MODS PLEASE BRING THIS POST OVER TO ALL NEW THREADS UNLESS THERE IS AN ARREST.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS WHOLE POST HERE IS THE SHORT VERSION. WE CANNOT IGNORE GANNON'S STEPMOTHER POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT IN HIS DISAPPEARANCE BASED ON THE VIDEOTAPE. THIS IS A RARE CASE WHERE WE WILL ALLOW MEMBERS TO DISCUSS THE STEPMOTHER HOWEVER DO NOT TRASH HER OR CALL HER NAMES LIKE YOU ARE ON A PLAYGROUND. DISCUSS THE FACTS AND LEAVE THE NAME-CALLING TO FACEBOOK GROUPS. YOU OWN YOUR WORDS. A GOOD WAY TO DECIDE IF YOU SHOULD POST SOMETHING OR NOT IS ASK YOURSELF IF YOU COULD DEFEND WHAT YOU POST IN A COURT OF LAW. ALSO PLEASE USE HER INITIALS.
Dear Everyone,
Rarely are things black and white when it comes to the Websleuths rules.
One of our rules is we cannot accuse just anyone of a crime. Good rule. Another rule we do our best to follow is unless law enforcement says someone is a suspect or even a person of interest we cannot accuse anyone connected to a case of a crime.
Then we have our great big gray areas. Like Gannon's case.
It is rare these days for law enforcement to actually say someone is a suspect but we have to use our common sense.
Take the case of the missing children of Lori Vallow. Her behavior and the fact that people around her are dropping dead leaves us with the very logical conclusion that she has done something with her children and therefore we do allow our members to discuss this case with Lori and her husband Chad as possible perps involved in her missing children.
Mark Sievers was just convicted of 1st-degree murder in the death of his wife Dr. Teresa Sievers even though he was hundreds of miles away when she was murdered. Early on we allowed our members to discuss Mark Sievers as a suspect because of what our members discovered and it was only common sense that he was a suspect.
Then there is the case of Heidi Broussard. Her boyfriend was 100 percent innocent in her disappearance and her murder but many members decided to accuse him of being involved because he was awkward in front of the camera. I hope that those who felt it was OK to accuse a man when there was no evidence to suggest he had anything to do with the crime will re-think before they ever do something like that again. Remember, unless the Internet blows up, Heidi and Shane's children could (one day) read your words about their father.
Your words have power. You are responsible for your opinions. We cannot babysit this thread 24/7.
Always imagine you are standing in front of the person you are posting about. Imagine that person knows your real name and where you live. Imagine that person has the power to go on a forum and say something about you. Now, this scenario is strictly a fantasy but it is a great guideline to use when you post.
Below is the short version of this post.
WE CANNOT IGNORE GANNON'S STEPMOTHER POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT IN HIS DISAPPEARANCE BASED ON THE VIDEOTAPE. THIS IS A RARE CASE WHERE WE WILL ALLOW MEMBERS TO DISCUSS THE STEPMOTHER HOWEVER DO NOT TRASH HER OR CALL HER NAMES LIKE YOU ARE ON A PLAYGROUND. DISCUSS THE FACTS AND LEAVE THE NAME-CALLING TO FACEBOOK GROUPS. YOU OWN YOUR WORDS. A GOOD WAY TO DECIDE IF YOU SHOULD POST SOMETHING OR NOT IS ASK YOURSELF IF YOU COULD DEFEND WHAT YOU POST IN A COURT OF LAW. ALSO PLEASE USE HER INITIALS.
Thank you,
Tricia
