100

I am not sure if anybody is counting, but this particular entry happens to be number 100, at least according to the administrator's side. In light of that, I've attached a story that appeared in Friday's Oregonian regarding anonymous posts on the internet. For those of you who might remember Grandrondereznews.com, there were a number of anonymous writers on that website who said just about whatever they pleased, at times I am convinced just flat out making stuff up, some of it about me and others. Message boards can be problematic, on the one hand the world wide web is the ultimate forum, and from a Council perspective, probably the easiest way to communicate with Tribal members, and for members to converse with one another. On the other hand, and this is really an international trend, the internet, blogs, and message boards have made it possible for anybody to be a faux journalist and whistle-blower. We all got the various emails about the presidential candidates this year that took creative liberty with facts, much of it not true. It would appear to be a full time job to combat falsehoods and myths parading as facts, and I would think voters can be particularly confused and reluctant to mine the avalanche of information for accuracy. Technology can be great, but for every advantage there seems to be a disadvantage, and more importantly, a way to exploit it.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/anonymous_blog_commenters_shie.html