Friday, February 25, 2005

The Foetry Wars

I have a strong suspicion that the foetry people are checking up to see if I'll say anything about the Jim Behrle/Michael Hoerman throw-down on Jim's website. Truth is, I barely get any hits from his link to my blog. So with more hits in two days that what I normally get in two weeks, I can only assume that someone's curious about my additional two cents. *sigh* Fine.

I wanted to do something long, but you don't take time to make a speech during a street brawl. Also, my life has been hectic enough that I can't do the proper research on the basis for Jim's "calling out" certain people. I will bring up these points quickly, though:

1. Jim, do you think it's a good idea to ask someone publicly about his connection a website that a good number of people seem to either like or dislike strongly? If he ever says no, would you even believe him?

2. Michael, if the answer is no, why didn't you say "no" and deflate a good number of Jim's arguments?

3. Jim is at the center of this whirlwind because we all know that Jim is making these accusations. I respect openness over veiled identities. It's a subject of another piece I'm working on, so I've developed strong feelings about the subject of anonymity. Good reporters use anonymity to protect their sources while continuing to put their reputations on the line. Bad reporters use anonymity to protect themselves.

Oh, yeah, and to clear the air, I recently signed on to Foetry's messageboards under the identity of "Chad Parenteau." While I haven't posted yet, I figured I should make that known before I cause any further confusion and speculation.

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