Common Courtesy

“With great power, comes great responsibility” is a quote I learned as a young nerd, and writer’s need to remember that their words can carry great power. I was rather upset this morning to see an author I once admired abusing her power.

A reader had made a mistake, and instead of privately correcting the mistake, the author posted it on facebook and twitter, openly ridiculing the reader. Not only was the author laughing at this reader but now all 100,000 plus fans were laughing as well.

It was an innocent enough comment, but I still felt bad for the reader.

This is a form of cyber bulling, and I wonder if the author is aware of that fact. No she didn’t name the person, but I’m sure they probably read her comment, and is now extremely humiliated to have their simple mistake mocked by hundreds of people. No matter the mistake, the author had no right posting it, declaring it open season on the reader. Instead she should have just sent a message back explaining the mistake. The more famous you become, the higher the standards you are held.

What is it mothers always try to teach their children?

“Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

And

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

We should all think about that before we post. The internet would be a better place.