Here... last week we at Strumpette got into a little dispute with Mike. Mike had previously posted a link about Strumpette that ended up very high in Google's ranking, which, in Mike's words, had "some ugly tags" associated. It was borderline pornographic. It was a juvenile prank that went bad and ultimate resulted in harm. Oh, well, seemed like a fun idea at the time.

Anyway, we called him on it. We called Voce on it. And in short order, our disputed escalated out of control. We were soon at Def Con 4. The warheads were armed. Lawyers were appraised and ready. We were but a hair breath away from the launch sequence.

How'd that happen? It was a combination of things. First, there was perhaps some naivete and subsequent misinterpretation of law. That was followed by a little testosterone in defense of presumed rights. That was then thoroughly complicated by a challenge to authority. In the words of Richard Cline, president of Voce, "Let's dance." And who could fault him for wanting to dance with a fetching strumpette. And in the presence of pretty, who could blame him for temporarily forgetting Crisis Communications 101: admit the mistake, take responsibility, correct the mistake and apologize. That was reduced to: obfuscate, side step and threaten. Not good. Not prudent.

Anyway, with the advice of council, we then forwarded to them select lines from our draft legal claim for "tortuous interference," as well as a link providing an overview of "respondeat superior" (Latin for "let the master answer").

Well, soon after that we were pleasantly surprised with a complete public apology. Mike says that it was completely of his own volition, "there was no pressure from Rich or any other source to do this." He did it because it was the right thing to do. I believe him.

"In the game of basketball you have two sets of rules: league rules, where an official facilitates the players and the game, and then you have playground rules, where the players self-officiate the game. I think playground rules are analogous to how communities and people self-regulate their actions and behaviors online.

Playground rules dictate that each player call their own fouls and you can imagine the breadth of what is -- and is not -- considered a foul runs the gamut, but in the end, the quality of the game rests with each person and their willingness to play the game fairly.

It's with this in mind that I'm calling a foul, on myself actually, for a link I posted about a blog called Strumpette. I used some ugly tags with the link, which was unnecessary, and for that I sincerely apologize. The link and tags have been removed. It's tough calling your own fouls, especially with certain opponents, but in the end, this is how I choose to play the game."

Done. "I sincerely apologize." With three simple words the crisis was over. We, of course, immediately instructed our forces to stand down.

Lessons learned? Really, there's one... and it's pretty clear in Mike's apology. The key on the net is to police oneself.

But sadly how rare is that? This new medium his given access to people that otherwise would have been kept from the public microphone, so to speak. Unfortunately, its hype aside, the "conversation" has become the perfect medium to quickly spread and magnify ignorance. It also, like no other medium, has helped lightweights congregate with peers to give the appearance of girth and broad acceptance.

And who holds the blogger to task? No one really. Because, the system, by its nature, is marginalized. That lone practitioner likely has no money. As such, he's virtually judgment proof. And in a world of little consequence and made up character, what's of any value? Not a lot. Project that out some and tell me what value the net has in five years. Depressing forecast.

Alternatively, God always seems to throw a glimmer of hope to the abject cynic. That said, we at Strumpette are humbled, hopeful and deeply grateful. It was/is a lesson for all of us. Thank you Mike.

Sincerely,

- Amanda