Social Responsibility and Wondir: What To Post?

Social Responsibility and Wondir:

What To Post?

In this day and age, with all the lawsuits, liability and people being sued for something as wondirful as saving someone’s life by using CPR or the Heimlich Maneuver, what sort of responsibility does someone have when they hand-out advice online?

The way I see it, and once again this is only me…is that you have a responsibility to give the best, most accurate advice and information as can be found. Also you have to be willing to go back, look at your answers and the other answers that are given for any post and research it a little more to back up your initial post.

Now, there are certain things I know for sure, like what is the name of the person that manicures a horses hoofs…..FARRIER!!! (Sorry, mental breakdown there for a second, answered that one a few times too many….) and on those things I can back myself up.

Links to Google, Wikipedia and other search sites help. Links to pages that discuss topics that are seen as “in the gray area” are a little harder to find…

Recently there have been a few posts asking “When did Hitler die?” Well there is the normal 1945 response, but there are also several sites that give different dates depending on the site owners viewpoints. I’ve found everything from “He’s still alive…” to “He was killed in 1960 in Brazil”, always with links to other “off the mark” sites that claim to be able to back them up.

How deep do you research this? How much time do you spend? Who do you believe?

Usually I try to post information and links from sites I trust, like Google, Wikipedia, CNN (CNN??????), the major networks, encyclopedias and trusted web sites.

I try to give links, and I know I’m not the best at this, to me its too much work for a simple research question, easier to just give the answer and move on, you all know some people are just looking for a simple 2+2=4 response, they won’t check it even if they think it is wrong…it’s called doing their homework for them…try it sometime…post 5 as the answer and see if you get busted on it!!

But what responsibility do we have by giving advice at Wondir?

Legally, right now none. I’m sure that will change the first time someone online gets sued because they failed to tell someone to “See a doctor!!”

Morally? It’s easier to ask this one question: WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?

If you’re not here to help, then you are simply part of the problem. If you’re just here to win a T-Shirt or Insulated Coffee Mug, well GO AWAY…sorry if that hurts Wondir’s numbers, but I prefer a realistic person who is at the site to talk to others, give a little advice and maybe reach out to someone and help them through a crisis. Do we really want the glib poster hanging out and messing with peoples lives? No, of course not. And that is where the regulars and the moderators come in.

The regulars and the moderators (Wait that’s a Stephen King novel…no that’s a different story…) are fast to step up and correct inaccurate information, harmful information or totally useless responses.

Why post the reply “Umm…I don’t know” to a question? If you don’t know move on and find a post you do know! You’re not acting responsible when you take up peoples time, provide no information of your own, provide false information (knowingly false is even worse!) or just want to “chat” when the poster has not asked “Hey, anyone wanna chat WIM me!”

I know this argument fits nicely into the argument about requiring registration at Wondir to be able to answer questions and you already know how strongly I feel against that (as witnessed by a blog post a few days ago) but sometimes you just want to reach out and SLAP some people for the time they waste and the visitors they could be running off.

So you see in some ways I’m very liberal, but in others I’m more conservative then W. (Dubaya) himself. I’m protective of a system I’ve come to love, liberal enough to know it will change and wise enough to see it coming.

So I do all I can as a poster and moderator to limit the excuses that are given (normally by un-registered guests…*OUCH that hurt*) or people from sites like AnswerBus, RateMyTeacher or Bored.

So, how do we as regulars fix the problem before it becomes a problem?

We answer the questions as posted, truthfully, using the best we know, the best we can find on google or another search engine, the best we can from experience (don’t be afraid to say to someone hey, I was in that situation once, here’s what happened…………”) or from the heart.

Don’t be afraid to take a minute or two to look up the answer!

Google is your FRIEND! So are other regulars and the moderators. If you can’t find it, don’t know it or just don’t want to be bothered at the moment, pass it over, someone will get it or they will post it later! We can’t be all things too all people, but we can be the important thing to just the one whose life we touch…and yes, I can provide references to prove you can! All it takes is a few seconds out of your life, hell you’re here already, why not do this thing right!?!?

If you’re just here to chat, well there’s a billion chat programs and sites out there, go have a ball, but if you are serious about answering peoples questions and helping others…stick around, you’ll be glad you did…I know I am!

Next up: Sex and the Single Wondirer (Just kidding!)