Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

Coming up with a "code of ethics" for bloggers makes about as much sense as coming up with a code of ethics for people who say things. The diversity of blogs makes a code of ethics not even a pipe dream but a pipe nightmare.

But...

We in fact do have some ethical expectations for people who say things. We expect you not to lie (without good cause), to let us know if you know you're unreasonably biased (e.g., "Of course, that company does pay my salary" or "But, I was married to her for six years, so maybe that's biased me"), and be capable of responding to a well-intentioned question without socking us in the nose. We don't need a Code of Good Talking to formalize that. Rather, those are the conditions that enable us to converse in the first place.

There are some facts about blogs that pertain pretty generally, and those facts — features of the landscape, if you prefer — give rise to what I think are some reasonable ethical expectations. For example:

Nothing too surprising in this list of rules of thumb, of course. It's the tie back to facts that interests me. Is doesn't imply Ought, but Is whips Ought into condition.