Blogging

I just ran across a post on Ben Witherington's blog with 10 comments on blog etiquette. I'll list only the first one, but you really should check out the other 9:

"Weblogs can be a wonderful form of having a dialogue or discussion on something that matters, though too often they are used just to vent. But what is really amazing is how many people are prepared to ask personal questions and make private remarks on a blog, when they could have sent an email to the person in question. Sometimes we even have people airing their dirty laundry for all to see on the internet. This unfortunately is another example of the narcissism of our culture, where people do not care or are oblivious to the effect of what they are doing on others who use the same public space. There need to be some suggested rules for bloggers. Here is a rudimentary set as a starter:

"1) Nothing strictly private should be posted on a blog. One should confine such comments to an email message or a private phone call or better yet a conversation in person. If you want to have a one on one private discussion with either the blogger or someone else who is commenting then do it appropriately."

<idle musing>
I was once told that you should never send an angry e-mail until the next day. Compose it in anger maybe, but always save it as a draft and then re-read it the next day. If you still feel the same way, send it. Good advice that I should have heeded more often. How much more important on a public forum such as a blog...
</idle musing>