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January 10, 2014

“You own your own words.” Stewart Brand

Brand’s credo, which popped up on the opening screen, was “You own your own words.” In other words, you were accountable and responsible for what you posted.
That policy produced a more civilized discourse than exists now on most online sites. As Plato taught in his story about the Ring of Gyges that makes its wearer invisible, people may succumb to evil when they think they cannot be held responsible. It was a lesson that Scout, the young narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, learned when the lynch mob arrived at the jail; when she recognized the ringleader and called him by name, the mob backed down. Jimmy Soni, the managing editor of the Huffington Post, cited that anecdote when it decided in 2013 to resurrect the model of The WELL and eliminate anonymity in its comment boards. The Birth of Online — Medium

Posted by gerardvanderleun at January 10, 2014 9:11 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

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