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Brainstorm: What Should Guide Online Ethics for the Community and the Corporation?

April 24, 2008 by Kami Huyse

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On June 13, I have been asked to lead a discussion at Blog Potomac in the D.C. area about ethics in an online world.  I wanted to start the discussion early and test some questions that I hope to put to the Blog Potomac crowd.  I started with this question on Twitter, a microblogging platform that allows people to quickly brainstorm with their first impressions:

  • Kami Huyse kamichat What are the ethics of an anything goes Internet world? How far is too far in your opinion?

I asked the question because we find ourselves, for better or worse, in an age where anyone can shape the medium (the Internet) to serve their purpose- altruistic, commercial or nefarious.

The answers were far ranging and very thoughtful, but it became clear to me that ethics are very much based on a person's view of the world.  I have edited and rearranged these a bit so that you can more easily follow what I learned.  I broke this down into the main ideas that emerged:

  • Expect the worst,
  • Cyberstalking goes to far,
  • Child porn goes too far,
  • Personal responsibility,
  • People are inherently good,
  • Community self polices,
  • Anything goes undermines trust,
  • Moderation and balance will prevail.

After you read the dialogue, please take a minute to answer what you think should guide online ethics from a corporate point of view.

Expect the Worst

Bryce Moore abiteofsanity @kamichat I've come to expect the worst in ethics and deal with being pleasantly surprised when I am (rarely) proven wrong.

 

Cyberstalking Goes too Far

Beth Kanter
kanter @kamichat – that's a deep deep question ..

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @kanter So let's take this 140 character experiment beyond the surface

Beth Kanter
kanter @kamichat in response to your original question – stalking. http://tinyurl.com/32f4ft

Child Porn Goes Too Far

Chris Condayan csuspect @kamichat Child pornography

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @csupect So everything short of child porn is OK?

Chris Condayan csuspect @kamichat I would say yes, for many reasons, more than I can type in 140 Char. It's true freedom.

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @csuspect But doesn't that lack of boundary lead to anarchy?

Personal Responsibility

Chris Condayan csuspect @kamichat With freedom comes responsibilities. It's your reputation on the line.

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @csuspect What if you are popular because you are unethical, it's funny, etc?

Chris Condayan csuspect @kamichat "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" – Ben Franklin

People are Inherently Good

Chris Condayancsuspect @kamichat That's small picture stuff. If I didn't believe that man's heart is good, I don't think we would be here today.

Community Self Polices

 Rob La Gesse kr8tr @kamichat lines are ultimately drawn by the specific community. Otherwise it dies. Many examples of that (newsgroups)

Anything Goes Undermines Trust

Albert Maruggi AlbertMaruggi @kamichat ok that's a wide open question but anything goes Internet undermines trust, when that goes, so does relationships

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @albertmaruggi So true, but the truth is these are all open channels and often trust can be an illusion

Moderation and Balance Will Prevail

Michael E. Rubinmerubin @kamichat The true illusion is that there is no line and no ethics. How incredibly short-sighted! People forget that there are others on the other side of the screen. "Kamichat" is a real person. "Merubin" is a real person. W/o ethics, we're done for and screwed.

  • Kami Huyse kamichat @merubin But don't you think that the freedom of social channels can lead to disinhibition?

Michael E. Rubin
merubin @kamichat Of course it does. First taste of freedom, people go HOOWAH! Inhibitions go buh-bye. But eventually, we get moderation. Balance.

Filed Under: Online Ethics, Social Networks

About Kami Huyse

Kami Watson Huyse, CEO of Zoetica, is passionate about great communication. Working in Public Relations since 1994, and blogging since 2005, she has seen trends come and go, but one thing has stayed the same – people are looking for ways to authentically connect. She loves to connect with readers, so leave a comment or follow @kamichat on Twitter and connect there.

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