Like Tim, I do worry about the functioning of the blogosphere as a public sphere, and I think instances like this not only justify the Tribbles of the world but also damage the blogosphere as a whole. I would like to see that damage avoided and this whole thing fading away would be a good start.

And, while Deignan might make a good test case, it seems unlikely that Bitch PhD or even the hapless Hettle want to be involved in it.

I don’t. I rather hope that this _will_ result in a libel suit. At some point, and this is as good a point as any, we need to decide if online activists, if I can call us that, are public figures within the meaning of _Sullivan_. Deignan makes a good test case. Google him. There are other Paul Deignans (one’s a lawyer in charge of a settlement). But the bulk of what Google turns up are not merely about, but by our Paul Deignan, mostly commenting on other blogs: the Schiavo case and recent Supreme Court nominations for the most part. Does that public activity, plus perhaps his advertising campaign against Ms. Miers, make him a public figure?

He clearly thinks of himself as a private citizen, cruelly put upon by those with powerful voices. As do we all. Hence the desire to sue. If it became clear that we are, in fact, public figures with voices of our own, then there would, I think, be less threats of litigation. Which is the state we need to get to.

I understand the importance of blogs in building community. (If not for blogs, how would we know that anyone in the U.S. was to the left of Joe Lieberman?) However, I find long comment threads consisting of people in violent agreement to be boring and often pointless. It’s more interesting to talk to people with whom you disagree, unless they’re intellectually lazy or dishonest, and make coherent discussion impossible. The latter happens painfully often, but it didn’t seem to be happening in Dr. B’s comment thread.

While I understand Wallace Hettle’s distaste for Deignan, I agree that going to his advisor was out of line. Of course, since Deignan is posting openly, his advisor can examine his online life at any time, so Deignan shouldn’t care about this.

Of course, I agree with most everyone that Deignan’s legal threats and assaults on Dr B’s anonymity are bizarre, way excessive, and a threat to open discussion. If I were his advisor, this would worry me more than anything else.

Right. That was Ivan Tribbilism if I’ve ever seen it…

Michael, sorry about that infection. Immediate deletion is the only viable option. He’s prolific, but tires (or passes-out) eventually.

Adam, if you read the following (from a certain Kern Country-oriented blog) carefully, I think you’ll see that some of his pet peeves have started leaking from one personality to another:

I think many current PC leftists (including those who haunt various UC campuses) generally fall in the ‘Toid category, more often than not as do the great majority of Cali suburbanites: the Net and blogopolis itself becoming some sort of gloomy Orwellian zone where simple jokes or insults cause some so-called liberals to start calling the FBI.