Back in March, I blogged about a call for a ‘blogger code of conduct.’

First, take a look at the right-hand menu bar. Not quite at the top, underneath the Maryland state flag, it says, very clearly, “RATED R.” I’ve got my own content rating, but it isn’t a rating forced on me, it’s one I chose for myself because, um, I wanted stuff to put up on the menu bar. Anyway, if this blog were a movie, it’d be a shitty movie, but it would be a rated R shitted movie.
(Although, after my last post, maybe I should make it rated “X”…)

Anyway, there’s an article in the BBC about a draft of this “blogging code of conduct” being drawn up.

Readers should be warned when they are reading blogs that may contain “crude language”, a draft blogging code of conduct has suggested.

The code was drawn up by web pioneer Tim O’Reilly following published threats and perceived harassment to US developer Kathy Sierra on blogs.

The code begins: “We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation.”

The draft says people should not be allowed to leave anonymous comments.

Blogs which are open and uncensored should post an “anything goes” logo to the site to warn readers, the code suggests.

Readers of these blogs would be warned: “We are not responsible for the comments of any poster, and when discussions get heated, crude language, insults and other “off colour” comments may be encountered. Participate in this site at your own risk.”

But the code was not welcome by blogger and commentator Jeff Jarvis, who called it “misguided”.

On his blog, he wrote: “This effort misses the point of the internet, blogs, and even of civilized behavior. They treat the blogosphere as if it were a school library where someone… can maintain order and control. They treat it as a medium for media.

“It’s a place. And when I moved into the place that is my town, I didn’t put up a badge on my fence saying that I’d be a good neighbor.”

He added: “I don’t need anyone lecturing me and telling me not to be disagreeable.”

A couple of years ago, I tried to participate in a discussion on Sweetney’s blog. The topic in the comments became “is it appropriate to post images of children online without their permission?” Some of the comments were critical of Sweetney for posting photos of her friends’ kids without notifying their parents. Now, mind you, Sweetney and I were, at the time, perhaps not friends, but at the very least blogger aquaintences. She posted here, I posted there, there wasn’t any malice between the two of us. Until I posted my comment that perhaps she should consider asking for permission in these instances.

And then my comment was deleted. Because I was however so inconsequentially critical of her. You can read my posts on the situation here and here. And that’s exactly my fear with this ‘blogger code of conduct’: that it will legitimatize censorship of this type. There’s a post on CrackedActor about whether or not this would be censorship , and it ends with a thought on what I’ve described as censorship: “And another thing — if you delete comments you don’t like from your blog, it is not censorship. That’s your little slice of the internet pie. Who cares?” I care! Because, again, you’re talking about legitimizing this shit all across the blogosphere. And if you do it across the blogosphere, it’ll spread to other types of websites, and then into the real world. We already live in a country slipping into a quasi-police-state, do we really need more censorship? And y’know, if you feel you can’t blog without deleting comments you don’t like, you can always turn off your comment feature.

I agree with CrunchNotes’ take on the situation:

I’m not turning off anonymous comments, I’m not going to always try to talk privately with someone before i write, and I’m also not going to allow a mob to decide what types of words constitute “unacceptable content.” And I’m certainly not putting a badge on my site that says whether I comply or not.

You want to do your own blogging policy? Do it. I did one. I very clearly spell out that I don’t delete comments (with the exception of the usual spam - cialis, phentermine, viagra, etc.) and I don’t censor discussion on my own blog. Easy for me to say, right? I’m just a lowly crawly amphibian on the blogosphere, so take this for what you will.