Bacon's Rebellion

A Tarheel’s Blogger Code

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

Martin Kuhn, a doctoral student in media law at UNC-Chapel Hill has stumbled across our discussion of blogging ethics and offers some ideas of his own. His code, which he recently presented at a National Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, resembles Will Vehrs’ draft. But Kuhn touches upon some issues that we overlooked.

Promote Interactivity
● Post to your blog on a regular basis
● Visit and post on other blogs
● Respect blog etiquette
● Attempt to be entertaining, interesting, and/or relevant

Promote Free Expression
● Do not restrict access to your blog by specific individuals or groups
● Do not self censor by removing posts or comments once they are published
● Allow and encourage comments on your blog

Strive for Factual Truth
● Never intentionally deceive others
● Be accountable for what you post

Be as Transparent as Possible
● Reveal you identity as much as possible (name, photo, background info, etc.)
● Reveal your personal affiliations and conflicts of interest
● Cite and link to all sources referenced in each post

Promote the “Human” Element in Blogging
● Minimize harm to others when posting information
● Promote community by linking to other blogs and keeping a blogroll
● Build relationships by responding to e-mails and comments regularly

If you are interested in the reasoning behind these items, ask Kuhn for a copy of his paper, “Interactivity and Prioritizing the Human: A Code of Blogging Ethics,” at [email protected].

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

Comments

  1. Will Vehrs Avatar
    Will Vehrs

    Just when I thought the code idea was dead ….

  2. Not Larry Sabato Avatar
    Not Larry Sabato

    I think Will’s was far better. I plan to adopt a version of Will’s code this weekend, and no one will get links from me anymore who does not have a similar code of conduct in place.

  3. Brian Patton Avatar
    Brian Patton

    I think he was at the conference, in Charlottesville.

    In fact, I think he was at the same table as Steve, Chad, John Henke, and I.

  4. subpatre Avatar
    subpatre

    What happened (above) to : Promote Free Expression
    • Do not self censor by removing posts or comments once they are published

    The vanished material was offensive, but revealing about (some) people and their priorities. Going through a similar, much smaller, situation locally; where emotion and personal loyalties are over-riding reason and common sense.

    If it’s possible, I’d prefer to see degenerated threads locked against further comment rather than ‘disappeared’ as if they never existed; ’cause they did.

  5. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    http://www.rvablogs.com/

    Scroll down and look for “Unacceptable”.

  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Jim Bacon,
    Please tell me what happened to the posts by Barnie Day? I saw that he had expressed his opinion and was taking a beating for having done so. I was taken away from the computer by family matters before I could wade in. I must say that I admire Mr. Day and was ready and quite willing to take some tooth chippin’ and blood tastin’ to fight for Barnie’s right to be pissed about the negligent way that the folks in power have neglected their responsibility to voting folks. What I ask has happened to the dialogue? Have you chosen the Steve Sisson approach to controlling what is said and published? Delete what you don’t like and pretend that it never happened? Please tell me that I’m mistaken and refer me to the thread where idiots were beating on my good friend Barnie Day and I will go there and kick someone’s @$$. Tell me you haven’t deleted the disscussion….

  7. Steven Avatar
    Steven

    Go spank yourself, anon.

    ~ the blue dog

  8. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    I did not delete the Hurricane Katrina threads. I don’t know for sure what happened, but I have an idea and will make inquiries. I may not have immediate answers because I will be out of town until Monday. But I’ll get to the bottom of it.

  9. B O B Avatar
    B O B

    Its interesting that you have subscribed to a blog code. Our Blog Lynchburg Virginia adheres to those general principles, and have listed your blog on blogs we read. We have posted on your blog and have made posts about your blog, and we do read your blog daily. But is there some kind of elitist standard that has caused you not to notice or link to our blog? Not that we are complaining, we are growing with both readers and contributors on a contiuing basis. We enjoy reading your posts, and will continue to do so.

  10. Will Vehrs Avatar
    Will Vehrs

    B O B, we’re admittedly not the best at blogrolling. Rest assured, after a look at your excellent blog, it’s not content or elitism that has kept you from being linked here. It’s just a plain old oversight.

    I’ll ask Jim to rectify the oversight when he returns.

  11. Brian Patton Avatar
    Brian Patton

    B O B, they have been looking over me for months too. Heck with em’.

  12. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    B.O.B. and Brian,

    When I come across new Virginia blogs, I do my best to bring them to the attention of Bacon’s Rebellion readers. But it’s gotten to the point where it’s hard to keep up. (I work on the e-zine mainly on weekends.) Could you do me a favor and e-mail me your URLs at [email protected]?

    Thanks, Jim

Leave a Reply

ADVERTISEMENT