Outing. What is it in the blogging context? To me it is publishing the true identity of a blogger or commenter without their express consent, manifested by their disclosing it themselves at their own site.
Of course there are situations, sock puppets being the prime example, where an anonymous blogger or commenter is practicing a deception by not disclosing who they are. Relatedly, the failure to disclose conflicts has been used as a rationale for outing. I personally do not accept that. The conflict itself, without specifics, can be disclosed without revealing the identity or personal information. More.
Disclosure: I was a victim of an outing.
Most cases are black and white. Some are not. For example, a prominent independent publication may have revealed a person's identity. What to do then? Well, it depends. If the anonymous blogger consented to the disclosure, then it seems to me that is an act of consent. But what if he did not? Then it is not. So what if you do not know if he consented? Then, the burden of proof is on the person doing the outing.
What if, through a Google search, you can determine someone's identity? Then the anonymous blogger did not consent. You had to do the Google search to find out the identity. Before my outing, I wrote this:
Personally, I doubt there is anyone around who can not figure out who I am. But what I do for a living is in no way connected to my blogging. And I don't want it mixed up, even though ugly people have tried to harm me in my professional life. It gives people like me the freedom to express ourselves without jeopardizing our professional lives.
I still believe that. But, the sad fact is no one seems to respect this. As for the rules of this site, the exact contours are beyond me, I am not an Administrator nor a FPer.
Moral of the story? Do everything you can to hide your identity. I did not. And paid a price. But the fact remains, anyone's identity can be discovered, one way or another. The only truly foolproof way to remain anonymous is not to blog.