It’s been a while since Kathy Sierra announced that she would be placing her blog on hiatus. (Warning, the link contains graphic images and strong language. Click at your own risk.)

Initially, I stayed quiet about the issue (except for a quick e-mail to Kathy), but I’ve now had a chance to cultivate my opinions. Kathy has a very real right to be frightened and all the people claiming that she’s blowing things out of proportion need to realign themselves with a thing called reality.

While the (sick and twisted) images that were posted online and the misogynistic comments left on the blog, in and of themselves, may be construed as “harmful, but not physically dangerous, fun”, it was brought to a completely new level when people begin posting her home address and social security number in a public forum.

Let’s review: Hateful and threatening images and comments were posted about Kathy and e-mails containing death threats were sent to her directly. To make matters worse, her home address and personal information has become a matter of public record. Any reasonable person would be frightened by that.

Darren Rowse was subjected to a psychotic reader. Lynn Terry had someone randomly show up to her home without notice. I’ve been the object of some crazy person’s attention. All of these situations, just like Kathy’s, could have become physically dangerous had they not been taken seriously.

As for people who are defending those involved with Mean Kids and Uncle Bobism, you’re missing something: Kathy did not state they actually made the comments or posted the images, simply that they created/owned the sites where they were published. And while the creators of the sites may not have directly published the threatening information, they created, participated in, and promoted the sites which allowed it.

Jory Des Jardin made one of the best comments I’ve seen on the topic:

I do not believe [Jeneane or Frank] wrote this content or condoned it, though by creating the forum they’ve become responsible.

To me, it’s like harboring a fugitive. You may not have robbed the bank, but by knowingly providing the robber with safe haven, you’re just as guilty. Mean Kids and Uncle Bobism was that safe haven which allowed the crazies to come out and play. It’s time those who created, condoned, participated in, and promoted the site pay the piper.

So, when I read about those people who are having their reputations ruined over this, the image of a porn star suing the producer because her reputation was ruined comes to mind. Catch a clue, maybe you should have worried about your reputation before you got yourself involved with the sites in the first place.

Just for the record, I’m not condemning anyone, however, I’m not absolving anyone either. I don’t think anyone who created or promoted the site actually made the threats, but I do believe they have some responsibility. It’s one thing to have a site that chides people, but it’s quite another to have a site with no moderation or rules with the sole purpose of chiding people. That’s an obvious recipe for disaster.

A lot of people we interact with daily seem very normal. But put them behind a keyboard and allow them to make anonymous comments and some really evil stuff can result. There’s no clear line as to what’s acceptable and not acceptable. (CrunchNotes)

The good news, however, is that Frank decided to pull the Mean Kids site and apologized. He realized that the effect it had on the community was not positive, it was just anarchy instead of “purposeful anarchy”. I respect him for that and I believe everyone can learn something from the situation.

Good bloggers are screwed because of bad decisions, other bloggers are being hounded and threatened, and just about everyone in the blogosphere is throwing stones. Quite frankly, this entire fiasco is tragic.

There’s a lot more to the story, but unfortunately, the only people who truly know it are those behind the sites in question, the person (or people) who made the threatening images, posts, comments, and e-mails, and those directly involved. I hope they speak out in coming weeks and share with everyone what they’ve learned.

Feel free to read up on the situation in case you missed it:

• Kathy Sierra: Death threats against bloggers are NOT “protected speech” (why I cancelled my ETech presentations)
• Maryam Scoble: Death Threats Against Bloggers
• Chris Locke: re Kathy Sierra’s allegations
• Jeneane Sessum: For the record
• Shelley Powers: Disappointed
• Radom Thoughts: Anonymity, Interpellation, Truth, Ignorance, and the Stakes
• BlogHer: Hating Hate Speech: Safety for Kathy Sierra and all women online
• Frank Paynter: Mere anarchy
• Stephanie Booth: Death Threats in the Blogoshere (Stephanie has an amazing round up of the conversation)
• Seth Godin: Misogyny and anonymity (Insightful)

I know you’re not to blame, but I’ll sue you anyway because you should have anticipated and taken into account the stupidity of every person who would use your website before you launched it.

I’m not responsible for my own actions and I can’t be held accountable for any silly decisions I make if it’s a direct result of using your services. I really don’t care if that doesn’t make sense to you or anyone else, it makes sense to me.

A Texas 14-year-old and her mother have sued MySpace for US$30 million after she was raped by a man she met on the social networking site.

My heart feels for this girl. Rape is ugly and no woman asks for it nor should have to go through it. That aside, in the back of my mind, I keep wondering WTF[1] was this little girl’s common sense?

At 14, she should have been at home playing Dungeons and Dragons or Freeze Tag with her neighbors’ kids within eyeshot of her parents instead of socially networking herself with some dude from MySpace.

I could ramble on for a week regarding youths nowadays, but I won’t. I’ll just leave you with a few thoughts from back in my day:

• My parents told me not to talk to, accept anything from, or go anywhere with a stranger.
• My parents told me to “read the fine print” before agreeing to or doing anything. They still teach reading in school right?
• My dad and sisters kept tabs on me like I was a felon and I’m glad for it.
• My dad wasn’t my friend until I turned 22, moved out, and finished college.

Let’s call this what this is, a get rich quick scheme. It’s truly asinine and only serves to further deteriorate our legal system, but some people can’t see past the dollar signs [2].

[1] - I’ve replaced What with Where in WTF.
[2] - I’m only bothered by frivolous lawsuits because it takes time and attention away from the vital ones.

(Via J.A.S.O.N. - I thought it was going to be a post about Carlos Mencia…)

Tagged: myspace lawsuit, online safety, frivolous lawsuit

I don’t publish my mailing address or phone number online.

Being asked, recently, why I don’t publish my address or phone number on my website (that coupled with Darren sharing his recent online ordeal), has prompted me to explain my decision a little more.

Men are psychotic. Okay, not all men. Just some of them, and they are out there, and they somehow manage to find me.

Last year, I was placed in a very precarious situation. Although this man claimed to be 2,000 miles away and only had my phone number, I still felt threatened to the point of absolute fear for my personal safety.

I made light of it, but in fact, it was very upsetting to deal with. I was afraid to close my eyes at night, and I forced my family to stay on the phone with me until I fell asleep, just in case.

He got my phone number from my website. Since the incident, I promptly removed all my contact information from all of my websites and I am careful who I give my personal information to.

I work from the comfort of my home, and I can’t deal with the stress of worrying who knows my address and what they plan to do with said address.

If someone wants to speak with me, and I feel at ease with their initial contact, then I will make an appointment to call them.

Maybe one day I will publish my contact information on my website again, but that day is not in the foreseeable future.