What Do You Mean I’m Accountable for What I Do Online?
| Share |
Recently, there has been quite a kerfuffle over at the Brazen Careerist http://blog.penelopetrunk.com. In response to a Tweet she had written disparagingly about having a frustrating day at home with her kids, someone (that she didn’t know) responded by attacking Penelope Trunk as a mother, and saying that they would take the kids and appreciate them.
Incensed by this personal attack from a stranger, Penelope decided to find out who this person was, and then contacted them. She found out his personal information (quite easily, in fact), and proceeded to call him, both at home and at work. She then blogged about it, and included his full name and hometown in the header (which as we all know, made sure that it made it’s way into the Google index, forever connecting him to that post.)
There have been over 400 comments on this one post, some applauding her, some saying that she took the comment a little too personally, and overreacted in her blog, which delved deep into the issues and psychology of caring for kids, but there were a whole lot more condemning her for daring to breach this man’s privacy by contacting him offline.
Which begs the question – it is unfair to expect there to be offline consequences for the actions we take online? I think that a lot of us expect there to be anonymity on the web – which, why? While you can certainly use an alias online (shocker – John Cow is not my real name!) for the most part, people are fairly upfront about using their real names (and even mine is easily found on this site), especially when using Facebook or Twitter.
So, was it really the shocking and reprehensible act that Penelope wanted to contact this person in real life for an explanation of the comments he made online? Would he have said the same thing if he was in the same room, or on the phone with her? Why is it that we think we can say things online that we wouldn’t say in real life?
And, really, if you’re using your real name on your Twitter account, and you start making disparaging comments about someone you don’t even know, then what do you expect? Even the most calm and turn-the-other-cheek type of person will come out guns blazing when their abilities as a parent, or even worse, the love they have for their children, is questioned.
So, we’re a bit off topic today, but the question bears asking – Do you think that your online persona should have repercussions on your offline life? Or are the two completely separate? Or, if you think they should be separate, what kind of responsibility should people take for what they say online?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
I believe there is overlap, yes. Manners are manners. If something wouldn’t be acceptable offline, it should be considered the same online as well.
Wow, that might be a little drastic but as I keep telling young people (in class, not the park) … what you do online is there forever. Last week there was a comment made about a women who Twittered herself out of a job at Cisco after bragging .. that’s going to haunt her forever.
No big deal! The person should have not said anything.
I do believe that people should be accountable for what they say online. But at the same time, think about what reality would be like if every single thing you ever said or did was open to anyone – kind of frightening. And I bet it wouldn’t paint us all in such a great light.
As a side note, it seems @daviddellifield has deleted his twitter account.
If you are Online then things like this are bound to happen. Nothing can be done about it.
I don’t agree with Penelope for publishing this guys phone number (which she did later delete) and for sharing his full name. In a sense, she is attempting to start an “internet lynch mob” to try and harass this guy.
All he did was express his opinion.
Then she expressed her opinion (via a direct message in twitter) right back at him.
That is where it should have ended.
If foolishness like this doesn’t stop, anyone who criticizes someone else on the internet will have to ponder whether their websites readers can inflict more damage than the readers of the website that they are criticizing or disagreeing with.
If this happens, great debate and discussion over the internet will become extinct.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with what Penelope Trunk did. If you are going to attack somebody using your real name it’s completely ignorant to think that you shouldn’t be held responsible for your actions.
People think that they can act like a jack-ass online but eventually these things usually catch up. It’s bad enough when somebody who shares your name is a dick online, I’ve had plenty of grief because of the way a namesake posts on certain forums.
There is a way of achieving anonymity, online and offline but it comes at a cost. Something I’m learning with one of my new projects.
well i always believe, a person is always responsible for his actions no matter, what, just because you are online and none is looking dosen’t mean none is looking, its’ actually worse, people are looking you world wide( courtesy Google) so make wise decisions, dont’ do online what you wouldn’t do offline.
I wouldn’t be anyone online that I’m not “in the real world” – but at the same time I definitely don’t put out a whole lot of my personal life out there. In general, I think you’ve just got to play nice and take responsibility for your own actions. Somebody makes you mad, oh well. It happens offline and online.
Y’know, it is possible to separate *part* of your online presence from your offline world (or most of your online presence).
All it takes is the willingness to learn how to establish “bulletproof” anonymity and then maintain it by being extremely careful of what you say so that you don’t leave clues and “out” yourself.
That said, I’ll agree that people are responsible for their actions whether they are “anonymous” or not. Even if nobody knows or is able to figure out who you are, God is watching.
In my opinion there should always be a certain amount of respect for what is said online. There are surely consequences in the real world for what is said online. It’s not worth getting hurt or have your privacy breached – just because something was done carelessly on the internet.
I’ve always said that if you do something stupid, even if it’s your right, be ready to accept the consequences for those actions. Sure, she went a little bit over the edge, but he decided to take her on and had no idea who she was.
I decided many years ago not to carry a gun because I used to have a quick temper, and that wasn’t a place I wanted to go. At the same time, I’ve also always kept in the back of my mind to never yell at another driver because that person might have a gun, and I don’t want to deal with that. Saying that someone else reacted to something means nothing if they happen to kill you.
Earlier on Twitter I posted a general question to my followers, and someone I don’t follow not only responded, but he responded with something that, well, I think it quite questionable to own up to. Will he be chased down because of it? Not by me, but one never knows how someone else will decide to respond to something as controversial as what he said.