With all the regulations on free speech, it was only a matter of time before people started regulating a person’s right to say whatever they want on their blog. A guy named Tim O'Reilly has proposed a “code of conduct” that he would utilize to regulate bloggers. I’ve never heard of Tim O'Reilly, but apparently, a lot of other people have, because I’ve found this news on the Seattle PI as well as other news organizations. Not only have I found numerous references to it, but I’ve also found a surprisingly large number of the people who mention it are in favor of it. Being a person who has various rants and profanities on his blog, I, of course, am against it, but I’ve always been against any restrictions of free speech.
I agree with Tim in principal on a couple of his items but disagree on the level he would like to take them. For example, “Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.” It’s my blog, and I should take ownership of anything I post. And anyone who knows me knows, the stuff I say here, I’ll say in person. But he takes the idea to far, “you also own the tone that you allow on any blog or forum you control.” A blog isn’t just an opportunity for me to voice my opinion but it’s an opportunity for others to respond to my opinions. For anyone who’s ever commented on someone’s blog, and received, “pending moderators approval”? this is where we get into limiting free speech. Yes, it’s my blog, but by limiting feedback, I’m limiting open discussions. One of the things Tim seems to have missed in the advantages of blogging is the anonymity of it, and his idea of “eliminating anonymous comments is a sign of that.
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I agree with Tim in principal on a couple of his items but disagree on the level he would like to take them. For example, “Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.” It’s my blog, and I should take ownership of anything I post. And anyone who knows me knows, the stuff I say here, I’ll say in person. But he takes the idea to far, “you also own the tone that you allow on any blog or forum you control.” A blog isn’t just an opportunity for me to voice my opinion but it’s an opportunity for others to respond to my opinions. For anyone who’s ever commented on someone’s blog, and received, “pending moderators approval”? this is where we get into limiting free speech. Yes, it’s my blog, but by limiting feedback, I’m limiting open discussions. One of the things Tim seems to have missed in the advantages of blogging is the anonymity of it, and his idea of “eliminating anonymous comments is a sign of that.
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