One of the attendees — Alexandra Davis — at the book reading I did last night posted a thoughtful blog entry on it. Although Alexandra liked the event overall, my answer to the question she asked disappointed her, and I can see why. She writes:

I asked what one could do if she say, received a rape threat in a chatroom or someone somehow obtained her personal information, and posted her phone number and address on the web. I expressed my frustration over the strong possibility that people who would do things like that, hack, threaten people, and invade privacy, were most likely complete losers in person, but because they had this one skill, a skill I’m probably smart enough to learn had I the means, I had to be afraid of them. I then asked if he had covered accountability for one’s actions online at all in his book. Though he said that the dark side of the internet and accountability for one’s actions online were important topics, he hadn’t gone into them in his book. Perhaps they’re supposed to be implicit in his assertions about the humanity of the internet, but I was still disappointed and became skeptical…

Alexandra’s recounting is accurate and fair. But her question is one of many important ones for which I have and will have no answer worth listening to. Accountability is a hugely important issue, and a really tough one that involves everything from psychology to philosophy to digital IDs. Sorry, Alexandra. I wish I did have an answer.

FWIW, I don’t go into the dark side of the Net in Small Pieces because it is a partisan book — there are enough nay-sayers — that tries to get at the roots of the (positive) excitement about the Web. There are lots of things worth discussing that aren’t in the book.

Alexandra’s weblog overall is one of the frankest I’ve seen, and also one of the most reflective. Strong stuff.

Categories: Uncategorized dw