Blogging In America

I was trawling through my daily reads, and saw something on Jennifer Tai's blog. Annonymous blogger, Violent Acres (although Jen doesn't name her, I'm sure this is who she is talking about after some Google-fu-ing) posted this about another blogger Dooce's baby. I have no words for the cowardice and maliciousness behind this, and even posting it up makes me sick because the Violet Acres author uses annonymity to hide behind the 'tough-as-nails-everyone-else-sucks-but-me' posts.

Then looking through her blog, I come across this entirely insane incident happening in the American blogosphere. I am trying to tell a very complicated story, so the links I may give you may be a bit too much to handle at one go.

Okay, here goes.

1. MeanKids.org and UncleBobism (which have since been taken down) were responsible for death threat posts against Kathy Sierra, prominent blogger and game developer. She has taken these death threats very seriously. She is supposed to speak at a convention but has since decided not to, out of fear. Read her thoughts on this.

Reading through her post, and regardless of what I think of her writing (boring, and not really creating a passionate user out of me!), I still think what was done to her was horrible. And the way it has escalated is traumatising even to me. If I woke up one day to find pictures of myself with a noose and all sorts of other crap, people wanting to beat the shit out of me. I'd be pissed and afraid too.

Some of the sites (not the aforementioned posts) authors/owners have responded:

RageBoy - ONE BIG FAT COP OUT
Frank Paynter on PURPOSEFUL ANARCHY

I think it's weak as shit, but you can go there and form your own opinions on what they've said.

But, I think Don Park's reply said it the best:

It makes no sense to expect moderation to work in purposeful anarchy. What was he trying to accomplish? Pan the river of nastyness for nuggets of brilliance? Based on what Frank wrote above, he suggested Kathy Sierra as one of the people Mean Kids should pick on. Did Kathy ask for a gang of intellectual anarchist to pick on her? All I read form Frank's post of clarity is pointing fingers at others and admitting his inability to control an intentionally uncontrollable situation when, IMHO, he is directly responsible for letting his naivety and vain pursuit of brilliant conversations hurt others.

To get more information: Read Doc Searls Weblog, where blogger Maryam Scoble was also targeted for, really, not much reason at all, beyond the fact that she got pregnant? Don Park once again lets you see the maliciousness behind the whole thing:

http://www.docuverse.com/blog/donpark/2007/03/27/how-awful

Read also:

The Computerworld Interview with Kathy Sierra

Another Computerworld summary report on what's happening

The BBC Report: Blog Death Threats Spark Debate


With the emergence of the Internet and blogs as the new media, it's inevitable that this should happen. The Internet is still considered as the big Wild, Wild, West whether we like it or not. There are laws but most of which are easily manipulated, or never enforced. Manipulation in the form of the NST suing Rocky and Jeff, which I believe is the stupidest blogger lawsuit to ever come about, but that's just my humble opinion.

Then you have the Guna and Jeff issue, where I do believe that blog owners to have to moderate comments and avoid annonymous posters who say things that could be implied as death threats. THAT, is not censorship, that is intelligent covering your ass, because I certainly will can someone's ass if I am taken to court for their dumb, imbecillic comments.

And I have see the kind of comments Malaysians (even Americans) leave on blogs... they are ignorant and stupid. It seems that the layer of annonymity out there simply encourages stupidity more than it does intelligent discourse (sometimes). Even on an arts portal like kakiseni.com, you have idiots posting things that have nothing to do with a theatre, book, or event review, no death threats, but rude personal comments are almost often the path taken by these cowardly commenters. Like I said, I'd be damned if I let an idiot commenter's comments send me to court.

If I'm going to be sued/locked in the slammer, I'd like it to be on my own terms and beliefs.

It is my hope that we can increase the value of the content in the blogosphere, both locally and internationally, and let this incident with Kathy Sierra stop us from fostering a climate of fear, of disrespect to women and men alike, and most importantly, ignorance and stupidity, under the banner of "free speech."

Death to Trolls:

Doc Searls has received this email from Alan Herrell, who with Chris Locke, was immediately assumed to have authored some of the posts involving Sierra. Apparently, the posts that implied Herrell was behind all this, was in fact posted by trolls who have hacked his passwords. Information remains incomplete as to who is really behind all this. I'm reading Doc Searls religiously for the next few days and so should you.

Lastly, a very, very important and helpful post for all those of you people living in the 'real world' and doing this in your 'spare time' or 'when you should be sleeping.'

Kathy Sierra's post put blog responsibility charges front and center by Denise Howell, blogger and lawyer.