The 5 commandments for bloggers

I came across this at Mrs Budak's Lair and would like to put it here to remind myself. I hope Mrs Budak won't mind. Thank you hor, Mrs Budak. :)

BTW, "budak" means "small" in Malayu, isn't it? I used to learn about "budak lelaki", meaning small boys from a Malay colleague when I worked in retail a long time ago.

Article from the Singapore Law Gazette

A section from the article:

Here are some tips on how not to be sued for defamation while writing a weblog:

1 Only blog about yourself and your life, which is not a difficult thing to do for some people, although it will be more difficult for bloggers who are out to find an audience. Alternatively, generally post positive comments.

2 Make comments about society and people in general, but without identifying any person or group of persons in particular. Even caustic remarks and insults can be made, so long as you do not identify anyone or any group of persons for ridicule. That was what Philip Yeo himself did when he made the sweeping comment that ?Singapore boys are whiny and immature?, which was seconded by one of his female scholars. It created a spate of bitter replies from some disenfranchised Singapore men, but there was no question of defamation suits.

3 If you feel confident enough, make all the comments you want provided that you are: (a) sure of its truthfulness (and can prove it in a court of law); (b) making a fair comment (and not just any sort of comment but one of ?public interest?); or (c) replying to comments made about you by another person to defend yourself and to protect your self-interest. You can also get the consent of the subject to insult him or her, but make sure you have it in writing and that it is not obtained illegitimately, such as by duress or undue influence.

4 Make the blog satiric and parodiac. Think Colin Goh?s ?www.talkingcock.com? web site or Mr Brown?s ?www.mrbrown.com? blog. Biting comments or political and social satire, which no reasonable person will seriously consider to be true, are safe to post.

5 Make your blog password-controlled and only allow access to people you trust. However, selective sharing or dissemination may not suit the blogger who is seeking an audience online, whether for fame or fortune.