Netiquette #2...

Just a small followup with what I wrote about yesterday, concerning teachers being subjected to libel on the internet... a story appeared today about this subject in the BBC News.

UK Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, has said that, "web publishers have a moral obligation to cut offensive videos of teachers being attacked, harassed or ridiculed."

Some examples of these online attacks, harassment, and ridicule that teachers have faced were outlined in the article:

• One teacher gave the example of pupils who had created a web page on which abuse, intimidation and even death threats were made about school staff.
• Another shared information about a "We Hate Mrs XXX" website created by a pupil after the teacher in question reported them for an incident.
• One teacher claimed she had received 68 malicious mobile phone calls over a three-week period in which she was threatened with rape and murder.

It's a real touchy subject yet again because many of the "bullies"--for lack of a better term--say that they are just expressing their freedom of expression when they make these websites and videos. But again... sometimes it just gets mean, and sometimes it even gets frightening and/or harmful.

The article reads, "The pupils who do this are afforded anonymity. The teachers are named, exposed to ridicule and subjected to false and malicious allegations. Teachers' self-esteem and sometimes their health is seriously affected."

If you are interested, here is the story.