Doc Searl‘s response to the Kathy Sierra death threats saga leaves me cold. As does the Tim O’Reilly/Jimmy Wales ‘badge’ of blogging idea. (Sierra, incidentally, runs a very entertaining blog.)
Still, there are two basic points:
- If people threaten violence online, it’s a police matter.
- The police can’t police online very effectively.
What the online world demonstrates is the inability of the law enforcement authorities to cross the borders routinely crossed by every Internet user.
If we want to clean up the Internet we have to think about sovereignty and jurisdiction, not blog buttons – or how to profit from your misfortune, Royal-Marine-‘stylee.’