Blogging - Rules to live by

Since I'm new to this thing there are a few guidelines that I would like to write down to remind myself when I blog. They are also excellent things for you to remember when you blog. In trying to be fair the following are taken directly from Microsoft's website (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/activities/blogging.mspx).


1. Never offer any personal information including your last name, contact information, home address, phone numbers, school's name, e-mail address, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.

2. Never post provocative pictures of yourself or anyone else, and be sure any images you provide do not reveal any of the previously mentioned information. Always remember to look at the background of a picture too.

3. Assume what you publish on the Web is permanent. Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.

4. Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)

5. Avoid trying to "outdo" or compete with other bloggers.

6. Keep blogs positive and don't use them for slander or to attack others.


While these are 6 excellent rules to go by there are numerous other things to keep in mind. If I come across any I'll add them to this post or maybe even create a new posting. Just remember when blogging pretend that what you write on your blog is equivalent to having it on a sign while standing holding it outside Wal-mart, the mall, or some other public.