Chatrooms and Blogger Comments

We all know Kathy Sierra’s story well, and it sucks. If that same story repeats itself again, ever, then that is a major and embarrassing failing in our online social fabric.

However, it is interesting to note that this occurrence (or "trend") might more fittingly be described as a second wave in a trend that first happened in the early 1990's - in chat rooms. In the article, Sexual Threats Stifle Some Female Bloggers, the Washington Post cited a couple studies to argue that a trend described as an “exodus of women” which first occurred in chat rooms (because of sexually explicit and malicious messages targeted at female chat room participants), is reappearing in the blogosphere.