Speaking Of The Internet…
My weekly post at the Midnight Hour is up. It’s an open letter to the gods of Internet connectivity.
No, really. They were messing with my router. It wasn’t gremlins, it was THEM DANG OL’ INTERNET GODS. I don’t know why people laugh when I refer to the capricious immortals who rule Internet connections.
Speaking of the Internet, here’s something I think every author (or just plain anyone) should think seriously about before interacting online, whether it be through a blog, email, a loop, or what-have-you.
THE INTERNET IS PUBLIC. Engrave that on your brain, chickadees. It is not private in any sense of the word.
What brought this on? Oh, the recent kerfluffle over at Smart Bitches about Triskelion Publishing.
Here’s the deal.
1. Smart Bitches get a tip and a forwarded email. The tip is about Triskelion Publishing’s problems. The forwarded email is from a loop of over 200 Triskelion authors and editors, and contains, among other things, TMI about the personal life of the new head of the publishing house.
2. Enter an explosion of comments about how they shouldn’t have posted it.
3. Smart Bitches respond. (You can also find responses to the situation over at Dear Author, from the RWA, Triskelion authors, and the new head of Triskelion.)
4. Enter even more explosions of comments, with some people pointing the finger at SBs as Big Ol’ Meanies Who Spread Personal Information.
My friends, I call bullshit.
You cannot be on an email loop with over two hundred people and think you’re going to get privacy. Emails, loops, and blogs are not automatically private or privileged communications. I hate to break it to everyone, but neither are letters. If you write it down, it’s proof. Don’t believe me? Ask Scooter Libby or Karl Rove.
Now, an email between me and my agent, or my agent and my publisher, can have some expectation of confidentiality because of business. An email between me and the Selkie, for example, containing explosive personal stuff, has some expectation of confidentiality because the Selkie is my friend, and I presumably wouldn’t send her some personal information unless I trusted her.
But sending TMI to over two hundred people on what is supposed to be a professional loop dealing with authors and editors of your publishing house? Nobody in their right mind can seriously expect that not to be public. It is at the very best unprofessional behavior that should make any author think twice about signing with this house.
Now, the majority of the email contained information that made it clear why Triskelion was disinvited from a RWA convention, and further made it clear why the business practices over at the publishing house are so hopelessly messed-up some authors are jumping ship and regretting signing with the company. (Disclaimer: some authors are perfectly happy, too.) That’s not the issue I’m addressing here.
A lot of people have trumpeted that they think it was “unethical” for the SBs to post the letter in its entirety, that it was leaked and obviously confidential since it contained TMI about the sender’s personal life. It was certainly leaked–but sending an email containing ANY explosive personal information to over 200 people, most of whom you are only professionally connected with, is dangerous at best and outright stupid at worst. Email loops are not confidential. They are for sharing information. Once you hit that “send” or “post” button, your expectations of privacy have drastically lessened.
The fault, if there can be said to be any, in this situation rests solely and squarely with the person who had the bad judgment to commit such damaging personal information to a public loop tangled up with information that illustrated exactly why the publishing house is suffering business-wise.
What on earth could this person have expected? To trumpet after the fact that it was “personal” and someone wasn’t “ethical” by spreading it around is hogwash. It is hard but true, my ducks, that once you hit that send button you have lost a great deal of control over whatever information you send. If that risk is acceptable to you, then by all means go ahead. If not, don’t frocking hit that button.
This goes for blogs, too. Even if you have privacy settings on your blog, the post and the information is on a server somewhere. It is no longer under your personal control. If that risk is acceptable to you, fine. If it isn’t, don’t bloody well put the information in a blog post!
Ethics don’t come into this. Sarah of SB politely eventually edited some of the more inflammatory personal information out of the email that was leaked to her, but she didn’t have to. It was courtesy, plain and simple, to her readers by that point. She was under no ethical obligation to do so. The obligation rested with the person who let that information out inappropriately in the first place–on a LOOP. With OVER 200 PEOPLE. Most of whom were only PROFESSIONALLY, not PERSONALLY connected with the sender.
It just boggles me that people “blame” the leaker or the Smart Bitches for what is so patently someone misusing the Internet’s information-sharing capabilities out of sheer stupidity and unprofessionalism. Now, I’ve shared personal things in my weblog, but I’ve thought long and hard over doing so and I am responsible for whatever information I share. And when I send an email I think twice before I hit that button. When I send a letter I think twice before I drop it in the mail. If I make an incorrect judgment as to the trustworthiness of someone I send personal, emotional information to, I can expect flak.
If my publisher or my agent should ever leak business information that impacts my sales, that’s a whole different kettle of fish, and it’s not applicable here. This is about someone being stupid and pressing the send button. What gets lost in the shuffle is the fact that the SBs provided a useful valid service for any author thinking of trusting their work to Triskelion. I wouldn’t want to be professionally involved with someone who can’t get the fact that the Internet is public through their noggin. The shocking lack of common sense on behalf of the person who sent the email isn’t the SB’s problem OR their bad.
And that’s the bottom line.
Feel free to disagree, but that’s my take on the whole thing. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Friday.
*thinks twice, and hits “post”*
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