Posting and ethics
October 26, 2009 4:35 PM Subscribe
How do you ethically feel about posting personal stories on sites like this one?
The internet has changed a lot in terms of how we communicate, including what is ethical. I was just thinking of all the personal stories I have read and posted. I never linked it to a particular person due to the anonymity and depersonalization of these stories. Someone could have very well written about me somewhere and I wouldn't know about it, nor would I care. But what if a person indeed felt someone was writing about them? Would the poster be in the wrong for wanting advice? How would you feel if someone wrote about your relationship but it was totally anonymous?
The internet has changed a lot in terms of how we communicate, including what is ethical. I was just thinking of all the personal stories I have read and posted. I never linked it to a particular person due to the anonymity and depersonalization of these stories. Someone could have very well written about me somewhere and I wouldn't know about it, nor would I care. But what if a person indeed felt someone was writing about them? Would the poster be in the wrong for wanting advice? How would you feel if someone wrote about your relationship but it was totally anonymous?
This post was deleted for the following reason: this either needs to go to metatalk or another site entirely. it's unclear what problem you're trying to solve. -- jessamyn
If you talk about yourself well within earshot of other people (a public place), then all's fair. Same goes for the internet. Watch what you say in public spaces if you don't want people talking about it.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2009
Are you asking from the point of view of the person posting the story, or the person receiving information from a more-or-less anonymous source? This is kind of chat-filter, because your various questions make for a very broad scope of possible suitable answers.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by filthy light thief at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2009
If they felt that way, but weren't sure, it seems like it might be one of those Carly Simon 'I bet you think this song is about you' deals.
No, I don't think anyone is ever in the wrong for wanting advice.
It wouldn't bother me, though another thing that the internet has taught us is that total anonymity is a pretty high bar.
posted by box at 4:43 PM on October 26, 2009
No, I don't think anyone is ever in the wrong for wanting advice.
It wouldn't bother me, though another thing that the internet has taught us is that total anonymity is a pretty high bar.
posted by box at 4:43 PM on October 26, 2009
The privacy rules seem to depend on the relationship. I would hate it if my husband wrote about me, and vice versa. We both know it would be unethical, in the sense of breaking the rules of our marriage, to post about each other, even to get advice. There are relationships with different internal rules. In very general terms, if the person posting is not revealing any identifying information and there is no contrary agreement in the relationship with the person about whom advice is wanted, I don't see a problem.
posted by bearwife at 4:48 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by bearwife at 4:48 PM on October 26, 2009
Is this about a specific situation? If so, the more details you could provide, the better.
It seems like there's something you want to know but you're kind of dancing around it. As filthy light thief says, a specific point of view could really help us answer the question. For instance, "It's bothering me that my best friend posted this story involving me; should I confront him about it or let it slide?" That's easier to give a direct answer to than, "What if this general kind of thing happened to someone?"
If it's not about a specific situation, and you just want to open up the thread to a free-ranging discussion about ethical issues surrounding posting personal info about other people, well...
posted by Jaltcoh at 4:52 PM on October 26, 2009
It seems like there's something you want to know but you're kind of dancing around it. As filthy light thief says, a specific point of view could really help us answer the question. For instance, "It's bothering me that my best friend posted this story involving me; should I confront him about it or let it slide?" That's easier to give a direct answer to than, "What if this general kind of thing happened to someone?"
If it's not about a specific situation, and you just want to open up the thread to a free-ranging discussion about ethical issues surrounding posting personal info about other people, well...
posted by Jaltcoh at 4:52 PM on October 26, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chillmost at 4:41 PM on October 26, 2009