As evangelical as this sounds, it is true. The Evangelical Alliance in London has come up with ten commandments that should be followed by faithful (read Christian) bloggers.
The Evangelical Alliance is an umbrella group founded in 1846 that represents thousands of churches of most denominations in the United Kingdom.
So here are the “Ten Commandments” that bloggers must follow:
#1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity
#2. You shall not make an idol of your blog
#3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin
#4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog
#5. Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes
#6. You shall not murder someone else’s honour, reputation or feelings
#7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind
#8. You shall not steal another person’s content
#9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger
#10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s blog ranking. Be content with your own content
I know that #4 is a bit difficult to follow, considering that most bread and butter bloggers cannot take a day off. But all other commandments are useful, and well thought out.
A few days back, I was involved in a discussion on blogging guidelines. This set of commandments, in my opinion, is a very good guideline set that every blogger must absolutely follow.
Krish Kandiah, executive director of Churches in Mission, said: “These commandments are virtual rather than set in stone, but are offered to the blogging community as a way to link the Ten Commandments with the art of blogging.
“In the ever-changing information age, what we need is wisdom for life, and God communicates wisdom to our culture through the Bible on every issue from social justice to social networking.”
I sincerely hope these guidelines are followed not only by Christians, but also by bloggers of other faiths as these will really lead to a more cultured and civilized online interaction amongst bloggers and internet users.
NOTE:
1. Quotes taken from The Telegraph