Patrick Ross

Civility Online

When I launched this blog almost a year ago I made a vow to remain civil. I hope I've adhered to the ten tenets of that manifesto, but I'm sure I've fallen short at times. Still, it's clear to anyone that the Internet isn't the most civil of places.

The first time I was a victim of an online attack was in the early 1990s on a Usenet discussion board on The X-Files (yes, I was a real geek). Then, as now, I used my own name online. Someone using an anonymous handle started attacking me mercilessly for some trivial thing; I think he had a different theory on who the "smoking man" was. Another Usenet veteran, Mike Godwin, had a law named after him (among cybergeeks anyway) that says as a flame war goes on the probablility of someone being called a Nazi approaches one. So this isn't new.

But in this era of e-mail, listservs and blogs, it seems the flames are hotter than ever. Why? I've never been called a Nazi to my face, no matter how heated a discussion got, and in the world of think tanks, discussions can get very heated indeed. The New York Times has an answer and it has a lot to do with brain chemistry, as well as the unique characteristics of online communication. You can read more in my blog entry on IPCentral.

Profiled in Potomac Flacks

I spend more of my time at The Progress & Freedom Foundation doing policy research than I do public relations, but I'm proud to oversee our think tank's PR shop. Adam Kovacevich, the capable PR executive with Dittus Communications who runs the blog Potomac Flacks, profiled me today; all of the embarrassing details can be found here.

Amen, Brother!

I'd love for Judge Edward Fadeley, Retired Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, to read my Blog Manifesto.

Here's what he wrote Tuesday:

Today's blogosphere is a veritable Wild West of verbal ambushes and shootouts, with very little fear of legal recourse to keep character assassination, defamation and dirty business tricks in check.

It's an area of the law that desperately needs serious attention. Self-proclaimed "experts" and "journalists" abound on the Internet. "Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty, but spewing lies, libel and invective," wrote Daniel Lyons in Forbes.

Most peculiar that he sent it out in a press release, and it rambles on about corporate libel, blogging criminals, and whatnot. But I love the opening above.

Beach Bum

The wife, kids and I are headed to the shore for a week. Blogging and a beach vacation don't go together for me, so this space will be silent for the next few days. Cheers.

My Daughter's Gonna Kill Me

We live in a cut-and-paste world, it seems. On Monday I wrote about a recent incident with my 11-year-old daughter, and how she "wrote" a paper on Jesse Owens by cutting and pasting text from web sites. I compared that with unattributed text I'd seen on Wikipedia, and cited a story about a professor in the UK crusading against the Googlized, Wikipedia generation.

I hit a blogosphere nerve, it seems. First to pick up on the theme was noted blogger, author and intellect Nicholas Carr, who cited my blog almost verbatim and then built on it with cogent analysis. Carr has far more readers than I do, and then we were off to the races, with further blogs citing my poor daughter here, here and here. Comments on several of these sites have continued the dialogue, with some interesting twists and turns.

I don't believe my daughter reads my blogs; this week that is all to the good. At least I haven't named her, and I should note for the record that the paper she wrote after I called her on the first one was pretty good. More importantly, when I quizzed her on the content of that paper, she knew it cold. She had learned the life story of Jesse Owens, and it's an inspiring one.

One theme of Carr and others is whether we're losing the concept of authorship. After all, cutting and pasting in and of itself isn't bad; lack of attribution is. Every blog link above quoted me verbatim, at times extensively. But all of the bloggers also made clear it was my writing, and linked back to it. That is respect for authorship, and it's what we need to teach the next generation, just as we all had to learn it as youngsters when we were tempted to crib from World Book or Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

My Blog Manifesto

I am uncomfortable with the tone and approach of most blogs, and as such I am vowing now (and putting myself on the record) that I will adhere to ten principles of decency with my writings here. These principles are almost guaranteed to make my blog less popular, and thus less well read, but I am willing to sacrifice popularity for respectability.

1. No ad hominem attacks. Who a person is or for whom they work does not necessarily make false their argument. Besides, most ad hominem attacks in blogs involve individuals who have never even met, nor are ever likely to.

2. No personal attacks. This builds on #1. Even if I know someone to be an absolute jerk, I won't write that. My blogs, to the extent they focus on others, will remain strictly on their arguments.

3. Civil language at all times. I will write entries on the assumption my children might read them (even though they've got far better things to do with their time.) I will not swear, name-call or in any other way adopt a tone not accepted in polite society.

4. Acknowledge sources. As a former journalist this is important to me. If I am writing on an issue and the knowledge I am imparting comes from a particular source, I will acknowledge that source.

5. Welcome feedback. I will do everything I can to leave comments open on this blog, although I understand why The Washington Post and others turned off comments. I have been called absolutely hateful things by complete strangers in comments (I've even had my facial hair criticized) and I'm sure I will here as well, but hopefully most commenters will adhere to these principles when writing their critiques.

6. Know my facts. Too many bloggers write their opinions first and check facts later (or worse, never get around to checking facts). It may slow my response time, but I won't write something unless I'm pretty sure of it, just as when I was a journalist I wouldn't file a story until I was sure of it.

7. Admit when I'm not certain. At times I may not have a complete comfort level with my topic; I think few people do with everything they write, and I envy those that do. In cases of uncertainty, I will let the reader know.

8. Admit to error. At times I will be flat-out wrong on something; it happens to the best of us. When an error of fact is pointed out to me I will post a correction. This is different, of course, from two people disagreeing with the import of the same facts. I will agree to disagree in those cases.

9. Keep it nonpartisan. Many blogs are partisan and that's fine. I'm an independent, though, and hold an equal disdain for both parties, so this one will be easy for me to maintain. There will likely be many reasons an individual will choose to dismiss my writings, but a partisan bias will never be one of them.

10. Keep it light. A blog should be fun. I'm more liberated here than I was as a journalist, and I'll enjoy that liberation. If I go too many entries without making a joke or linking to something silly or absurd, I invite readers to call me on it.

I don't think other bloggers should have to adopt this manifesto, but I invite them to; I think it would improve the level of online discourse. I can only focus on myself, however, and only under these conditions will I truly feel comfortable being part of the blogosphere. Please, if ever it seems I am not holding true to one of these principles, let me know. Thank you in advance.

Launching the Blog

After 18 months of blogging on The Progress & Freedom Foundation and IPCentral blogs, I've launched my own, thus showing I'm ready to embrace 2003 in 2006. This site will include some original observations, along with highlights from the PFF and IPCentral blogs. Expect what those who know me have come to expect -- a passionate belief in free markets and individual empowerment, and a celebration of how those can thrive in the digital revolution. And some occasional references to pop culture and sword-wielding skeletons.