COMM 317: Facts, law and catfights ... in today's Washington Post

An article by opinion writer Kathleen Parker discusses that catfight between the model and the art student who called her a skank in New York City. That's the one where model Liskula Cohen was called a "skank" in a then-anonymous blog.

It sounds like maybe Parker is a little confused on some of the technology (but, hey, maybe it's me who's confused). But she quotes from a new book "Google Bomb" by a psychologist named Sue Scheff, who "was able to prove [in court] that her reputation and business suffered" when she was defamed on the Internet. Parker:

Scheff's case and the Cohen incident suggest that a new level of accountability, largely missing from personal blogs, may be in the offing. "What you type today can haunt you tomorrow," says Scheff. "People need to know that if you use your mouse and keypad to harm others, there is a price tag."

Harm is the operative word. Although Scheff was able to prove material losses, Cohen likely gained from her brief tenure as a victim. In fact, she has dropped her lawsuit and forgiven the blogger.

The bottom line is, well, the bottom line. Parker adds:

No one likes being bashed online or elsewhere -- and public people are familiar with the experience. But even Scheff thinks that in the absence of quantifiable defamation, anonymity deserves protection. As Google and the courts slug it out, Cohen did manage to render an oft-ignored lesson in bold italics: Think before you type.

Or else someone may want more than a penny for your thoughts.

And that really is the bottom line.