Let's blog, but do it properly

I refer to the articles 'Teach students the dos and don'ts of blogging' (ST Sept 29) and 'School act against students for 'flaming' teachers on blogs' (ST Sept 27).

Have we reached a blog-kage? It is a widely held axiom that citizens of a largely multiracial nation must strive to preserve racial harmony.

It is therefore imperative that seditious, racist remarks be barred from surfacing in public domains which can result in serious ramifications such as the jeopardy of our long preserved social cohesion.

Therefore in my opinion, it is absolutely justifiable that the trio who made inflammatory remarks in their blogs be hauled to the court.

More recently, some junior colleges meted out punishment to students who 'flamed' their teachers on the net.

The Singapore Teacher's Union offers backing to teachers who wish to take legal action against students who included diatribes in their blogs.

There was even a response in The Straits Times Forum which suggested that the do's and don'ts of blogging be taught in school.

Here are some alternatives which I can think of that one may wish to employ to ensure that our contents will not provoke any discontent.

We could install identification checks at blogging websites to prevent under-aged users from blogging.

After all, there is a great deal of responsibility involved in blogging, so we have to teach it in school.

If not, we can always impose our draconian tried and tested rating system of Gs, PGs and M18s on local blogs for the viewer's discretion.

A uniform set of blog contents and parameters can be imposed on our netizens through virtual laws to prevent them from venturing away from the circumscribed sphere of sanctioned topics.

We will then have effectively become blogger-citizens of the Stepford nation and disneyfied the virtual world in a way no other country has achieved. Kudos for showing the way!

With the thought of being sued for defamation for penning our thoughts too honestly on the net, the truncheon of authority that is wielded over our heads guarantees the curtailing of interesting contents, literary expressions and subjects which our young bloggers can concoct.

We will have succeeded in creating a newer, more banal species of blogs and bloggers. Andrew Sullivan, an essayist for Time magazine, has mentioned that blogging is 'serious inasmuch as it conveys real ideas and feelings in as unvarnished and honest a form as possible'.

We will have proven that Sullivan has made a fictitious point!

Let us all enthuse blogging and show the others the correct aptitude we should have for blogging.

Xu Hong Ming


In the words of my Upper Secondary A Maths Teacher: "WELL DONE!"

Wow. This must be the first ST forum letter parody/satire I've ever seen.

I wonder if the editor realised that this wasn't written by the usual gang of idiots. Either way it tells you something about our most esteemed broadsheet!