There is a fine line here. As a writer myself, I may look at it differently
but here is my take:
When I write something that appears in print or online, something that the
public can read, I feel that I am "fair game" for public criticism, positive
or negative, about what I have written. I think the courts have made
clear rulings on this issue. You can disagree with what I say. I can
respond and defend my point of view. We can go back and forth
indefinitely - although when you do that on an Internet list, you are boring
a lot of people!
However, if my writing (and other activities, like being on TV, speaking,
etc.) has made me a "public figure," then the issue becomes a little less
clear. And you see movie stars and other big public figures taking this to
court quite frequently when they think that revelations or criticism is
unjust, untrue, or libelous.
On Internet lists, the "rules of conduct" probably should be more a matter
of fairness, good taste, and good manners rather than a matter of legality.
But since all these have extremely varied individual interpretations, this
area is VERY murky. This is where the Administrator has to make judgments -
not an easy job by any means. But I would never want him/her to restrict
someone's privilege to post - or take their post to FREEvpFREE - because
they disagreed strongly about something I wrote in Frugal Fridays or in one
of my books, particularly if they exactly quoted the part that they were
disagreeing about. By quoting (rather than paraphrasing which can change
the author's original meaning), this gives others the information they need
to decide whether they agree or disagree.
It is very hard to separate the message from the messenger. Personally, I
feel that my writings do reveal my character. To give an extreme example,
if I state that I am a thief, a liar, a killer, a cheater, or
describe things that I have done that would come under negative categories
like these, I feel you the reader have every right to think less of me and
my character if you wish and respond to those writings in a way that shows you do not
approve of that type of behavior. Whether you transfer that opinion to my
writings and decide to reject them, is your choice. There have been
criminals who have written something worthwhile - a cat burglar who writes
about how he picks his victim's houses might give you useful information
about how to protect yourself from this type of crime.
An aside: Actually, this judging of character goes on all the time on the
Internet, especially in forums. We are ALL being judged by our words.
There are many people on this list that I have never seen, don't have any
outside information about them - all I know about them is what their posts
say and how they say it. I try not to be a judgmental person but I can not
help unconsciously making judgments and evaluations all the time. Most of
you I would really like to meet - you sound like very fair and reasonable
persons. Sad to say, there are a few people that I would never make an
effort to get to know better, yea, I might take deliberate measures to avoid
meeting you. It has always amazed me that some people will say impolite,
harsh, even mean things in a post than I don't believe they would ever say
in person. I think people aren't as "hidden" on the Internet as they like
to feel that they are. Words are VERY revealing.
I would hope that this list would not stifle free idea interchange, whether
the people involved are "famous" or not. I think we all can contribute to
this goal (and help out the Administrator) by striving to be more polite in
our tone. I find that it helps me write calmer, more reasonable posts if I
don't hit the Send button immediately after I write something. Writing in
the heat of the moment is always dangerous. Go away from the post for an
hour and then come back - and read it like you didn't know the poster. When
I do that, I find I usually have to make some changes so the post sounds
more like it is from a "reasonable" person!!!
···
________________________________________
Jean $�ott - http://www.FrugalGambler.biz
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