Every now and then the subject of Blog regulation pops its ugly head above the parapet and this very subject has been mooted on a few blogs recently.
Personally, i hate regulation of any kind when it comes to expressing a view and although there are some blogs that are obviously run by the sort of person who evolution has bypassed,their view is as valid as anybody else's, however deluded or badly thought out their arguments may seem to me. What does alarm me is the amount of personal information some people put on their blog. I never post anything personal and keep any personal details well away from the Internet. Knowing the City i live, where i work or my real name would add nothing to my views (as deluded or badly thought out they may seem to some) but could leave myself open to anything from a nutter armed with Google and a desire to express their views personally.
My rule is to not give out information that i would not be happy to pass out to a total stranger at a bus stop. As the Internet is global, whatever you write is capable of being viewed by billions so if you are happy having your personal details available to that many people than good for you, i am very uneasy about it.
11 comments:
I've said what city I live in, but I don't see how that would help anyone find me. If they followed phone compoany record, which is the main way to find someone, they'll get the vacant lot across town where the house I lived in was. Big whoop.
When someone IS listed in the phone book, though, and that person posts a scan of his business card containing his phone number on his blog, then that person isn't keeping any secrets. It takes two minutes to get an address. And that's just the type of person who'll be bitching that people can find him/her, later on.
It's smart not to put info out there - smartest would be not to be here at all though because if someone is determined enough they can find the info. I'm talking kooks, but there ARE kooks as we all know. I'm not that anonymous and sometimes it makes me a little uneasy, but I haven't had any problems from blogging.
The only people I've seen whining about being "harassed" are those who have brought all their problems on themselves by being assholes. I'm sure there are some nice people who have fallen victim to a meanie through no fault of their own, but I haven't seen it yet. Sure, it'd be fun to be guaranteed impunity for asshole behavior, but that isn't how the world works. Boo hoo.
A couple Usenet people figured me out, but I didn't mind. Bloggerly speaking, I include a map to a spot not very far away from my house. Sometimes people like to know where you are, just as I do. But pointing to a spot near to but not at the house is as good as useless, I think. But for some reason, I don't mind the risk. I try to act with integrity, and if someone goes nuts enough to come on by, I welcome the excitement.
I use my name in my blogs, but other than that, I don't share information. That'a mainly because my blogs are poltical blogs, but also because I know I am responsible for what I share. I want to share personal things with people that I'm close to, and that's about it.
It all comes down to karma for me, and I'm secure with mine. Other than that, I vote with Don for excitement.
To put a serious spin on this, the reason behind it was a girl in the UK put some political stuff on her blog and received death threats from some whackos. Because she had her personal details on her page it all got very serious.
Death threats are a crime, as they should be. We call all agree they're bad without freaking out, trying to restrict free speech, and equating every minor disagreement to what happened with Kathy. Calling someone an idiot isn't a death threat. Coming up with an obviously unenforceable "blogger code of ethics" that people will ignore when it suits them is going to accomplish exactly nothing. And the wackos and criminals will do as they please anyway.
I blogged about this recently. What I wrote was, Would you go into a stadium where several million people you've never met are sitting on bleachers, grab a microphone, and shout out your personal problems and deepest, darkest secrets? No? Well, that's exactly what you're doing when you blab your personal business in any online forum.. I just don't think people think about the risk enough, and they should.
I initially stayed anonymous so if any supermarket giants decide to sue, they would have nowhere to send the writ. But I am sure they would find a way!
I write about personal matters, but after receiving some good advice from a fellow blogger, i decided to set up a separate members-only blog to keep such information private.
However, now that i have moved over to Wordpress [plug plug plug], i can password protect any sensitive entries, without having to juggle two blogs. Perfick!
Considering the amount of information out there about every one us at this very moment, internet security is something of an oxymoron. Having been stalked, it’s scary how much information was had on me in a very short amount of time, including a physical, unlisted address (charmed out of a telephone operator). And this before the large advent of blogging, Internet White Pages, 411.com, et all. One must be personally responsible for keeping information somewhat close to the chest, but it’s out there for the taking.
I’m still shocked that I know several women who’ve been scammed online for cash, one even offering up bank account info!
Given my past, I was super tentative when I began to blog about what I would write and how and with whom I'd communicate. I've relaxed a good deal and found a great community (and follow my gut as to what to steer clear of). You can’t live in a bubble, but you can have good locks and a big dog ;)
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