Thanks for these very well placed and intelligent comments. Here is a bit
of interesting related reading:
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Final Words About Blogging From a Disbarred Attorney
<http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2008/04/
final-words-about-blogging-from.html>
A shorter URL for the above link:
and this from the Wall Street Journal Law Blog
May 3, 2007, 11:02 am
Law Firm Rescinds Offer to Ex-AutoAdmit Executive
Posted by Amir Efrati
<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/03/
law-firm-rescinds-offer-to-ex-autoadmit-director/>
A shorter URL for the above link:
DeWitt wrote that the content of the messages on the board are
antithetical to the values of the firm and the principles of collegiality
and respect that members of the legal profession should observe in their
dealings with other lawyers. DeWitt pointed out that in an online letter
to another blogger, Ciolli and his partner Jarret Cohen identified
themselves as AutoAdmits administrators and defended its free, uninhibited
exchange of ideas.
DeWitt continued: We expect any lawyer affiliated with our firm, when
presented with the kind of language exhibited on the message board, to
reject it and to disavow any affiliation with it. You, instead,
facilitated the expression and publication of such language. . . . He
wrote, his resignation from the site was too late to ameliorate our
concerns. He asked that Ciolli respond in writing.
Ciolli, in a letter dated April 16, recounted the history of AutoAdmit and
his joining as education director to develop educational content and
publications for the site, including a working paper on which law schools
place the most graduates at elite law firms, well after the site was
founded in 2004. He played down his ability to control content on the
site. While I was free to give input and act in an advisory mannerwhich I
often did, with mixed resultsMr. [Jarret] Cohen always had final say over
all rules and policies related to the message board, and that Cohen rarely
granted his requests to remove offensive material.
<snip>
In a letter dated April 20, DeWitt responded that none of the information
you provided resolves the concerns I expressed in my letter regarding your
past affiliation with the site, and that the firm terminates the
employment offered you on August 16, 2006.
Also perhaps of interest
What is an Ad Hom Attack?
and
Does the Anonymity of the Internet Allow People to be Meaner?
Quoting:
"What keeps many people from expressing intense emotions such as anger
and frustration in real life is the fact they are known entities in a
surprisingly small world. The anonymity of the Internet essentially
levels the playing field for all participants, which could empower some
users to express the darker sides of their personalities in ways that
would be unthinkable in real life. The ability to post angry or
mean-spirited thoughts without tangible consequences could prove to be
too much of a temptation for certain personalities. While it could be
argued that the anonymity of the Internet does not necessarily promote
meanness or anger, it does allow users with the capacity for strong
emotions to express them more easily, and with less regard for the
consequences of their actions."
Both at:
<http://www.greenfoodrecipe.com/tag/flaming/>
Everyone have a great holiday season and a wonderful New Year.
Of possible interest to some on this list.
Meet the Googles
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@temple.edu
<http://daviddillard.businesscard2.com>
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
<http://net-gold.jiglu.com/>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://guides.temple.edu/general-internet>
<http://guides.temple.edu/general-country-info>
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/20309>
<http://guides.temple.edu/tourism>
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
<http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o>
Net-Gold Membership Required to View Photos
---------------------------------------
On Sun, 21 Dec 2008, Karen Mahnk wrote:
> I'm going to throw a little "objective dust" into the flames here:
> It seems that anonymity is sometimes grown of perceived negative
> repercussions from expressing one's true views:
> Either this perception is accurate and there are negative repercussions
> for opinions OR the opinions & deeds themselves are negative: as in the
> anonymity of the infamous KKK [white hoods & gowns.]
> No matter where the oppression originates, history AND science have shown
> that *negative *deeds are easier and more likely to be done under the cloak
> of anonymity.
> In fact, science bears that out in a number of studies that show subjects
> became increasingly more cruel with anonymity.
> *Fear of Negative Evaluation and the Reluctance to Transmit Bad News*(Rosen
> &Tesser) is one that concluded that *less communication occurred under
> anonymity even though subjects initially chose anonymity to report negative
> news.
> In the same vein, *Social Identity* By Ellemers, describes several studies that
> concluded that in-group bias increased with anonymity.
> As far as the US Constitution : I point out *public* records, *public*trials,
> *Sunshine* laws, *and* the March to Selma as significant examples of the
> American ideal of both personal accountability and courage against anonymous
> tyranny -
> Whether you want freedom to hide or freedom to speak, if it seeks to
> harm, offend or insult such anonymity is a deterrent to communicating
> positively with other group members - regardless of the group. That the
> anonymous poster might well be seeking *negative* communication is not only
> counter to this list's objective of sharing, since it's been shown that
> anonymous posting *reduces effective communication.
> --
> Karen Mahnk,
> Reference Librarian
> Lake Park Public Library
> 529 Park Avenue
> Lake Park, Fl., 33403
> 561 881-3330 Fax: 561881-3336
> kmahnk@lakeparkflorida.gov
> www.lakepark-fl.gov
> *Opinions are my own and not of my employer.
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