I think as people we should always try to be as honest as possible. And while there is nothing wrong with a fictional story, to illustrate a point or just entertain, it should be stated as such to prevent confusion. I think it's not so much about blogging as about anything, lying is bad...

The way I look at it is as follows:

1) Given an audience, people will say whatever is on their mind
2) Most thoughts and daily occurances people have are boring as hell
3) People want their stories to be interesting and engaging... they want responses and feedback

Combine the three, and you have a perfect recepie for fiction. Now, remember that most fiction is also based somewhat in truth. Most people start out intending to just recite how their day went, but as they write it out, they on some level realize how boring it is. Once they realize that, they start to edit, to add, to modify events and facts to better fall in line with whatever exciting climax they really wish had happened.

In the end, blogging isn't journalism (no matter what people like to think), it's not academic work, it's not a piece of business writing. People blog largely to entertain themselves and have people read what they write. It is a form of self expression that wants an audience. It's all about attention gathered. It's always best to view blogs as such. If you put too much weight in what someone write in an article, you're setting yourself up for trouble down the line. (see: recent bouts of drama on JU)

A blog is someone's personal stage. They can lecture, they can rant, they can rave, they can bare their souls... whatever. There are no rules on posting, no real ethics to speak of. The writer is free to use whatever methods they like to make whatever point they wish. The trick is to filter out the bloggers who do not blog according to your desired rules, and simply not read the articles.

I assume that all threads (especially the political ones) are ficion...unless I reall know the writer through previous blogs. Much of what we see is nothing more than attention seeking drama... I wont give examples because that always lead to denials and rants...
BUT... it's hard to take anyone (or most) really serious as a result of the others.

while there is nothing wrong with a fictional story, to illustrate a point or just entertain, it should be stated as such to prevent confusion. I think it's not so much about blogging as about anything, lying is bad...

Exactly.  The articles I was thinking of when i wrote this included things that were so outrageous that it was blatantly obvious they were untrue, yet the author's said nothing about them being fictional; rather they gave the impression that they were actual events, not a story based on actual events.

In the end, blogging isn't journalism (no matter what people like to think), it's not academic work, it's not a piece of business writing.

Technically it's not, no.  But, given the recent Dan Rather and CBS memo incident, it's getting harder and harder to deny the impact that blogging can have.  Also, when you consider that this site is syndicated to one of the most popular search engines on the internet....I just don't think it advisable to tell lies and try to pass them off as fact, especially when you're making allegations about particular individuals and government agencies - allegations that, with a little research, can be proven to be untrue.  I don't know that the TOS says about such things, I'd have to go look it up...

Much of what we see is nothing more than attention seeking drama... I wont give examples because that always lead to denials and rants...

Ahhh...you get it.  That makes me happy...!

I'm new to blogging, and have made errors for sure, I wouldn't write fiction and label it as factual though!
I do leave out names, as I believe that to use names would be an invasion of privacy.
I don't use profanity, and can't abide material that's obscene. Perhaps what's obscene is in the eye of the reader.......
I don't try to force my beliefs onto others, and am not up for debating issues. Just a personal choice.
Trudy

Technically it's not, no. But, given the recent Dan Rather and CBS memo incident, it's getting harder and harder to deny the impact that blogging can have. Also, when you consider that this site is syndicated to one of the most popular search engines on the internet....I just don't think it advisable to tell lies and try to pass them off as fact, especially when you're making allegations about particular individuals and government agencies - allegations that, with a little research, can be proven to be untrue. I don't know that the TOS says about such things, I'd have to go look it up...

While blogging got a lot of attention in this election, just because a few sites caught some of the spotlight, doesn't mean the rest of us have to change our tune. True blogging is becoming a victim of its own popularity, but I for one plan to hold out as long as possible. Your blog is your personal soapbox. Short of violating laws or site terms of service, you should be completely free to write whatever and however you like. The people who lie frequently will eventually be exposed and they'll lose their readership completely anyway. It's a self-correcting system for the most part.

I honestly think it has less to do with ethics and more to do with common sense. People who pause to think about what they're writing will tend to avoid some of the more extreme fabrications.

As a side note... there are certain users here that I love reading because of their complete off-the-wall rants and "facts" There are times where the lunatic ramblings are far more entertaining and worth reading than the well thought-out, properly referenced and punctuated articles

There are times where the lunatic ramblings are far more entertaining and worth reading than the well thought-out, properly referenced and punctuated articles

Actually it's one such article that inspired this.  The story behind it is so...delusional it's almost comical!

Great job, dharma! It's great having a sleuth to expose the lies on this site and help maintain its integrity!

I want to know what you think, JU.  Is it ethically okay to make up a story and not label it as such?  Is it okay to write fiction and tell everyone that it's fact?  Given that this site is syndicated and is easily accessible to the public, is it ethical to make up events and publish them as the 'truth'?

It depends on the intent. If it's to garner sympathy or support a real belief, than no. If it's just for entertainment purposes, then I see nothing wrong with making a story up, even if it isn't obviously fictional.

Personally, I am an honest person and I expect the same from others. To post lies as fact is wrong, even if it for "entertainment value".

Lying is just wrong period. The lying is one of the reasons why I don't read the political threads at all. However, people will want to believe what they want, regardless if it's proven been untrue. They don't want holes poked in their belief system because they believe in it so firmly.

For my articles, I try to find credible sources when attributing quotes and look to see if it's been reported on the wires to confirm it. Instead making up a story, what I will do is make a series of what if questions to get my point if it's serious issue. I like questions because at least it will maybe get people to think differently,. But that's just me

Blogs bring privacy and libel issues to mind. If I do talk about someone in my blog, I keep it vague and don't name the person at all. I would hate to google myself and find someone who wrote "(Dusk411's real name) is a stupid, ugly person who did this and this to me." It would a) creep me out, 2) make me curious as to wrote it, and 3) send an e-mail to that person asking them to take my name out of the article.

If a person is a writing a story for fictional purposes and not trying to pass it as something which really happened. That's fine. Personally, I would love to see more writers interested in short fiction write blogs.

Great blog, Dharma!

While blogging isn't journalism, there is a fine line between satire and deception. I can think of some good examples of satire on joeuser, but while many here would be inclined to disagree, I will let sleeping dogs lie. I have, however, seen some deceptions that have had no other end than to manipulate and hurt others, and when the person was caught, they passed it off as satire or fiction. That is, in my not so humble opinion, poor form.

Ethics? What are ethics?

muahahahahaahahahahahahahaahhaahaha

It depends on the intent. If it's to garner sympathy or support a real belief, than no.

And ther articles I had in mind when I wrote this were doing just that, garnering sympathy with what I honestly believe are manipulations of the truth and outright fabrications.

If a person is a writing a story for fictional purposes and not trying to pass it as something which really happened. That's fine.

Yes, absolutely, that's fine.  It it's a fable-esque type of article, I have no issue with that.  It's the people who fabricate scenarios in order to draw attention to their cause that really piss me off. 

 

While blogging isn't journalism, there is a fine line between satire and deception

Yes, there is.  Satire is fine, it's a form of humor...but deception?  That's wrong.

I wrote an article a while ago entitled 'My BS-O-Meter is going off'..there have been a few articles of late that have set my meter twitching, and one that sent it off the scale.  I have, for the most part, left them alone, but there was one that I just couldn't ignore.  Now, should the author be able to provide me with some evidence that I can research for myself and verify that what was said was in fact the truth, I'll be more than happy to apologize for doubting them.

Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen.

I knida treat blogging HERE as a very slow moving chatroom, with.. different sides, with a political bent.

My point wasn't to say that it's OK to post lies as facts, my point was that this is someone's personal space much the same as your blog is your personal space. I've seen posts like this take many forms here, on livejournal and other blog sites. I don't like attempts to establish rules on how people should blog. I know no one here is saying there are XYZ rules for posting, but the feeling is there nonetheless. You're all saying that everyone who posts should conform to standard rules of journalistic ethics.

The problem with satire vs deception is that it's so hard to define. Very good satire is hard to separate from deception (see Peter Jackson's mockumentary on the birth of man powered flight). If you write the satire well, it will fool a LOT of people. Who's to define the line there? It's like sarcasm, it's very hard to pick up on at times unless you know the person. Is it malicious or is it for fun? It gets even harder online because all you have to go by is text on a screen... no inflection or anything. How you read it is colored by your attitude and existing knowledge.

I think the problem is self-balancing. Those that post lies as truth will be caught in it. Not many people here survive making unfounded claims against other users unless they're based in fact and have evidence to back it up Those that post complete and utter crap are filtered out by the community at large (like the spam bloggers for example... we just learned to ignore them completely).

What it comes down to is anyone has every right to write whatever they want here (within the boundaries of the law of course). Ethics don't enter into it. Those who feel it does need to step back and reevaluate just how seriously they're taking this whole activity.