There continues to be a steady diet of articles being released on networking etiquette and what is acceptable or not when updating social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Meanwhile, blogs and online news are starting to face the same questions that print media are dealing with regarding "free speech."
Unfortunately, many people still seem to draw the line at what is legal and not at what actions or statements are kind, helpful or courteous. The online norm still seems to be focused on getting attention - not doing the right thing.
The questions are endless, but here are a few: What is considered private or personal anymore? How do we deal with upcoming "private" events that may eventually become public, like surprise birthday parties? When does free speech become hate speech? While this may seem like a "no-brainer" to many readers, the "acceptable" line has moved so far that everyone must now be on guard online at all times.
Here are a few examples to consider: Online Hate Specch: Difficult to police ... and define. Here an interesting quote:
"An application on Facebook asks people to answer a quiz so they can see what "famous retard" they are most like. A Maryland police officer hosts a site with more than 100,000 members that tells people to 'Stop breaking the law, retard.' In July, a YouTube video hosted by 'ExecutetheGays1' provided graphic suggestions about how to kill homosexuals. The site was taken down after five days...."
Or how about a less severe case? Consider: Don't post that! -- networking etiquette emerges. "Stephanie Kahn wanted to bask in her engagement for a few hours before diving into the task of calling aunts, uncles and good friends with the big news. And even before she could call them, she had a surprise party to attend, one that her fiance had set up for their parents and her 'closest group of girlfriends.' That party was when Kahn lost control of her news...."
One more: Is Islamophobia a Worldwide Free Speech Threat?
"In Denmark, a 15-year-old Danish boy faces prison time for distributing leaflets warning that the country could someday become a Muslim nation and that he thinks that is a bad thing. A Danish prosecutor called the leaflets 'hate speech.'
Yet, across the water in Sweden, it was not hate speech when a leading national newspaper printed an article a few weeks ago claiming that Israeli soldiers harvest and sell organs from dead Palestinians. Some say that claim amounts to the anti-Semitic Jewish blood libel, that Jews commit human sacrifice on non-Jews.
The Swedish government, which defended the newspaper, said it was free speech...."
This last article hit home, since my 19-year old daughter likes to visit websites and blogs that discuss Christians witnessing to various people with other religions around the world. Some of her "innocent" statements have attracted unwanted attention from the other side of the globe.
So what are we to do? Chapter 5 of Virtual Integrity starts with this insightful statement from David Wells' book Losing Our Virtue, "We live precariously on the knife-edge between chaos and control. What was once an open space between law and freedom, one governed by character and truth, is now deserted, so law must now do what character has abandoned."
This is a very difficult online problem that is getting worse, not better. I suspect that we will be struggling with these speech questions for the rest of our lives. I discuss several online strategies in the book, but it all starts with a recognition of the problems we all face.
One tip: we must stop and think before we click. Could my online comments, blog statements or email be used against me? Could my statements be taken out of context if forwarded to others? You never really know where your "private" words will end up online, so be very careful what you say or do online. Are you surfing your values?
Or in Biblical terms: "A perverse man stirs up disssension, and a gossip separates close friends." (Proverbs 16:28).