Barbara Ganley raises the question, “But do we have a different kind of responsibility to let our students know we’re reading their blogs if they haven’t identified themselves on it nor have they openly identified us yet we know who they are and that they’re, in truth, writing about us?”

I started to comment on her blog, but then reconsidered posting a comment when I got a bit long winded, so here are my thoughts on the issue.

If they are our own students, then I think it would be wise to have a discussion whenever necessary to talk about the public nature of blogging even when blogging anonymously. That is, I don’t think I’d want to make the decision for them about what they blog, but I’d want to ask enough questions and provide enough information so they could make good decisions.

Bottom-line, I’m not sure that it’s as quick an answer as Tom suggests in Barbara’s comments, but I’m not exactly sure how much of a response is warranted. Oh, darn. I ended up at the “it depends” answer.

BG’s question also brings up a side issue that I’ve been thinking about. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that if we directly call into question the practice, ideas, or approach of someone else in our blogs, but we do not link to them, then I think such behavior can be similar to passive-aggressive behavior. I don’t think I’d go too far down this path if someone posted and questioned something and didn’t name names. Also, note, I’m not jumping to the conclusion that this is what the students in BG’s example are doing. Plus, the aspect of anyone blogging anonymously problematizes my ideas about passive-aggressive blog behavior, for the blogger couldn’t necessarily link and maintain their anonymity, especially if they were a student. Can this student behavior be compared to talking about someone behind their back? If so, would we want to nip that in the bud.

Maybe like the old phrase, “indoor voices people!” with blogs we might consider saying, “people, public voices, please!”