Bloggers Urge More Civility

Prominent techies are calling for a code of conduct for the Web 2.0 blogosphere.  The group, which includes Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, urges that bloggers  purge their sites of anonymous comments and delete libelous or menacing ones. “If it’s a carefully constructed set of principles, it could carry a lot of weight even if not everyone agrees,” Wales said.

The movement to counter the explosion of venom on the web faces opposition from those who consider it the first step down the slippery slope to limiting free speech. Tim O'Reilly, a leading proponent of cleaning up online content, counters: "Free speech is enhanced by civility." (More Web 2.0 stories.)