I normally try to avoid getting into public battles, but today I need to make an exception. Yesterday Rogers Cadenhead blogged about a letter sent to him by Dave Winer’s attorney, which caused a bit of an uproar in RSS circles. I honestly have no idea who is right or wrong in this case, and I’ve never had a reason to distrust Rogers, so I’m not going to take sides in this issue. But I was truly bothered by the number of comments made before Dave had given his side of the story. How can anyone possibly take sides when only one side has made their case? The mob mentality shown here, in a word, sucks, and shows why the blog world is no better than mainstream media when it comes to fact-checking.
Also, Steve Gillmor has recently made a couple of rambling posts that suggest he’s not exactly happy with the goings-on in the world of attention. For the record, Steve, you’re the person who introduced me (and certainly countless others) to the idea of attention, and I’ll always give you credit for your pioneering role, no matter how cranky you get.