Drational's GBCW diary has gotten me thinking about what blogging means to me.
I hope this doesn't come off as self-absorbed; I do want to chip in my thoughts about how people interact in the blogosphere and how my experiences as a longtime freelance writer and author in the tech book industry inform my participation in forums of this type. I promise I won't go on too long.
When you get into fights with people, unintended consequences can emerge from even the best of intentions. In Drational's case, he found that folks on the Left as well as the Right can dig into opponents' personal lives:
John Dean is the researcher at Brad Blog, and he was kind to me in the email he sent with his research. He noted that he did not intend to share his research into my identity with anyone else but Brad Friedman, so I assume he satisfied his concerns and concluded I am not a troll. This is why I say in the diary, that although he is a Palast supporter, I don't think he intends to harm me other than outing me personally and for Brad. But that he is researching means others will be as well, and based on prior email threats, I can't handle the reality of non-anonymity. John Dean did not out me or threaten to do so, other than as he noted, presenting his research to Brad.
This kinda gives me the creeps. In Palast's case, it's probably a mechanism to protect himself from a possible nutcase. Which Drational is not; however, an epic flame war resulted, spanning several diaries that I will not link to.
Blogging is an area in which ethics and etiquette are both loaded with grey areas and yet those things are more important than ever. Like it or not, there are reasons why bloggers don't get a lot of props in the mainstream news media. Events like this tend to really alienate people who are otherwise on our "side," to wit.
With a few unfortunate exceptions, On DKos I've really tried to adhere to the simple rule "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule. When you do this, the one thing you can't expect is that an author and journalist with any name recognition (like Palast) is automatically going to respond to your entreaties.
First of all, they're busy. Any response should be treated as a privilege or a compliment. Conversely, no response does not indicate a diss. I remember when I was starting out as a freelance writer, and I sent an e-mail to a prominent computer columnist (who shall remain nameless) who I never thought would respond. Lo and behold he DID, and it actually was the start of a low-key friendship. I since got to know many people who are "name" authors in that field, and sorta became one myself for awhile. Then the business got hideously overpublished, at the same time that most tech book imprints started getting consolidated into one or two major publishing conglomerates. Untimately, I decided I could make more money in the private sector. Most of my friends in that area dropped away, but I still had many warm memories.
I've done freelance writing for a long time, and determined pretty early that when you're a little guy, you need to avoid pissing off those on the ladder above you. Part of it is competitive. Part of it is having to earn a position from which you can chip in your two cents on a particular issue. Part of it is just good ol' PR maintenance.
To avoid dustups like this, egolessness on the part of the blogger is critical. I know I'm not an original researcher. I don't have the time, for the most part. The best I can do as a denizen of East Blogistan is to occasionally read between the lines of a story, bring a story to notice, or add insight in some way on a topic. Getting into a spat with someone who has an established journalistic track record is a good way to get a bad reputation before you even get a fair start on your career.
This does NOT mean we have to suck up to David Broder, by the way.
In blogging, flame wars really make you look bad. (You have permission to blast me for saying that.) They solve nothing. If someone flames you, you are really better off not responding, no matter what they say to you online. I may have had ONE flame war in the time I've been here, purely out of the heat of the moment. I've regretted the mistakes I've made in this area, which are fortunately few in number.
Here are the few basic interpersonal rules I try to follow:
- Avoidance of needless conflict. No inflammatory names, no "you're just a..." moments, no labeling. I've gotten quite a few but I don't respond to them. Correspondingly, I've gotten a lot less frequent in my TRs.
- Encourage debate. Even if someone uses warm words to you, don't respond in kind and just address the substance of their argument. This works for me every time.
- Acceptance. If someone points something out that you missed, or simply proves you wrong, update the diary to acknowledge it or respond accordingly in the thread. Also accept the fact that many Big Guns in whatever Milieu will probably not ever interact with you.
- BE CAREFUL what you commit to a diary topic.
- Be Nice. Not goopy-sweet icky nice, just NICE to people.
None of this precludes debate. I have plenty of debates. But that is a learning experience, conducted in the presence of a community. Sometimes the debates that occur in diaries I've written have been incredibly valuable to me, even when I've been proven wrong on something. And if they're not a troll, everyone has something to contribute. Blogging is an opportunity to take seriously, whether you get 30 responses to a page or 1000. In some ways, doing this stuff is akin to being a politician.
So for drational, this is a learning experience. At some point he'll be back in a different guise or in different places. But I think he's doing the right thing in taking his departure. I respect him for having the guts to seriously and unconditionally apologize. This also means he will learn from this experience and be better for it.
I, for one, really, really like this place. I am not attempting to suck up to anyone by saying that those who run and manage this site are doing for the most part a stellar job. For the most part, it fits my temperament and my views on the issues facing us all. It's an online home for many of us during the Great Republican Storm and I'm grateful it's been here for me during the last two years. I have made an incredible number of friends here and even if I never wrote another word, I would always think of DKos with warmth.