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I have no idea how long it took from the first newsgroup posting to the the first codification of usenet netiquette, but I'm sure that it's longer than we've had since blogs and journals exploded into the noosphere.
I'm not talking, of course, about the etiquette of posting to blogs. That's pretty much the same as the etiquette of posting to any public place; publish and be damned (and frequently we do, and are). What I'm talking about is the etiquette of commenting on other people's blogs. Of reading something they said, and then interjecting your own comments, thoughts, rebuttals, praise and abuse.
On the one hand, it's obviously not the same as usenet, where everything is fair game and if people didn't want to hear your opinions they shouldn't have posted in the first place. After all, we're effectively scribbling in the margins of a people's diaries. On the other hand, if they didn't want to hear our opinions, why would they put a 'click here to unload yourself' link at the bottom of each entry?
It's obviously always ok to comment and say "Wow, that was fantastic", people are always open to that kind of comment.
It's always acceptable to offer sympathy and support.
It's usually acceptable to offer suggestions as a solution to their problem (I've only twice had negative responses to this, and I stick my nose into a lot of places unasked).
It's usually acceptable to point people in the direction of more information.
It's frequently acceptable to disagree logically and to point out an opposing view, although some people assume that if you dislike their ideas, you must also dislike them.
It's occasionally acceptable to just say that you feel differently about something.
It's almost never acceptable to tell someone they're a horses ass with a stupid opinion.
Of course, the easiest way to deal with the whole situation is to take it to your own journal, and say "Bob over at this link says that I keep stealing the TV remote. I'd like to point out that it is in fact Bob who keeps hogging the bathroom. So there!"
There's a danger implicit in commenting on journals, that there is no neutral ground. Every journal belongs to someone, and all of those someone's have their own opinions. We can't argue on your journal, because you have the upper hand. And we can't argue on my journal, because I have the upper hand. And we can't go and argue on Bob's journal, because that's just plain impolite. Maybe what's needed are free-floating entries, that exist in both places at once. Or maybejournals just aren't the right places for arguments at all, and we
should leave them to the newsgroups.
I'm not talking, of course, about the etiquette of posting to blogs. That's pretty much the same as the etiquette of posting to any public place; publish and be damned (and frequently we do, and are). What I'm talking about is the etiquette of commenting on other people's blogs. Of reading something they said, and then interjecting your own comments, thoughts, rebuttals, praise and abuse.
On the one hand, it's obviously not the same as usenet, where everything is fair game and if people didn't want to hear your opinions they shouldn't have posted in the first place. After all, we're effectively scribbling in the margins of a people's diaries. On the other hand, if they didn't want to hear our opinions, why would they put a 'click here to unload yourself' link at the bottom of each entry?
It's obviously always ok to comment and say "Wow, that was fantastic", people are always open to that kind of comment.
It's always acceptable to offer sympathy and support.
It's usually acceptable to offer suggestions as a solution to their problem (I've only twice had negative responses to this, and I stick my nose into a lot of places unasked).
It's usually acceptable to point people in the direction of more information.
It's frequently acceptable to disagree logically and to point out an opposing view, although some people assume that if you dislike their ideas, you must also dislike them.
It's occasionally acceptable to just say that you feel differently about something.
It's almost never acceptable to tell someone they're a horses ass with a stupid opinion.
Of course, the easiest way to deal with the whole situation is to take it to your own journal, and say "Bob over at this link says that I keep stealing the TV remote. I'd like to point out that it is in fact Bob who keeps hogging the bathroom. So there!"
There's a danger implicit in commenting on journals, that there is no neutral ground. Every journal belongs to someone, and all of those someone's have their own opinions. We can't argue on your journal, because you have the upper hand. And we can't argue on my journal, because I have the upper hand. And we can't go and argue on Bob's journal, because that's just plain impolite. Maybe what's needed are free-floating entries, that exist in both places at once. Or maybejournals just aren't the right places for arguments at all, and we
should leave them to the newsgroups.
