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What's the cost for bloggers that go too far?
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by babblingdweeb | March 26, 2007 at 07:45 pm
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Some material quoted in this story may be considered offensive to some readers...this includes photos and text. Additionally, the material on the original site can be considered offensive to some readers.
Working with online communities for many years I have seen flame wars just like many net-citizens. Sometimes they get ugly and sometimes you just don't want to watch -it makes you uncomfortable to read the thread. Usually everyone goes back to talking about something else (Apple vs. Microsoft maybe?) and another flame war will start. That's life on the Internet.
What happens when people take it too far? Death threats? Photos? Violent sexual threats?
That's what happened to popular blogger Kathy Sierra. It was so intense that she canceled all speaking engagements, including her workshop at ETech (San Diego, CA; USA) -today. Is this a case of someone scorned overreacting? Not this time.
Kathy is no stranger to the Internet and all of the dark personalities that dwell within it. However, this time the mud-slingers were also popular bloggers...
At about the same time, a group of bloggers including Listics' Frank Paynter, prominent marketing blogger Jeneane Sessum, and Raving Lunacy Allen Herrel (aka Head Lemur) began participating on a (recently pulled) blog called meankids.org. At first, it was the usual stuff--lots of slamming of people like Tara Hunt, Hugh MacLeod, Maryam Scoble, and myself. Nothing new. No big deal. Nothing they hadn't done on their own blogs many times before.
Where does satire end and responsibility begin? Does the freedom of speech outweigh someone's emotional state when their life is threatened? Who determines if something is a joke, or real?
On the Internet, we are all too quick to judge others -but, all too often I think we forget to judge ourselves.
(non verified, from photo of comment on Kathy's blog)"If you did'nt have legs, you would leave a trail like a garden slug. If you didn't have a cunt, we would have open season on you with high bag limits.
I've read Kathy Sierra's blog, and I'm not so sure she's the type of blog that warrants excessive comments like those written above.
Due to the nature of other comments and specific death threats the police are currently investigating.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 07:44 on April 18th, 2007
babblingdweeb, I like this story. It's good stuff.
While there's no doubt that some things on blogs are profoundly disturbing, and flame wars can ruin an otherwise good blog, I don't think much should be done about it, unless it goes beyond mere infantile flaming and into the realm of physical threat. Otherwise, we're putting free speech in jeopardy.
at 09:30 on April 18th, 2007
Thanks!
You are very right. There is such a fine line between threats and free-speech...and flame wars are just annoying. This one just went a little beyond the fine line with some of the postings and photos. A few of them, eh, I have seen worse -but wow. Some of them were way out of line.
It's interesting how many of those people wouldn't think about saying that stuff in public, but have no issue with it in type.