I Can't Believe They Actually Think This Is A Good Idea
Brad Stone of The New York Times has a front page story on Tim O’Reilly and Jimmy Wales’ proposals to bring civility to the world of blogs. I have a ton of respect for both of these guys which is why I am sort of shocked that they are making these proposals.
Sure I hate it when assholes leave anonymous hurtful comments on this blog. Yes, I was annoyed at the thrashing that Katy Sierra got several weeks ago.
But I do not want to see the world of blogging become more politically correct. Blogging is so great because we get to see people’s opinions without moderation and editing. We get to see people the way they are.
I’ve often thought about deleting all anonymous comments on this blog. But I won’t do it. It would take some of the color out of this blog. And it’s not worth it.
Blogs are the epitome of free speech. Let’s not take an iota of freedom away from them.
UPDATE: I posted this before taking a trip around my blogroll to see what others are saying.
I knew I could rely on Jarvis to take the right side of this one. His is a predictably long but juicy post. And Valleywag comes out against it too. I left a comment on Valleywag because I enjoyed the comments there so much.