Avoid Quoting Your Innocent Readers When They Can Be Criticized
Every now and then you may want to write about controversial topics on your blog. Even if there is a topic that you consider to be very normal and nice to talk about, someone else may find it very offending to read. One of the things you can do to avoid putting your readers at risk is to avoid associating your readers with things, that you do on your blog, that can result in any kind of a risk.
Example : Quoting readers in controversial topics
The best example of this is using your readers as a reference to things in your arguments online. You may be talking about a certain topic, like America being better than Canada or vice versa, and you quote a discussion you may have had with one of your readers as a form of a proof or a reference. By quoting that reader, you have dragged him or her into an argument without their will, and thus enabled someone else to come along and criticize that person. That is not fair to your reader, who may have simply discussed things with you without knowing that your actions will result in them being criticized or insulted by a completely random person online.
It is probably never a good idea to drag someone innocent into a conversation and to have them criticized by someone else. Sure, you may want to provide references to other people who may agree or disagree with you, but you should also realize whether or not someone innocent is prepared to be criticized by a complete stranger on your blog, simply because you put a certain quote on your site. By the word “innocent“, I am referring to someone who has given you their opinion about something honestly, thinking that the conversation is only between you and them. That innocent person would not know that you will be dragging them into a discussion where someone else, and not you, will be criticizing them directly.
Avoid exposing users to unnecessary criticism
You want people to keep the criticism around your topic, and not around someone else you may cite or quote in your posts. Therefore, figure out when it is appropriate to quote your readers, and when it is appropriate to find alternatives to quoting your readers.
Snoskred says...
Interesting reading here.
I’ll be back.. 
Snoskred
http://snoskred.blogspot.com/
Ronald Huereca says...
Bes,
Perhaps you could help clarify a few things for me:
1. Is it ever okay to quote a reader, even when that readers’ post and/or comment is already public?
2. Are you simply stating that “off-the-record” conversations should not be made public?
My opinion is, if a reader made a comment and/or blog post, this comment/blog post is now public. The potential for misquoting is there, but hopefully the reader will be able to stand by his/her comment if subjected to others’ opinions.
In the case of “off-the-record” conversations made on IM or via e-mail, perhaps those should be left alone unless there is a legitimate way to make the reader anonymous.