[Ansteorra] Blogs?

Lori Campbell countesskat at yahoo.com
Tue May 10 15:33:25 PDT 2005


Interesting question. I've been wondering how long it
would be before something like this became an issue in
our game.  

Blogs strike me as someone sitting in a room speaking
to whoever drops by to listen.  You know, a public
monologue (soapbox) people can use to voice their
opinion on whatever matters to them.  Their appeal? 
Well, deep down inside everyone wants to be heard,
yes?  Blogs are a faceless medium for airing thoughts,
feelings and opinions.  No, I don’t have one.  I’ve
tried to start one a couple of times, but I always
seem to find something to do that interests me more. 
I guess the appeal is lost on me.

> If problems arise from a blog comment what do you
> think is the best way to correct that situation?

As has been suggested, person to person contact is
really the best way – especially in the “unofficial”
medium that personal blogs allow. 

Is that different for peers, court nobility or
royalty?  Not in my opinion.  Personal issues have to
be worked out between people and IMO that rarely
involves SCA bureaucracy.  

> Do you think that Officers, nobles, peers etc. 
> should be held to higher standard on a blog? If so 
> why?

I believe everyone should be responsible for their
actions and their words (whether written or spoken).  

Peers and nobility have a certain obligation to set an
example in word and deed.  They take on that mantle
when they accept their station.  That said, we all
know that nobody is perfect.  Hopefully they will take
steps to apologize or make amends once they are aware
of the situation.  

If, however, the blogger is an Officer, Landed Noble
or Monarch, the situation might be a bit different. 
These folks are duty bound to represent the offices
they hold and the groups/individuals they serve. 
There's an old saying that "you can take the crown
off, but you're still the king."  When you take on an
official office, I think that same holds true.

That said, should these individuals be accountable for
things they write on a blog?  I probably won’t be
popular, but I believe so.

Say Landed Baron Gareth keeps a livejournal under his
mundane name "Gary Smith."  On his LJ he talks about
his hobby, the SCA, and expounds about "how he can’t
stand the moron of a King he was forced to swear
fealty to last weekend…”  Is he going to be held
accountable if the King discovers he was called a
moron in an unofficial blog?  Well, that depends on
the King, but I’d be willing to bet there would be
fall-out.  At best, his working relationship with that
particular Crown will be strained.  At worst, if the
King feels this Baron can no longer represent the
Crown, Gareth might be asked to step down.

How about the baronial seneschal who writes in his
non-sca blog that these “people in his group are
dysfunctional and idiotic."  Perhaps he even mentions
a few by name or description.  Should he be held
accountable for that?  Whether or not he should be is
irrelevant once the populace finds out they’ve been
labeled "dysfunctional and idiotic"?  Best case: he
might have to eat crow and give a public apology. 
Worst case, the populace won’t be able to work well
with him.  Alienating half the populace you serve
might motivate someone to ask that he step down.  

I'm sorry to say it, but yeah, in my opinion these
folks will be held accountable (whether or not they
should isn’t relevant).  If their words or actions
(even in an unofficial, non SCA setting) have
consequences, they will have to bear that
responsibility.  

Yeah, we’ve all got our First Amendment rights, but we
do have to accept the consequences for anything we
say, especially in open public forums such as the ones
blogs provide.

Kat MacLochlainn  


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