An SF/F author with something sensible to say

[sunnyskywalker]

Justine Larbalestier brings some common sense to the table in her post Online versus Offline behavior. To sum up, if you act like a jerk "only" online, you are acting like a jerk. There is no magic internet shield that makes things you say online not count just because they're zapped through the ether instead of through vibrating air molecules.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

I know! I mean, okay, a lot of it is spontaneous conversation which isn't super-considered... but so is spoken conversation, and you don't hear, "Oh, he's a great guy in email - ignore what he says." If there's a pattern of insulting speech in whatever medium, there's a problem.

[sodzilla.livejournal.com]

In some twisted way I actually have more respect for people who are assholes both in RL and on the net. At least they're consistent, and don't need a screen to hide behind in order to say hurtful things.