The Proposal.
First of all, I would like to thank 小芳, Eve, Jinz, arifabdull, Kay Pee Wong, Bob K, Ela and Youzi for showing your support in the previous post.
Following the call with SUARAM ED Yap Swee Seng, who has in principle agreed with the idea, and meetings with fellow bloggers Elizabeth Wong, Sam, KK and Gan; here’s the proposal:
Assumptions
There are basically 4 types of bloggers (those who close their comment box do not count):
- Type A: Those who moderates ALL comments.
- TYPE B: Those who allows ONLY APPROVED commentors to leave a comment but still moderates the content.
- TYPB C: Those who allows ONLY APPROVED commentors to leave a comment.
- TYBE D: Those who ALLOWS ALL comments to be published with no editing.
These 4 types of bloggers obviously needs different levels of protection and thus different set of notices.
-
TYPE A
The blogger informs it’s readers that all comments are moderated and the blogger reserves the rights to delete, edit or alter the content without prior notice, in other words, the commentor surrenders his rights to the blogger and allow the blogger to do anything he wants with the content of the comment.
In this case, the blogger will take full responsibility of all contents published on his blog. This is because the blogger publishes all contents of his blog with full knowledge and control over what gets released to the public.
TYPE B
The blogger needs a low-level protection, since he may not be able to “catch” offending comments if the commentor is a regular. Still, the blogger reserves the rights to delete, edit or alter the presentation of the comment without prior notice to the commentor.
TYPE C
The blogger needs a mid-level protection, as the blogger does not moderate any content of the comment but allows only “approved” commentors to leave their comments. The disclaimer should cover the areas of the commentor undertakes all responsibility and indemnifies the blogger from all liabilities should the comment he leaves proves to be incriminating.
TYPE D
The blogger needs a high-level protection, as the blogger does not moderate nor delete or edit the language of the comments posted on the blog.
Since online blogging is a form of publishing, I propose we “borrow” publishing agreements and adapt it for our use.
How It Works
The workflow I propose is as follows:
- Step 1: The blogger enters a site hosted by SUARAM.
Step 2: The blogger signs up and provides some details about the blog.
Step 3: The blogger indicates what kind of blog is he maintaining, whether Type A, B, C or D.
Step 4: The blogger will be presented the full set of the Disclaimer Statement and agrees to the statement (there will be “agree” and “disagree” buttons on this page).
Step 5: The blogger will be given a html code to copy and paste onto his blog.
Step 6: Ends, the is no Step 6.
The html code (which shows an icon) will link to the full statement and serve as a reminder to the commentor that they shall abide to the rules stipulated in the statement when they leave a comment on the blog.
However, it is important that the blogger ensures that commentors provide real email addresses and/or URl before the comment gets approved and published. As this was exactly what Nat was used against in his arrest.
Finally
I will try to speak to media lawyers who were present at The SEA Media Legal Defense Program, an event I was honoured to attend, and seek their advise on this issue.
note: the above is non gender specific, where “he” may be “she”, and “him” may be “her” where applicable.
Name:
Aside from being a type A blogger, your proposal will be a big help in adding security for the bloggers. I agree. Ensuring the commentor’s email and URL are real is really important. After what happened, we should all be extra extra cautious.
read. support. action.
I think this is the best way to protect blogger.Thanks Jerry…
thanks for the effort!!
One of the reasons why the internet still remains an arena where people tend to speak more freely is due to the relative anonymity that the internet provides. I think it is important to still retain this aspect despite the need to protect the rights of bloggers as well.
I would subscribe to a legally binding disclaimer but not one that would insist that all my commentors identify themselves inequivocally first.
I say Jerry! What a splendid idea!
we need open discussions so we can do something meaningful. do pitch in ideas, and we’ll see how to do this.
Ela: if this thing takes off, we welcome everyone around the region to pitch in ideas and effort. for that, i’ll thank you in advance.
Shuf: thanks. we’ll see how we can build a relatively safe compound for ourselves.
J : Hehe .. I’m in good shape. Nothing to do with unlocked doors either. This is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. If identification is required, we might get more self-censorship. If it remains optional, we might get agent-provocateurs (a very real threat in the Malaysian blogosphere).
You’re right in saying that this is still a voluntary initiative but perhaps we can examine the various aspects and implications; including possible alternative solutions; rather than risk an overkill.
不错的idea，可以达到一定程度的保护，但是到最后还是跑回老套子：被政治捆绑，就像国内华教的窘境一般，本来不是敏感话题，都无端端的被标签为敏感项目了。。。如果他们真的要有所动作，身为小市民的我们，有办法吗？看513事件的处理手法就知道了。
我同意Bob K的说法，网络本来就是自由空间，里面的所有资讯都是虚拟的；用户自己需要自己去Justify对错。
部落客需要对自己写的负责，这点我完全同意。但如果由部落客去为他人贴上的讯息负责，这不就如同把这唯一的自由空间加上枷锁？为了免除麻烦，我想我也可能会改成第五类部落格。。。
Anyway，关注中，也感谢有关人士的一切动作。
hi jerry, how nice of you and all involved in this. i am type “D” and therefore needs the most protection!
Susan, please spread the words, far and wide.
we need to do a little bit of rukun tertanga to protect ourselves, don’t you think?