The Golden Rule of the Internet

I’ve been getting a lot of messages. And emails, and comments, and notifications, and Tweets, and smoke signals — okay, not smoke signals. Most of it has been supportive, or at least constructive, or thoughtful. Some of it has been slanderous and hateful. I’ve received the latter from what seem to be “both sides” of this story. This is unfortunate on so many levels. For one, there shouldn’t be “sides” to this story. This isn’t a competition. I’ve been asked by many people to be a judge, or referee. I will not. Many of the communications I’ve received are from people saying they are also being attacked. This needs to stop. Defend your point of view, but not at the expense of others. I apologize now if I have offended anyone in my own discussions. As I’ve said before, this needs to be a compassionate, honest examination of a deep, painful subject. It is very easy to sit at our keyboards, create a snappy judgment, and hit “send.”

Instead, think about the Golden Rule of the Internet: Do not say something about someone online that you wouldn’t say to their face.