(A well-written reminder for relative blog newbies and oldbies who forgot. - promoted by tremayne)
The recent frontpage flame-fest kicked up by David Sirota's "A Mass Psychological Change" post prompted me to make a few meta notes on flaming/trolling, and it occurred to me that folks might benefit from a little primer on how to have productive conversations online.
That's not meant to be condescending! Anyone who knows me knows I'm hardly Ms. Manners. ;)
However, it's well-established that the pseudonymous and highly mediated form that typifies most forums and email threads drives towards more aggressive and destructive behavior. That's just the nature of the game, and if we're not conscious of this, it's really easy to slip off the deep end.
Enclosed are some general tips (and fascinating links) to keep in mind if you want to avoid flaming/trolling.
Our Republican friends have begun the campaign season with their usual class and style; and the resulting Internet gossip has reported that Obama is a secret Muslim, that his Christian Reverend is the scourge of American religion, that he's no patriot...and that he associates with every evil person on the planet, either by allowing them into his campaign or by his willingness to talk to those who hate us the most.
And Obama has, to this point, chosen to remain above the fray.
Because Obama has chosen the high road, I wanted to offer a few words about how we can be a more civil blogging community-and about a few things we should seek to leave off the table.
STATE BLOGS
