Net Neturality" and I am totally against government censorship of the internet. I feel it is sad that many users have to resort to proxy servers in some countries that have filtered the internet at a country wide level in order to censor polictical views that contract their governments view.

[susan hoesli]

dear emily. i have a question i needed answer . i'm doing a 65th birthday party for my husband at a beautiful County Club. my invitiaon read Black tie or suite. formal.
i have business guest and my husband family from very small town's back in the mid east. i just had a sister in law call me to tell me that a few of the husband did not want to wear suite's nor dress up. i put on party's all the time . we live in calif. i always do beautiful party's. now what do i tell them to wear when they are the only guest that will not wear suite's and this is a formal party.
susan

[Diane Willis]

My Mom and a traveling companion were going on a trip together when my Mom's daughter-in-law passed away. Mom bought insurance and only lost $300. The traveling companion decided to cancel because she didn't want to travel alone. The funeral did not involve the traveling companion. Does my Mom owe the traveling companion $300.? Mom felt that because the companion was beginning to treat her badly and speak to her in a unfriendly manner.

[Mary Nord]

There was an article in the USA Today this morning about a new book coming out about Emily Post. A couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning the bookshelf in my basement I found a copy of Etiquette by Emily Post. This book was printed in 1937. It is in slightly worn condition just around the cover on the edges. I was wondering how I find out how much this book is worth and possibly go about selling it. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Mary

[Anna Post]

Mary,

Funny, as you posted your comment I was posting a blog entry about the bio the USA Today piece today was referencing, as well as a link to that article. Old copies of Etiquette are terrific, and depending on the year, can be hard to find. The best place to gt an idea for what a 1937 copy is valued at is at EBay, where I've seen old copies for sale, or a local used book seller. Good luck!

Anna Post