Yeah it's kind of a different topic, I probably shouldn't have been extemporanializing (sp?) at the end of my comment and kept it more focused.
I agree with that about anonymity. People will be more tempered in what they say. Only today there is a story that a blog (http://natalieshandbasket.blogspot.com/) I had been following by a teacher was "outted". The teacher was suspended and is going to be fired because she told the truth about her students, who she didn't name. (http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/28/2011...) The students have since commented that although everything she said was true, she shouldn't have been allowed to say it and they want her to be fired as punishment, and that looks like it will happen. The blog was extremely useful because it showed what is really going on in schools. She had thought only her friends knew about it though and that obviously wasn't true since I had no idea who she really was until today, but I knew about her secret blog since it had been linked to from some site previously, and then I bookmarked and followed it. No doubt a lot of other people did this as well. Her mistake was to even let her friends know who she was because one of them outted her. Also she had a small thumbnail of herself sitting in the distance, which may have confirmed to someone who she was.
Without this anonymity, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that she would not have been able to say the things she did. We can see exactly what happened as soon as her identity was known.
A persona such as an anonymous blog can have as much credibility as someone whose birth certificate you have seen and held. The key is that it's an established and consistent persona with a personality. So some are sincere and promote free speech and honesty, others are manipulative lies paid for by governments and corporations. Which is which you can tell (I sure hope) by looking at their history of posting. One may post unpopular ideas and be worth listening to and you know they are real because there is a human je ne sais quois (sp?) that identifies them as real, something that is not present in 50 cent army posts.
There has never been a guarantee of no repercussions from utilizing free speech, anon or not. Many pay a high price for speaking their mind. And not just from government. The first front that keeps people in line is their peers, community, and jobs. Its sad, but that's how things have always been, China and U.S.
The fact that free speech has always carried risks doesn't mean that it always should.
By reducing the risks and increasing anonymity, people will be able to say things that would've been too risky before. In some cases that's a bad thing, but in general I expect it to be beneficial to democracy and society.
IMO what is wrong was that the student was able to fire a teacher for complaining against the student when the teacher is the boss. Yes of course some students will try, but it should not be allowed to actually happen.
What I find the weirdest is that schools can strip search students without a warrant or consulting the parents (if I remember the SC decision correctly), but will give in to pressure like this. I'd rather have the reverse be true.
Wait, but they weren't identified, right? (I don't know of the blog, so I'm just going on what bugsy says above.) How should they have the right to fire her?
Oh, well, sure, then by definition they have the right to fire her for wearing the wrong color shirt or something - and I'm not sure how that answers the question of how they're justified in firing her for exposing ... nothing at all about her students.
Now imagine it - students all knowing that it doesn't freaking matter that they don't amount to squat; they'll never have to face it.
But my point is a lot weaker than I thought it was - I had the impression (not having read the freaking original blog) that her blog was also anonymous. If it was plain who she was and where she taught, then yeah, that's a serious problem that requires disciplinary action.
I agree with that about anonymity. People will be more tempered in what they say. Only today there is a story that a blog (http://natalieshandbasket.blogspot.com/) I had been following by a teacher was "outted". The teacher was suspended and is going to be fired because she told the truth about her students, who she didn't name. (http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/28/2011...) The students have since commented that although everything she said was true, she shouldn't have been allowed to say it and they want her to be fired as punishment, and that looks like it will happen. The blog was extremely useful because it showed what is really going on in schools. She had thought only her friends knew about it though and that obviously wasn't true since I had no idea who she really was until today, but I knew about her secret blog since it had been linked to from some site previously, and then I bookmarked and followed it. No doubt a lot of other people did this as well. Her mistake was to even let her friends know who she was because one of them outted her. Also she had a small thumbnail of herself sitting in the distance, which may have confirmed to someone who she was.
Without this anonymity, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that she would not have been able to say the things she did. We can see exactly what happened as soon as her identity was known.
A persona such as an anonymous blog can have as much credibility as someone whose birth certificate you have seen and held. The key is that it's an established and consistent persona with a personality. So some are sincere and promote free speech and honesty, others are manipulative lies paid for by governments and corporations. Which is which you can tell (I sure hope) by looking at their history of posting. One may post unpopular ideas and be worth listening to and you know they are real because there is a human je ne sais quois (sp?) that identifies them as real, something that is not present in 50 cent army posts.