Kathy Sierra and her awful experience has been on my mind again lately, after learning that a dear friend has been cruelly and anonymously (what cowardice) harassed via cyberspace.

So when I opened my most recent addition of ACResolution, a magazine for dispute resolution professionals like me, I was encouraged to see that a new website is now gathering voluntary commitments from web denizens who care about respectful and fair treatment of our fellow humans.

RespectPledge.org, a creation of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution at UMass-Amherst, features a new resolution adopted unanimously at the 5th International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution in Liverpool, England:

“While information and communications technologies (ICT) enable unprecedented interactions between individuals around the world, they also introduce some dynamics that can degrade dialogue.

ICT enables people to communicate immediately and anonymously, often without moderation, and in some circumstances this encourages behavior (such as threats or insults) that most individuals would never engage in face-to-face.

This behavior may make people feel unwelcome, disrespected, or harassed in their online interactions. Ultimately, individuals may be dissuaded by these dynamics from participating, which undermines the vibrancy of our global conversation.

As a result, we encourage individuals to:

• communicate online with respect
• listen carefully to others in order to understand their perspectives
• take responsibility for their words and actions
• keep criticism constructive
• respect diversity and be tolerant of differences

We embrace full and open communication and recognize the unique opportunity for expression in the online environment. We support freedom of speech and reject censorship. These principles are not intended to address what ideas can be expressed, but rather the tone with which communications take place.”

I’ve taken the pledge and have adopted a badge for my site. Please visit RespectPledge yourself and help get the word out to fellow bloggers and other web denizens. We can’t prevent others’ bad behavior, but we can stand up and unify our voices to let those people know that’s not the world we’re trying to create.

Copyright © 2007 by Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved.