posted by Mike Madison at 12:19 PM /
Trying to avoid affecting a James Brown impression, Joe and I will give Blog-Lebo another go. We believe that last week's storm clouds have passed. There were good reasons to suspend the blog; as several commenters noted, there was more to the story than reacting to a nastygram. But many commenters and neighbors have made a persuasive case to us that there are more good reasons to continue.
We will implement some changes, some now and some later. Right now and most important, anonymous comments will not be permitted. The role of anonymity on the blog is an issue that we've discussed both on the blog and privately, and we've finally concluded that we're willing to risk the likely loss of commentary that follows from expecting commenters to identify themselves. Pseudonymous comments will be permitted only if there is a basis for identifying the commenter. I'm fully aware that people can make up names and impersonate others, and that the rule isn't perfect. I'm counting on good behavior on the part of most people. Joe and I will deal with the rest, but we hope that there will be relatively few of those.
The chief reason for the switch is to shift the burden of policing good behavior from us (where it lies when anonymous comments are OK) to you (where it lies when anonymous comments are not OK). An identity requirement will, we hope, encourage you to help us maintain a civil tone on the blog.
There is a also a substantive reason for the switch. I understand the fear that drives many people to post anonymously -- fear of teachers, fear of coaches, fear of neighbors, fear of municipal officials, fear of assessors. Almost everyone is afraid of something or someone, and every person needs to calculate their own personal risk equation. But anonymous comments pay a price in persuasiveness. Using your own name buys you credibility - and solidarity. After last week's episode, there was a minor "I am Spartacus" effect, as bloggers both near (Rich and Chris in Pittsburgh) and far (Jeff in Seattle, Jim in Colorado) blogged and linked in sympathy. Thanks to everyone who commented and expressed support for the blog! I didn't realize that the blog had such a wide national constituency. I could thank more of you, but I don't know who you are. Hopefully, as the blog reboots, I will.
Also, I should note that at least one other Lebo resident picked up the proverbial blogging gauntlet. (At least I assume that the author is a Lebo resident.) Welcome to the blogosphere to the Mt. Lebanon blog, at http://mtlebo.net/.
We will implement some changes, some now and some later. Right now and most important, anonymous comments will not be permitted. The role of anonymity on the blog is an issue that we've discussed both on the blog and privately, and we've finally concluded that we're willing to risk the likely loss of commentary that follows from expecting commenters to identify themselves. Pseudonymous comments will be permitted only if there is a basis for identifying the commenter. I'm fully aware that people can make up names and impersonate others, and that the rule isn't perfect. I'm counting on good behavior on the part of most people. Joe and I will deal with the rest, but we hope that there will be relatively few of those.
The chief reason for the switch is to shift the burden of policing good behavior from us (where it lies when anonymous comments are OK) to you (where it lies when anonymous comments are not OK). An identity requirement will, we hope, encourage you to help us maintain a civil tone on the blog.
There is a also a substantive reason for the switch. I understand the fear that drives many people to post anonymously -- fear of teachers, fear of coaches, fear of neighbors, fear of municipal officials, fear of assessors. Almost everyone is afraid of something or someone, and every person needs to calculate their own personal risk equation. But anonymous comments pay a price in persuasiveness. Using your own name buys you credibility - and solidarity. After last week's episode, there was a minor "I am Spartacus" effect, as bloggers both near (Rich and Chris in Pittsburgh) and far (Jeff in Seattle, Jim in Colorado) blogged and linked in sympathy. Thanks to everyone who commented and expressed support for the blog! I didn't realize that the blog had such a wide national constituency. I could thank more of you, but I don't know who you are. Hopefully, as the blog reboots, I will.
Also, I should note that at least one other Lebo resident picked up the proverbial blogging gauntlet. (At least I assume that the author is a Lebo resident.) Welcome to the blogosphere to the Mt. Lebanon blog, at http://mtlebo.net/.
8 Comments:
YAY!!! Welcome back - good to know that public outcry really does work. I've been amazed at how many folks who lurked Blog-Lebo came forward to comment on Pittsblog when you shut it down. I'm happy that you've brought back a valuable tool to us Mt. Lebonites.
-PTA Mom
Indeed, welcome back! Although Blog-Lebo was stopped only for a short time, I did miss it.
Cheers! —Tom
Glad to see bloglebo has made a comeback....Esp. glad to see that there will be no more anonymous posts ...But wait! The very first post on the comback trail is "anonymous said..." What's up with that?
Linda Wilson Fuoco
(still harping about anonymous posts...)
Welcome back! As I said in my blog, Blog-Lebo is the Internet done right.
Linda,
The comment is pseudonymous, not anonymous; it's from PTA Mom. The policy says "otherwise ensure that you are identifiable." Not every case is an easy case, but I'm satisfied here. As we all know, it's a small town. I've gotten pretty good at putting pseudonyms together with real people.
That raises the following question: Does the identification policy exist for your benefit (you want to know who the other commenters are), or for mine and Joe's (we want to know, but primarily because screening for identity makes it more likely that people will be polite)? Right now, it's the latter. PTA Mom has been around the blog and is an etablished pseudonym. New nyms aren't likely to pass muster. If problems pop up, we can revisit the question.
Mike
You guys are way too cool to be stymied by some "I'll Huff - and - I'll Puff" blowhard.
Smiling ear to ear seeing this tonight. I concur wholeheartedly with Bill's sentiment. Welcome back Blog Lebo!
Taking the plunge here with full identification! LOL
Glad the blog is back - there's nothing quite like open discourse! People need to stop being so afraid of having their views challenged or having others disagree. Instead, consider welcoming opposing viewpoints. It may help you develop even greater conviction (and perhaps present it publicly), identify things you may not have considered, or even persuade you that there is another valid perspective out there. We don't all have to agree. Maybe it's idealistic, but go ahead, challenge away!
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