I suppose the Blogosphere is the next step forward from the newsgroups. It is a more sophisticated
forum, more able to function as an actual "medium" and attract an audience.

As on the newsgroups, however, there is flaming. Immature people, given a forum, will always try to
enforce their presence by trying to be shocking.They normally gather some or other group of similarly
frustrated people around them, and think themselves successful, while the rest of us go about our business.

And, you know what? That's okay!

People we don't like need love, too!

If one guy wants to charge to let people post on his blog, and there are people who want to pay him,
why not? It's his blog, and their money! Personally, I think it's a waste of money, but I have a solution for that:
I don't read his blog. I'm not part of his universe.

If someone else thinks the fellow is violating the "Information Is Free" ethic of the Net and wants to
take the pay-to-post blogster to task, why not? All he's doing is upholding one of the basic principles
of netizenship! If he becomes infantile and offensive, I have a solution for that: I don't read him!

Blog-flaming will sort itself out the same way newsgroup-flaming did. Sooner or later everybody gets sick of it
and helps the flamers grow up. Either they take the advice and guidance, or they find themselves bounced, and
shunted off to their own little corner of newsgroupland.

Same thing with the Blogs. The blog-version of "bouncing" a blog-flamer is to simply not visit there.

When I begin to work to shut people up, however, I'm going beyond my desire to not listen to them.
I'm then in the business of trying to impose my will on the whole rest of the world.

At that point, I become a much greater menace than the thing I'm trying to stop.

Does that mean I should not suggest that the whole world would be better off thinking as I do? Does that
mean I should be timid in presenting my pointr of view, and inviting others to share it? Certainly not!

But even if I have no respect at all for my opponent's opinion, I need to respect his right to
state it. If I seek to shut him up, I am giving him permission to try to shut me up. Then we have
moved out of the marketplace of ideas, entirely, into someplace different: a place civilization has
spent a lot of time trying to move out of.

Got a case? Make it! On a level playing field, if it's any good, you'll win!

If we start trying to bulldoze the playing field in one direction or another, however, all we've done is give
the other guy permission to find his own bulldozer.

A few mornings later, we will wake up and look in the mirror, and see the thing we were trying to prevent.

Cyberblessings--

Fr. Jim <><