LSU blog outs the author of the Bylaw Blog, thus shutting it down

I don’t really get it.

I too think that outing someone who wants to remain anonymous is very distasteful because in blog world some people really relish their anonymity, but I don’t really get why this particular blog had to shut down because of it.

Why can’t he just continue writing on the blog even though his identity is now out, such as Tru, and others do? Surely I must be missing something?

 and he gets sent packing by an illiterate fool……..

I enjoyed the info.

I’m finally back from Great Britain. It was a long, fruitful, and sometimes frustrating trip, but more on that later.

One thing we bloggers have to look out for are conflicts of interest. When we blog about work related issues, we have to be careful not to compromise our employer and our duty not to paint them in a bad light. Blogging anonymously can violate employment guidelines and should never be done in that circumstance. For example, if I began blogging critically about the federal government in the way they interface with my work, it could place my company in a bad position if my identity were known.

I have no idea about The Compliance Guy (I don’t use the names of “outed” bloggers unless their actions make it just, and in this case, I don’t think they did). The commentary on The Compliance Blog was, as far as I was concerned, informative and benign, although TCG’s employer may not agree with that assessment. If not, and he knew or strongly suspected it, he should have notified them of his intentions and obtained their feedback before blogging.

Many people think that this is an infringement on free speech — it isn’t. TCG would be free to say whatever he wanted, but you cannot do so with the expectation that your employer would ignore it if it produced a conflict of interest that reflected badly on them, or violated their guidelines for employment.

But none of this justifies what the guy who outed TCG did. Outing a blogger who wants to remain anonymous is, generally speaking, a despicable act that deserves nothing but derision. Even if you know the anonymous blogger is violating his employment guidelines, the proper way to handle it is to contact him directly and confront him about it, not put his name out there for billions of people to see.

Sadly, this sort of thing happens all the time, particularly in the political blog world. But the reality is, blogging anonymously is fraught with its own ethical pitfalls that have to be carefully considered. That’s why I blog “pseudonymously.” Anyone who wishes can discover my identity by merely clicking on my pseudonym. I used to be anonymous, but I became uncomfortable with writing controversial opinions without others being able to examine my background and determine if I might be motivated by something other than just a desire to express my opinion.

Anyway, I’m really sad to hear about the demise of The Bylaw Blog. It was a daily read for me, and was very, very informative to me as a fan of college sports. A pity the author could not continue it, and razzies to the blogger who outed him. It is my carefully considered opinion that the person who outed him is an unethical jerk of the most loathsome quality.

Turns into a debate on the merits of beer temperature?