We now really have a blogging code of conduct, still a draft, that the venerable Tim O’Reilly had called for. The initial feeling I got out of reading it was that we are not acknowledging and crediting the commenters enough. We are showing a distrust towards them, and trying to lighten their weight in the equation.
And I think blogging is only the means, what we are really doing here is communicating. Will the blogging code of conduct hurt the underlying communication? I think so. Anonymous comments are not any less valuable than the ones with names. Nor are they any more dangerous or threatening. Should there be a commenter’s code of conduct? I believe that is already being implemented when we avoid spam, eliminate hate speech or moderate comments. But anything that can lead to a possibility of aborting communication should be avoided in the blogging world, which is what this code of conduct does.
I feel that we are being too reactive by coming out with this code of conduct, as a response to a specific event. Somehow it does not find importance in the bigger picture. And the badges are really frivolous, in my humble opinion. The badges should really be commenting policy or something, not something to show off or group. And somehow enforced seems to be more about policing than blogging. I really hope the draft gets heavily edited, rather changed a lot before it gets finalized.
April 9th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I would never follow a code or rules to blogging. What’s the point then? I don’t mind blogging for myself, or readers, but Tim O’Reilly?
2. We won’t say anything online that we wouldn’t say in person.
A lot of people are totally different online, and this probably eliminates 75% o all bloggers.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
How is it going to be enforced? Having it as a mere suggestion is worthless because people who would follow it wouldn’t normally violate it anyway.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Read this comic (illustration): http://blog.pentagram.com/archives/2007/04/portrait_of_a_blog.php
April 10th, 2007 at 6:23 am
I personally would not want to follow any such ‘Code of Conduct’. It’s the freedom of blogging – as in I get to write what I want to write that makes it so fulfilling. Adhering to some kind of code of conduct beats the whole ‘fun’ factor. That’s just what I think though – I am sure many will embrace Mr Tim O’Reilly’s blogging code of conduct.
April 12th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I too saw this and thought “How would this work?” How can we guarantee against profanities and suchlike?
If one did accept this code, surely it should be a two-way thing. The reader should also agree to adhere to the code of conduct.