Alpha geek code

Blogspot:The big issue in the blog world this week has been the proposal by technology publisher Tim O'Reilly and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales of a bloggers' code of conduct, writes John Collins.

Last weekend O'Reilly published a proposed set of rules that bloggers could decide to adhere to and in return they could carry a "Civility Enforced" badge on their blog. The code is a response to death threats received by US blogger Kathy Sierra which were left as anonymous comments on her own and other blogs.

And right on cue bloggers around the world got themselves into a tizzy suggesting that O'Reilly and Wales were setting themselves up as censors and putting a limit on free speech. Certainly, by suggesting that bloggers consider banning anonymous comments and delete threatening or libellous remarks, the pair left themselves open for criticism - and the kind of free-wheeling commentary that they seem to be keen to remove from mainstream blogs.

To be fair to O'Reilly, subsequent posts have shown that he is not afraid to take on constructive criticism, although he's not one for backing down from his convictions either.

O'Reilly Radar is a group blog where O'Reilly is joined by a range of executives and authors at his successful technology publishing company to write about a range of technology-related issues from the latest cool gadgets to the setting of open source standards.

Some of the posts may be a little technical in nature for a mainstream audience but as recent events have shown the Radar can be relied upon to throw up interesting and thought-provoking posts.

O'Reilly is also a widely acknowledged deep thinker about all things internet-related. He coined the now widely used term Web 2.0 to refer to the current generation of websites and services that facilitate a deeper level of user interaction than the much-hyped dot com sites of the late 1990s.

The description that Radar itself provides of what it is trying to achieve is telling. "We draw from the wisdom of the alpha geeks in our midst, paying attention to what's interesting to them, amplifying these weak signals, and seeing where they fit into the innovation ecology."

If you want an insight into where some of the geeks on the cutting edge of new technology think this brave new world is heading, then O'Reilly Radar is an essential read for you.

Blog of the Week:O'Reilly Radar radar.oreilly.com