Social Web’s complexity: Illustration

The story on WhosaRat.com, though not about youth, clearly illustrates how complicated the user-driven Web is. The site – whose mission is to out “rats” (informants or what judges call “cooperators”) by publishing court records – is a lot like a social-networking site. It “offers biographical information about people whom users identify as witnesses or undercover agents. Users can post court documents, comments and pictures,” the Associated Press reports. How hard it must be to tell who’s telling the truth about who, whether an “outing” is purely out of revenge – if the person behind a profile is really exposing a snitch or just bullying someone who did nothing wrong. The site says it’s “a resource for criminal defendants and does not condone violence.” For a very balanced examination of the site, don’t miss “Whosarat.com: Two views of outing witnesses” at NetworkWorld.com. It says – rightly, I think, regardless of who set it up and why – that “what … should be done about such sites ought to be a tough call for anyone interested in balancing the interests of law enforcement, witness protection and free speech.”