Dispatches from the Blog Battle Zone

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Still, Camahort says the blogosphere is no more misogynistic than the real world. It's just that the anonymity makes people feel slightly freer, in some forums, to say what they only whisper in real life. "It hasn't been eliminated in the online world, and I don't think it has been eliminated in the offline world either."

Chris Locke, an author and blogger who created a group comment site where a user posted an image of and disparaging comments about Sierra, says that he also doesn't think the blogosphere and online message boards suffer from an overall misogynistic tone. "There is a problem with misogyny in the real world and online, and it really sucks," says Locke. However, he also thinks some may overreact to comments made about women. "I don't think we should be walking on eggshells when we want to say something to a woman that is negative."

Guarded, But Encouraged

Locke is careful to draw a distinction between a negative or mean comment and one that is threatening or abusive—sexual or otherwise. "I am not a big fan of 'Let's all be real nice,'" he says. "On the other hand, I agree that these mad-dog attacks for no reason are not conducive to anything." He says he took down the site once he realized the direction it was taking.

The fact that comments on the site got so sexually charged and threatening in the first place, however, has some worried about the direction of Internet discourse, and it is sparking discussion of how to raise the bar. Common words of blogging wisdom are "Don't feed the trolls," says Camahort. The idea is that those making needlessly negative comments will go away if they are not given attention. Another is to directly call out commentators for such statements, hoping that public shaming by the community will discourage people from making hateful statements. Yet another option is to state in clear terms that threats, hate speech, and other over-the-line comments will be automatically deleted, says Scoble.

A sure way to avoid online threats is to stop sharing publicly entirely or to make a blog private. Sierra initially considered such moves. However, she's now thinking she may not withdraw from blogging. By and large, she says, the community is still positive enough that she wants to take part. "I am kind of guardedly encouraged," she says. "I never expected this level of conversation. Right now, people are saying we are not going to tolerate this."

Holahan is a writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York .