Tuesday 28 March, 2006

Sacked Blogworld

This column has been given the boot which I think is a shame - and not just because I need the money. This is the last one that will be published in the Age. I'll also put up one that I wrote but won't be run:

Since blogging began to really take off, way back in 1999, the right of bloggers writing under pseudonyms to maintain their anonymity has been widely debated. Some argue that it's a cop out, while others say that it is the only way people can state their views without fear of persecution - such as being 'dooced'. That term, meaning to lose your job as a result of something you write in an online journal, entered the language in 2002 when blogger Heather Armstrong was sacked after her employers read her blog. 'I started this website in February 2001. A year later I was fired from my job for this website because I had written stories that included people in my workplace. My advice to you is BE YE NOT SO STUPID.' This week Andrew Bolt used his online forum to out Anonymous Lefty, author of Boltwatch a website which reacts to and critiques Bolt's columns. Bolt says that once identified, Anonymous Lefty, 'hurriedly cleaned up the site, removing the more obviously defamatory postings.' Tim Blair's take is that, 'Most anonybloggers--well, the ones I like--write much as they would if their names were known. Which isn't a bad general rule, considering the likelihood of exposure.' Anonymous Lefty who states on the Boltwatch homepage that his anonymity is justified because he, 'seeks to respond to Andrew Bolt's published writings, not the man himself,' retaliates: 'What postings are you talking about, Andrew? I don't recall "cleaning up the site" or "deleting" any of them. . . This bullying campaign you've embarked upon against me (not everyone's career is based on their political views; thanks for trying to damage mine) has certainly revealed you to be, well, a lesser person than I'd previously thought.'

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