A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Blogger Pseudonyms and Lashon Hora

Very perceptive comment by Charlie Hall, who wrote yesterday that he will be blogging under his real name because "I figure I'm less likely to publish lashan hara if I am accountable for what I write."

I believe the most negative aspect of the Jblogosphere to be the personal attacks on others. Often these attacks are not even over significant substantive issues. As a medium, blogging is highly susceptible to lashon hora because bloggers tend to write quickly upon hearing or reading something that causes them to react strongly.

I am certainly not immune to this, though I have tried hard to improve in this regard. In the early stages of this blog, I was not careful enough about what I'd write. Over time, several people who I criticized (and presumably came across my posts mentioning them via Internet searches of their name) took me to task over what I'd written. In some instances, I felt that what I wrote was appropriate, such as where I might have disagreed with an article they had written. But at other times, I had to admit that what I'd written had crossed the line and was inappropriate.

The majority of Jbloggers are anonymous and therefore have no such accountability. I believe that such lack of accountability is part of the reason for the unnecessary nastiness that too often permeates the Jewish blogosphere.
posted on 3/02/2006