Honesty and Blogging

A number of people have remarked at how open I am on my blog. I decided very early that if I was to do this, there was no room for reservation or privacy. I did not want to hold back. My natural instinct is for honesty, and I tend to be uncomfortable with deception.

This poses something of a dilemma. I do not live in a vacuum. Honesty, by its very nature, is like plutonium. It can be almost impossible to shield others from the fallout.

Most of the time, this is a non-issue. Usually, the third-party role is sufficiently peripheral to facilitate clear-conscience writing. But, just like judging moral character, it is that 1 in 20 time that provides the most insight.

Often, I can circumvent the problem through my practice of changing names to protect the innocent. Thus, while people who know me can probably guess the identities, an element of privacy is maintained.

Secondly, if I believe the person would not appreciate the cameo in any shape or form, I will not blog about it. This almost always come down to a judgement call from me.

So far, this policy has been successful, with one notable exception. The problem was immediately remedied, and I intend to not repeat the mistake.