Elsewhere On Wired: The Luddite’s Recipe For Civility

Astute Compiler readers may have noticed there's one news item we've studiously avoided lately, namely the whole controversy about etiquette and behavior in the blogosphere.

And fear not we don't aim to weight in on the matter now either, we still chose to abstain. Rather I thought I'd point out the always entertaining Luddite's take on the subject.

For those that haven't heard Kathy Sierra a prominent blogger and tech commentary started receiving death threats and felt unsafe in her own home. The whole thing prompted industry maven Tim O'Reilly to proposed a “code of conduct” and suggest that bloggers display badges on their sites proclaiming their adherence to the code, which prompted the Luddite to respond:

Who's kidding who here?

Before you can expect a bunch of utterly spoiled, self-indulgent bloggers (i.e. the kind who indulge in their online mudslinging) to practice civility, you might try restoring a bit of it to what passes for civilization these days.

Never one to rest with a simple round of dismissal, the Luddite continues:

And in a culture where idolatry of the crass and vulgar encourages the mantra of instant gratification and me-so-important, what the hell do you expect?

…

Unfortunately, you can't just pass a bunch of rules to make incivility go away. Someone who has been getting his way since he was 2 and has grown up into a self-involved, bombastic narcissist isn't going to have a come-to-Jesus moment just because he's offended somebody's sense of etiquette. You can put earrings on a hog but it's still a hog, y'know?

Too true my friends, too true. For more of Tony's thoughts be sure to read the whole column.