Blog Disclaimers
I occasionally come across blogs with disclaimers. More often than not, they amuse me. Such as the one in this blog I just came across that I felt the need to comment on (I just finished proofing someone’s 15000 word article, so I’m in a critiquing mood). Hey, if it’s on the net, it’s fair game, right?
The disclaimer starts off with “Don’t Judge Me! I am not asking for your opinion. Just because this website is online doesn’t automatically give you the right to judge a person.” I think you can judge a person by anything a person does – on or offline. An impression gained solely from online manifestations of personality is often not completely accurate, but is nonetheless a valid one to gain. She then goes on to say, “I know it’s contradictory to put it online, but then again that’s my right,” before revoking the right of people to comment on it. This has angst written all over it.
Of course, the second paragraph is the gem. “And if you’re someone I know, then you shouldn’t really be here. Don’t get pissed if I bitch about you then. … please don’t pass around the URL, it’s a private page. I won’t take any responsibility for any hurt feelings.” This more or less violates the cardinal rule of blogging — remembering that anything you write is on display to the world, for both friends and strangers. It shows great disrespect to those who know you to restrict your audience to strangers, while reserving the right to bitch about your friends, acquaintances and enemies. And you can’t expect people to respect your privacy (even though passing around a URL of your public blog doesn’t violate your privacy) if you don’t respect theirs. Everything online is fair game. If you must have it online, either password it or make it completely anonymous.
I wonder if I’m soon going to get an irate blogger who’s come here after looking at her referrer logs and telling me to get off my soapbox and stfu.
2:06am (GMT +10.00) tomorrow 
heh. how did you get to that site? i like to refer all those damn non-substance domain blogs as part of the MBS (malaysian bloggers scene). anyway, totally agree on what you said about the internet being ‘fair game’. people are just too narcissistic and self-important. :P
If it’s on the Net, it’s fair game!
Keep linking this stuff- I love this cheap entertainment.
Holy crow. I don’t know the kind of people she calls friends but this just seriously baffled me:
“You know, after watching sex and the city, queer as folk, friends and all these TV series where there’s a bunch of people who are great friends who stand up for each other and all that, I don’t think it exists in the real world at all. Look around you. Do you see any friendship remotely resemble the ones on TV? Granted, that it’s television, and it’s not supposed to be real but honestly, it’s a shame that it isn’t. Maybe I’m just watching too much TV.”
I’d like to consider some of my friendships stronger than the ones portrayed on TV.
Such a touchy subject, and seeing it through the eyes of this immature blogger really makes you want to take the line of “anything on the net is fair game”.
My opinion kind of straddles the lines on this one. I definately don’t agree with the stance taken in the offending disclaimer. The difference is, I’m willing to stand behind anything that I’ve posted on line.
However, I generally do this by pointing out that I have amassed an 8 year collection of thoughts and general brain farts online. If they’re raising topics out of my archives and using them against me, I’m more than willing to spin the arguement on them and point out how petty they are for basically “trashing”. That’s in the hacker sense of the word, as in going through someone’s discarded goods looking for interesting and useful tid bits.
I equate people using my blog against me to somebody following me around and listening into my random conversations and chit chat. I do however realise that it’s my perogative to consider exactly what I do place online and in public. Anything on my site and in my archives IS fair game. I just make people have a good think about what digging through my trash says about them. And point out that by raising the issue, they’ve made something public about them, and basically waived and moral line in the sand.
I generally treat people how I’ve been treated.